The Honner team recently got together with clients, journalists and industry colleagues for a night of drinks, chat and networking – and a chance to welcome in the festive season. Thanks to everyone who came along – it was a great crowd and a fun time was had by all!
Honner bolsters senior team
SYDNEY, 3 April 2023: Honner today announced a range of senior team updates, reinforcing the agency’s position as one of Australia’s leading specialist corporate and financial communications firms.
Equity partner Susie Bell has been appointed Managing Partner, with a focus on leading Honner’s people and culture. Celebrating her 15th year with Honner, Susie works closely with Founder and CEO Philippa Honner to drive a range of management responsibilities in addition to leading Honner’s relationships with key clients including NAB, global asset manager Nuveen and global securities and derivatives exchange Cboe Australia.
Alison Kahler has joined the Honner team as Senior Consultant – Content, in response to ongoing demand for high quality, strategically driven content programs in the financial services sector.
Alison brings more than 25 years’ experience as a financial journalist and communications adviser for major publications and institutions. At Honner she will work across the firm’s financial services, corporate and technology clients offering content strategy development and delivery as well as strategic communications counsel.
She joins Honner from HSBC where she spent the past six years as a senior communications manager working across the spectrum of corporate communications, reputation management, issues and crisis management, content strategy and planning, and media relations. Prior to working at HSBC, Alison built a reputation as one of Australia’s leading writers on personal finance, investment and superannuation over more than a decade with The Australian Financial Review.
Rashmi Punjabi has been appointed to the newly created role of Head of Business Development. She will work closely with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team to drive new business efforts across traditional finance and new economy sectors, as well as leading on marketing initiatives for the Agency.
This month Honner also formalised its Senior Leadership Team, in recognition of the collective contribution the agency’s senior consultants make in managing a growing consultancy. The new Senior Leadership Team includes equity partners Philippa Honner and Susie Bell, as well as:
CEO Philippa Honner said the appointments reflected the firm’s ambitions to continue broadening its offering across the Australian and APAC region.
“Each year we behave more like a traditional consultant – working with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver highly tailored, strategically driven programs that make a commercial impact,” Philippa said.
“We’re investing in our team, digital tools and infrastructure to support the next phase of growth – as clients continue to value specialist agencies that bring deep market insights and creative ideas to the table, operating as a dynamic and flexible extension of their in-house team.”
Managing Partner Susie Bell said continuous learning and global curiosity were strong contributors to the firm’s culture.
“The Honner team is our greatest strength, and we are extremely proud of our diverse range of talent. We’re committed to delivering relevant and future focused training and team experiences that add value and create a real impact. Through our deep global networks our team can access career-defining agency exchanges and virtual ‘next generation’ forums with their peers from across the globe, covering global best practice and the latest industry trends from ESG to generative AI. Having a global, and more rounded, perspective ultimately makes us all better and more informed practitioners,” she said.
SYDNEY, 30 May 2022: Specialist corporate and financial communications firm Honner today announced Fiona Parker has been appointed Chief Strategy Officer, adding to Honner’s growing senior team.
To be based in Sydney, Ms Parker will help build on Honner’s established financial communications practice including opportunities in the corporate, financial technology and professional services space – focusing on both Australia and regional mandates.
The move adds further senior resources to Honner’s growing specialisation in the fintech and digital assets sector, where the firm represents an array of global and local brands including BTC Markets, crypto.com, Algorand Foundation, Blockchain Australia, MH Carnegie & Co, Nano and Loda.
Ms Parker brings more than 20 years’ communications experience working across Australia, Europe and Asia. She joins from FleishmanHillard where she was Sydney-based Head of Corporate Communications for the past three years.
Prior to returning to Sydney, Ms Parker was based in Asia for five years where she held roles including Hong Kong Technology Lead, Asia Pacific Technology Practice Director at H+K Strategies, as well as Director at MHP Communications.
Digital asset ecosystem
Honner Founder and CEO Philippa Honner said the appointment reflects the rapidly escalating impact technological change is having on financial players – as both providers and customers look towards an increasingly decentralised digital asset ecosystem.
“Traditional financial brands like banks, asset managers, super funds and wealth firms continue to be the mainstay of Honner, however emerging technology is revolutionising the way these firms do business.
