How Australia’s media emperors — one of them named Murdoch — used journalism to cement their empires

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Thursday, June 22, 2023 [How Australia’s media emperors — one of them named Murdoch — used journalism to cement their empires]( A new book details how a network of interlocking business arrangements allowed a few men to consolidate control of a huge share of Australia’s media — power that extends to today. By Denis Muller. [Publishers are lowering their promo subscription rates, according to new research]( What We’re Reading The New York Times / Lauren Hirsch and Benjamin Mullin [Fortress Investment Group to acquire Vice out of bankruptcy →]( “A group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group is set to take over the bankrupt Vice Media company after bidding $225 million to acquire it out of bankruptcy, according to three people familiar with the matter.” Press Gazette / Freddy Mayhew [How “super articles” boosted online engagement and subscriptions for Politiken →]( “Denmark’s biggest-selling national newspaper, Politiken, has boosted engagement and page views with the creation of what it calls ‘super articles.’ These online features use all the features of its CUE content management system to create articles which incorporate images, video, graphics, animations, pictures and video. Over the last two years, Politiken’s digital storytelling group has published about 100 super articles. On average a super article records triple the amount of page impressions – about 12,000 compared to about 3,800 for all other articles published by the newsbrand.” TechCrunch / Ingrid Lunden [Beehiiv, a newsletter platform, gets $12.5M in its inbox →]( “NYC-based beehiiv was launched in October 2021, and since then, on some $4 million of prior funding, it’s amassed a network of 7,500 active newsletters that collectively have 35 million unique readers and see 350 million monthly impressions…For some comparison, beehiiv’s most obvious rival, Substack, says it has 35 million ‘active’ subscribers, which includes 2 million paid subscriptions. The latter is the focus of Substack’s newsletter business model: it takes a 10% cut on those subscription revenues.” Engadget / Jon Fingas [House and Senate bills aim to protect journalists’ data from government surveillance →]( “Bipartisan House and Senate groups have reintroduced legislation, the PRESS Act (Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying), that limits the government’s ability to compel data disclosures that might identify journalists’ sources.” CNN / Anna Chernova, Sophie Tanno and Jo Shelley [Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich loses appeal against pre-trial detention →]( “Our colleague Evan Gershkovich appeared in Moscow City Court today for an appeal against his ongoing pretrial detention. Although the outcome was expected, it is no less an outrage that his detention continues to be upheld,” The Wall Street Journal said in a statement Thursday. The New York Times / Benjamin Mullin [Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers source, had uneasy relationship with the paper he famously leaked to →]( “In particular, Mr. Ellsberg was unhappy about being misled by Mr. [Neil] Sheehan. Mr. Ellsberg was also upset by the way an article in [The New York Times] later conveyed how he had provided the documents.” The Verge / Amrita Khalid [Why Spotify’s podcast experiment went off the rails →]( “Spotify isn’t selling anything that’s unique in the world of podcasting. And that may be why Spotify’s strategy around content is shifting: while Trevor Noah’s podcast — due later this year — will be a Spotify Original, it won’t be exclusive to the platform. This will be a win for Noah’s podcast, which will gain more exposure. But it’s also a pivot for Spotify, which has kept many of its original shows in its walled garden.” Rest of World / Caiwei Chen [China’s banned online communities have found a new home on Reddit →]( “Reddit’s unique appeal among exiled Chinese internet users is its community-moderated, interest-based discussion format, which allows more fringe voices to thrive. According to Deng Jinju, a 25-year-old product manager and former member of Douban’s now-defunct Goose Group, Reddit is a social media platform that is more issue-driven than influencer-driven, granting greater visibility to ordinary users.” Second Rough Draft, Substack / Richard J. Tofel [Great newspapers and the problem of underspending billionaires →]( “The problems at the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos and the Los Angeles Times under Patrick Soon-Shiong seem to me to have an important common element: owners who have made significant investments, but have now apparently drawn a line short of what’s necessary for their publications to thrive with readers.” The Journalist's Resource / Clark Merrefield [How to find facts and stories in civil court dockets: 7 tips from a whistleblower attorney →]( “When you’re able, attend court hearings — the judge and parties may discuss information that is redacted in transcripts.” The Guardian / Katie Thornton [New electric cars won’t have AM radio. Rightwingers claim political sabotage, but there’s plenty else on the AM dial – much of it essential →]( “While syndicated rightwing voices are the best platformed on AM radio, what is less known is that the band is home to many of the country’s increasingly rare local stations and non-English-language radio shows. And ownership of AM radio stations is more diverse than that of FM stations: according to a 2021 FCC report, 13% of commercial AM stations were majority-owned by a Black, Hispanic or Asian American broadcaster; on the FM band, that figure was only 7%.” New York Times / Kate Dwyer [Bookforum will return in a new partnership with The Nation →]( “The new Bookforum will still count on ad sales as part of the business model, [The Nation’s president Bhaskar] Sunkara said, but it ‘will have to develop a much larger direct subscription base.'” [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( [Twitter]( / [Facebook]( [View email in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org. Nieman Journalism Lab Harvard University 1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138 [Add us to your address book](