“How people engage with their money, how they ‘bank’, and how they invest is all changing – and fast. We’re investing in that change, building a financial tech practice to better service existing clients, as well as the new wave of financial brands that are taking the sector in new directions,” Ms Honner said.
Fiona Parker said: “I am thrilled to be joining the growing Honner team, one synonymous with quality, which provides the highest possible calibre of strategic counsel to its impressive roster of clients. I’m very excited by the opportunity to help cutting edge innovators reshape, lead and engage the market as the ongoing digitalisation of finance brings new possibilities to life in Australia and the region,” she added.
During 2022 Honner has appointed a number of new hires across the spectrum of financial communications, marketing and content services:
With more than 25 years’ in-house marketing, product and communications experience, Natasha Moldrich has joined as an Account Director and leads on a number of Honner’s wealth, retirement and asset management clients. She has worked with leading Australian companies such as BT, HUB24, AMP and CBA.
Specialising in content strategy and delivery, Zoe Paterson has joined as a Consultant. She works with a range of Honner’s banking, broking, wealth and superannuation clients, helping them devise and create content platforms that build loyalty, trust and engagement. Zoe brings almost 20 years’ experience as a content writer, journalist and editor focusing on the personal finance, property, financial services and financial technology sectors and working across titles including The Australian Financial Review and Money Management.
Louise Priddle has joined as a Consultant and leads on a portfolio of corporate, fintech and crypto clients. Originally from Brisbane, she brings nearly ten years’ communications experience gained at PR agencies including Rowland and Porter Novelli, as well as three years as an adviser to the Queensland Government. She brings experience working with listed companies, managing financial communications projects including M&A transactions, open offers and earnings announcements for clients in Australia and overseas.
Supporting a range of Honner’s financial and corporate service clients, Jared Wright has joined as a Senior Account Executive. He brings experience in political, government and economic communications in key areas including environmental sustainability, economic management, community engagement and infrastructure development.
About Honner
Established in Sydney in 1997, Honner is an Australian-based marketing and communications consultancy that specialises in the corporate, financial services and fintech sectors. We help our clients communicate their messages across multiple channels and formats to build engagement with stakeholders. Honner is part of the prestigious PROI Worldwide, Global Communication Partners (GCP) as well as specialist fintech network the Global Fintech PR Network. More information can be found at www.honner.com.au.
Contact
Philippa Honner
Founder, CEO
+61 (0)407 939 543
SYDNEY, 10 May 2021: Specialist corporate and financial communications firm Honner today announced a number of new hires as part of the Agency’s continued expansion of its offering across the spectrum of financial communications, marketing and content services.
The appointments also reinforce Honner’s growing regional focus as part of its support for local and global financial brands seeking to grow their profile across the Asia Pacific Region.
Judith Bence joins in a new role of Chief Operating Officer, Senior Consultant, commencing 1 June. Judith will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Agency, managing a team of 22 communications professionals and also providing senior counsel to Honner clients. Judith brings more than 20 years’ experience advising multi-national companies across a range of financial services, corporate and technology sectors across the Asia Pacific Region. She previously held senior roles at global PR agencies including Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Engine Group where she led teams responsible for key clients in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Barry Rafe BSC. MRES. FIAA. FAICD has joined Honner as the Agency’s first Non-Executive Director. A long-time associate of Honner, Barry brings more than 30 years’ experience working across Australia’s financial services industry in roles including strategy partner at Accenture and head of the financial services practice at Trowbridge Consulting. He is a former President and Chair of the Actuaries Institute and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. As NED Barry works with Honner’s senior management team to provide guidance and management insight, supporting the ongoing growth and evolution of the firm.
Samantha Rockliff joins Honner as an Account Director, starting in early May. Samantha brings more than 20 years’ experience working across marketing and communications with a strong focus on the financial sector. She joins from AMP where she spent the past decade working across a range of media, public affairs, marketing and communications roles.
As part of Honner’s expanding services in the specialist financial content space, the Agency has appointed veteran journalist Christine St Anne to the newly created role of Head of Content. Joining in April, Christine will work with Honner’s team of writers to further evolve Honner’s expanding content services, which include content strategy development as well as delivery across client events, websites, client communications, investor communications, social and digital channels.
Harrison Worley also joined Honner as a Consultant in April, working across both content and account management duties. Harrison previously worked at another financial PR agency where he was responsible for managing the day-to-day PR programs for clients including asset managers, financial planning groups, superannuation funds, non-bank lenders and regional banks. Prior to entering the PR world, he spent more than two years working with industry publisher Rainmaker, working as a journalist on the Financial Standard magazine as well as the Associate Editor for sister superannuation journal FS Super.
As part of its ongoing relationship with Queensland University of Technology, Honner has bolstered its graduate intake with four new grads joining over the past six months. Libby Hopper, Bridget Thelander and Connie Short have joined as Account Coordinators, all graduates from QUT Business School. UTS graduate Eva Harrington has also joined as Account Executive.
As part of the senior team changes, Honner has announced that its long-time Managing Director and Partner Paul Cheal has resigned from his role after nine years with Honner. Paul will continue to work with the Honner team as an independent consultant, providing senior counsel to key Honner clients
Honner founder and CEO Philippa Honner said the business was entering a new phase of growth with strong opportunities emerging across the changing Asia Pacific landscape.
“We have entered 2021 feeling energised and more confident than ever at the opportunities ahead of us.
“I would like to thank our wonderful colleague Paul for his substantial contribution to building our Agency over the past decade. Our strong culture and continued growth is in part a result of Paul and fellow Partner Susie Bell’s commitment to building a talented team with a laser focus on delivering great client outcomes, and we look forward to continuing to work with Paul going forward,” Ms Honner said.
Judith Bence will take over the majority of Paul’s day-to-day role, working closely with General Manager, Partner Susie Bell and founder Philippa Honner.
Expanding regional opportunities
With a rapidly changing landscape in key Asia markets such as Hong Kong, Honner is responding to increasing demand for regional mandates from global financial brands.
Judith Bence will lead the firm’s growing opportunities in Asia, given her substantial experience working across regional markets.
Honner partners with a wide range of global financial and corporate brands. New clients over the past year include venture capital and crypto specialist M.H. Carnegie & Co; BTC Markets – Australia’s largest cryptocurrency and digital asset exchange; real estate group Fortius Funds Management; Asia asset manager Longlead Capital Partners; global asset manager Principal Global Investors; independent funds governance specialist Equity Trustees; financial adviser software provider Intelliflo; and new trading and investment solutions provider AUSIEX.
Welcome to the latest edition of Honner’s Quarterly Media Roundup, where we update you on all the news, insights and industry moves in the sector. A notable trend emerging is the launch of a number of new niche finance publications, as publishers respond in part to the phenomenon of Robinhood investors – the surge of new investors becoming participants in the share market for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s news?
New AFR newsletter targets young investors
Noting the rush of new investors trading in financial markets during the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a surge in younger subscribers, the Australian Financial Review launched Wealth Generation, a new weekly newsletter.
Bloomberg launches wealth vertical
Bloomberg launched a new content vertical Bloomberg Wealth to help readers make smarter decisions about their personal finances. Bloomberg Wealth will include six pillars: Investing; Savings & Retirement; Taxes; Living (where to live, renting vs. buying, divorce, etc.), Reinvention (education, careers, networking, starting a business); and Opinion and Advice.
New fixed income publication launches
RGC Media & Mktng launched Fixed Income News Australia, a digital portal dedicated to news and insights about Australia’s fixed income sector. It is the second major news portal published by RGC following the launch of MBA News Australia in 2015.
Radio’s Money program expands into TV
Nine announced that Money with Brooke Corte, currently a radio program across 2GB, 3AW and 4BC, will become a multi-platform brand including TV, newspapers and digital. The program focuses on personal finance and investment.
Instagram launches rival to Tiktok
Instagram launched Reels, a challenger to Tiktok. Appearing as another content creation function within the Instagram app, Reels gives users the ability to create short-form, edited videos with audio and music. The launch comes amid rising global concerns that Tiktok and its Chinese parent company Byte Dance are feeding users’ data to the Chinese Government.
AAP turns to crowdfunding
Despite being saved from imminent closure by a team of 35 investors and philanthropists in June, AAP wasn’t out of the woods. The newswire turned to crowdfunding a few months later after finding itself under financial pressure, and then received a $5 million lifeline from the government.
Sky News posts best half-year result on record
Sky News posted its best half-yearly result on record. Its average all day audience is up 31% year on year, ranking as Foxtel’s number one channel for 22 consecutive weeks. Sky News said the first half results were “driven by its global coronavirus crisis coverage, top performing primetime line-up, exclusive interviews, investigative specials and documentary programming”.
Bauer Media closes magazines
Bauer Media closed the eight titles it paused during the COVID-19 pandemic — Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Instyle, Men’s Health, NW and OK — in another major blow for the media industry. The closures impact about 40 jobs and are the first to take place under new owners Mercury Capital, which formerly acquired the business in July.
World first plan to make Facebook, Google pay
In a world first, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a proposal to force Facebook and Google to pay for news. The draft code allows commercial news businesses to bargain – individually or collectively – with Facebook and Google, in order to be paid for the news the tech giants publish on their services. Facebook responded by threatening to block Australians from sharing news across its platforms – warning the code would have a negative impact on the publishers who are calling for the change, as well as the tech platforms.
Insights & Opinion
Journalists are leaving the noisy internet for your email inbox, according to Marc Tracy at The New York Times.
It’s not ‘fair’ and it won’t work, writes Damien Story in The Conversation in an article about the ACCC’s plan to force Google and Facebook to pay for news.
Instagram is the home of pretty pictures. Why are people flocking to it for news? Dr Laura Glitsos addresses this question in The Conversation.
All of Australia’s national news directors are white men, with lack of TV diversity starting at the top, writes Brittney Rigby in Mumbrella.
And last but not least, Honner’s own survey reveals what COVID-19 has meant for the way financial journalists work.
Quotable Quotes
“It’s probably fair to say that things have been a lot tougher than we thought,” AAP’s chief executive, Emma Cowdroy, ahead of the launch of the newswire’s crowd funding appeal.
“Australia is drafting a new regulation that misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect.” – Will Easton, managing director for Facebook in Australia and New Zealand.
“It doesn’t take a Boston consultant to see that it’s been increasingly difficult to turn a profit in magazine land…” – Kirstie Clements, former features director of Harper’s Bazaar, after Bauer Media announced it was shuttering the magazine and seven other titles.
Movers & Shakers
Gay Alcorn has been appointed Editor of The Age. Alcorn worked for The Age for nearly 20 years before leaving seven years ago to return to writing and join Guardian Australia as its Melbourne editor. She replaces Michelle Griffin who has been standing in since the departure of Alex Lavelle in June, and who will continue at The Age as World Editor. Meanwhile Stephen Brook, former media editor at The Australian, has joined The Age as a CBD columnist.
Kathy Skantzos, former managing editor at CEO Magazine, was appointed Finance Editor at news.com.au. Skantzos replaces Alexis Carey, who moved to a Senior Reporter role, covering general news.
There have been two senior appointments at The Australian Financial Review. Fiona Buffini has moved into the role of Deputy Editor (Digital) and Jessica Gardner has been appointed News Director. Meanwhile, Finbar O’Mallon also started as a reporter at the AFR in Sydney.
Tony Yoo started as a Senior Journalist at The Motley Fool, covering business and investment news. He formerly wrote for Yahoo Finance, Business Insider and Guardian Australia.
Christa Nicola was appointed as Ticker TV’s new Sydney reporter. Nicola joins Holly Stearnes who started as Melbourne reporter. Both are providing live reports across the Ticker News programs.
Adam Creighton is now a Co-Host at Sky News Live’s Business Weekend programme. He will appear on the programme each week between 11am and midday. This is in addition to his role as Economics Editor at The Australian.
David Donaldson finished as a journalist at The Mandarin, moving into communications.
Rachel Williamson wrapped up at Stockhead after three years to pursue her own freelance journalism projects.
Colin Brinsden returned to AAP as Economics and Business Correspondent, based in the Federal Parliament’s press gallery.
Finance Reporter Derek Rose departed the newswire and is now a journalist at Stockhead covering tech and biotech.
Annabelle Dickson started a new role as a journalist at Financial Standard, covering all aspects of wealth management. She previously worked at The Inside Investor and The Inside Adviser.
Elissa Ratliff has returned to Mamamia as head of podcasts after leaving last year to join Pacific Magazines.
Justin Hendry has been promoted from journalist to Deputy Editor at iTnews. He joined iTnews in 2017 after writing for public sector research house Intermedium.
Will Jolly has been appointed Senior Finance Journalist at Savings.com.au.
Roads and Infrastructure Assistant Editor Lauren Jones has been promoted to Editor of the publication.
It is a well-known fact that women hold crucial purchasing power in their households, with research showing women drive 70-80% of all consumer spending decisions, through a combination of their buying power and influence. Globally, female consumer spending is estimated at around US$40 trillion.
In the media, however, women are decidedly under-represented. According to United for News, a multi-stakeholder coalition led by international non-profit Internews, only 19% of experts quoted in the news are women – a figure that has changed very little in the past two decades.
Even in the influencer landscape, the numbers are not much better. Of the most followed YouTube channels, all of the top 10 are fronted by men and only 23 of the top 100 are led by women. This shows that the digital space is currently mirroring trends we see offline.
Both women and men want to identify with the faces being used in media and advertising and it is clear that those businesses that do not adequately represent their customer base risk alienating them and hurting the bottom line.
Amplifying female voices
Positively, there are currently a number of initiatives underway to amplify female voices in the media.
United for News is currently working to increase both demand and supply of female voices in news. On the demand side, it is providing best practices and assistance for newsrooms to source more female subject matter experts, and on the supply side, it is providing women with the support and resources to step forward.
In 2019, United for News ran a pilot program in Canada, Ukraine and Iraq, with a view to rolling out its program more broadly in the coming years.
News outlets are also seizing on the opportunity to broaden the range of voices being heard in the media today.
One of these is Bloomberg, which is seeking to build a definitive global database of women newsmakers in business and finance through its New Voices initiative. The program includes media training for women and other diverse executives who are under-represented on its broadcast airwaves.
In the UK, for more than two years journalists and producers across the BBC have been tackling the gender representation issue by targeting a goal of 50:50 representation every month.
The broadcaster’s nightly prime time news program ‘Outside Source’ started the effort in 2017 and took its representation of on-air contributors from 39% women to 50% within four months. Today more than 500 BBC shows have joined the project, highlighting the difference a sustained effort can make.
Takeouts for businesses
While the efforts of news outlets to increase the representation of women in the media is making some inroads, there is still more work to do on the corporate side.
According to Kantar’s What Women Want research, despite an increased focus on equality driven by movements like #MeToo, major brands are still not effectively acknowledging women’s priorities, or communicating with women in an empowering manner.
However, those that do successfully promote gender-balanced marketing are 4% healthier than male-skewed brands and 6% healthier than strongly male-skewed brands.
The female demographic offers huge opportunity for marketers, and brands that understand what women want are in a better position to capitalise.
Businesses should therefore avoid using stereotypes and instead use data and analytics to tap into the needs of their audiences.
Women are also more likely to respond to media spokespeople they feel are like them. All businesses should therefore take steps to ensure diversity in the voices they are offering to the media. For executives who are still building their media interview skills, Honner offers tailored media training to build confidence and know-how about the process.
There is no one-size-fits-all for connecting with female audiences. However, for businesses that want to truly understand their target market, one of the best places to start is to acknowledge that there are differences between men and women, and shape PR and marketing efforts on that basis.
What’s news?
Media empires unite over press freedom
In a rare moment of unity, Australia’s biggest media companies came together to campaign for freedom of the press and protections for whistle blowers. A coalition of news organisations including Nine, ABC, News Corp, Seven West Media, Ten and Bauer joined the campaign, which spread across the nation in print, digital, radio and TV.
National mastheads including The Australian and The Financial Review ran special covers with heavily “redacted” text to argue the media is subject to a regime of intense government secrecy. As part of the campaign, Your Right to Know, a TV commercial was also produced to raise awareness about the lack of transparency from governments.
The coalition is pushing for stronger protections for media freedom after years of perceived deterioration that the outlets say has left journalists restricted in their ability to hold the powerful to account. The campaign follows two police raids, on the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the ABC’s Sydney headquarters, last year, which drove the issue of media freedom to the forefront of public consciousness.
Australia’s press freedom protections are weaker than other Western democracies. Unlike the US, which enshrines free speech and a free press in its constitution, Australia has no strong legal protection for journalism and free expression. Reporters Without Borders ranked Australia as 21st in the world for press freedom in 2019, down two places compared to last year, warning that investigative journalism is under threat from “draconian” laws.
Your Right to Know coalition’s demands include better protections for whistleblowers, exemptions for journalists from laws that would put them in jail for doing their jobs, and the right to contest the application for warrants for journalists and media organisations.
Rainmaker acquires Industry Moves
Rainmaker Group, published of the Financial Standard and Money magazine, has added to its growing media portfolio with the acquisition of executive recruitment and leadership title Industry Moves. The move is the latest in a round of acquisitions for Rainmaker which in September purchased The Sustainability Report and Audacious Investing.
Crikey launches new investigative unit
Crikey’s new investigative unit INQ launched with a series of stories including revelations of partisan stacking of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and an exposé of the debt-collection industry chasing billions from people on government benefits.
Bauer Media buys Pacific Magazines, catches the eye of private equity
The media decks continue to be shuffled with Woman’s Day publisher Bauer Media buying its long-time rival Pacific Magazines, home of the New Idea, from Seven West Media for $40 million. It seems someone likes the look of the combined entity with the Australian Financial Review reporting that Mercury Capital is in advanced talks to buy Bauer for $150 million.
Warburton makes first acquisition as Seven CEO with Prime Media deal
It’s out with the old, in with the new at Seven West Media which a few days earlier, agreed to buy regional broadcaster Prime Media Group 
the first acquisition by the group since James Warburton came on board as chief executive announcing a $444 million loss. Warburton says he remains on the hunt for deals as he works to turn the group around.
Nine lowers forecasts, points finger at lending restrictions
The weak advertising market caught up with the Nine Network, which told shareholders at its annual general meeting that full year earnings will be in the low single digits versus 10% previously forecast. The profit warning comes after Nine completed its acquisition of Macquarie Media and began integrating the AM radio newsrooms it acquired in the deal in an effort cut costs.
Report recommends media rules shakeup, after lobbying by regional owners
A Department of Communications commissioned report has recommended the wind back of media laws, which could allow for a wave of mergers and acquisitions in regional TV, radio and print. The Australian Financial Review reports that the recommendations include the removal of the one-market rule, which presents TV broadcasters from operating more than one TV license in a market. The recommendations follow lobbying by regional media owners cautioning squeezed earnings could force more job cuts.
Thomson-Reuters rebuffs suitors
Thomson-Reuters has rebuffed takeover interest in its newswire from suitors including KKR-backed German media business Axel Springer and a group of individuals including former Reuters editor-in-chief and ITN boss Mark Wood, according to a report in the Financial Times. Instead, the company is backing deal-making executive Michael Friedenberg, president of Reuters News, to give a jolt to the business that reported organic growth of just 3% in the third quarter.
Facebook unveils new logo, launches news service
Facebook unveiled a new logo and branding to distinguish the corporation from its social network with the same name, and launched a test of its news service Facebook News for select users.
Advertisers abandon Alan Jones
Alan Jones’s radio show has lost hundreds of advertisers since his comments about New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern.
ABC flags more job losses
Budget cuts are about to impact the ABC boss David Anderson warning there will be job losses due to reduce funding.
Insights & Opinion
‘Deepfakes’ for audio? Experts are worried, but podcasters are excited, writes Nick Bonyhady of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Youth broadcaster JJJ is undergoing its most significant shake-up in years as high-profile hosts may way for the new guard, writes Meg Watson in The Guardian.
With federal and state attorneys general set to discuss a major overhaul to Australia’s defamation laws, Josh Taylor and Paul Karp at The Guardian discuss what the proposed changes could mean.
Quotable Quotes
“The changes have been constant and meteoric.” – Media entrepreneur Eric Beecher on the “maelstrom” that has hit Australian journalism.
“I wouldn’t expect a huge effect in the short term, but ultimately when you’re selling newspapers … the ability to report is very important.” – Nine Chairman Peter Costello warning there could be a financial impact to the media sector if the government doesn’t safeguard press freedoms.
“This decision begins to change the content equation.” – News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson arguing the relationship between digital giants and traditional media is beginning to shift, after Facebook agreed to pay a significant premium for Wall Street Journal content.
“The category is in crisis.” – Australian Community Media Executive Chairman Antony Catalano on the state of regional media in Australia.
“This is a pretty sad thing. And the greatest casualty has been, and will continue to be, the 6pm news,” – Prime Chairman John Hartigan arguing that without government intervention, regional news ‘will fail’.
“If you are old and white and wealthy and you live in Mosman, the ABC does a lot for you. But if you are not those things and you live in the outer suburbs of our cities the ABC is much, much less relevant to you on a daily basis.” – ABC director of news Gavin Morris admitting the public broadcaster has a “perspective” problem that has seen it focus on the rich, white and wealthy.
“We could’ve sold a long time ago if we wanted to sell.” – Seven West Media Chairman Kerry Stokes denying speculation recent deals, including the sale of Pacific Magazines and the merger with Prime Media, are part of a plan to boost the company’s balance sheet in preparation for a sale or merger.
Movers & Shakers
Charlotte Grieve is now at The Age, covering business. Charlotte formerly worked at The Citizen as a cadet journalist.
Laura Chung is now working at The Sydney Morning Herald as a journalist, after previously working at Nine Entertainment as a finance producer.
Eliot Hastie is now at News.com.au as a business reporter. He was previously at Momentum Media, where he wrote across ifa, Investor Daily, Fintech Business and Wellness Daily.
James Hall is also at News.com.au as a finance reporter, having previously worked at Australian Associated Press where he covered a broad range of desks including state politics in South Australia and the stock market from Sydney.
Mathew Dunckley has taken up the role of Digital Editor for The Age, having previously worked in the role of Business Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Journalist and presenter Jan Fran is the new host of The Pineapple Project podcast.
Tharshini Ashokan is now at Self-Managed Super as a cadet journalist.
Sybilla Gross is now at Bloomberg sitting in the cross-asset team.
Kristi Cheng has left Financial Standard.
Gerard Cockburn has moved to The Australian as online business reporter. He was previously writing for The Courier Mail.
Glenda Korporaal will relocate to The Australian’s Sydney office to continue her role as a senior writer on business and corporate Australia.
Sarah Jones is now at Investment Magazine as Deputy Editor. She was previously in London for 12 years writing for Bloomberg.
Laura Daquino and Ahron Young are both now at Ticker TV—Laura as a business journalist, Ahron as presenter.
February 2020 will be the stroke of midnight for open banking in Australia. From this time forward, banking, and in the longer-term the broader Australian economy, will be transformed as the control of personal financial data moves from data holders to consumers. But despite a tremendous amount of work by government and other stakeholders to build a robust and secure framework, whether open banking is seen by consumers as a trick or treat may hinge on effective communication.
Open banking is the sharing of personal financial data between consumers and financial institutions. It has been presented as everything from an apocalypse for banks, with fintech beasts ready to strike, through to a wonderful new dawn for consumers.
In May 2017, the Federal Government initiated a review into the potential introduction of open banking in Australia after its adoption in the UK, Japan and other countries. A year later, all recommendations from the review were accepted. These included the introduction of open banking from February 2020 starting with the big four banks, with eventual implementation across the entire banking sector, and longer term across other industries such as energy and telecommunications.
Importantly the recommendations also included the establishment of a consumer data right (CDR). The CDR enshrines in law that consumers own their data, thus giving Australians the ability to obtain their financial data from institutions they currently deal with and share it with other providers.
CDR legislation was passed by parliament in August and the big four banks, as well as other institutions who want to participate in open banking from the outset, are now preparing for February 2020 when customers will be able to access the first tranche of their financial data.
The CDR is unique to Australia’s open banking model and paves the way for services that are tremendously rich in personalisation. People increasingly want products and services that are highly tailored to them and open banking promises to be a thriller in this regard.
From the overseas experience of open banking, we can see it has led to innovation in banking services and the emergence of new solutions. Open banking was introduced into the UK at the beginning of 2018, and it has been estimated that it could realise £18 billion in value a year for consumers and SMEs. However, take-up has been hampered by a lack of customer communication and education, and it is broadly viewed that much work still needs to be done in this area.
Publics are also highly sceptical about the security aspects of open banking with many spooked by recent high-profile global data breaches.
Compounding this for Australia is a backdrop of distrust of financial institutions as the media continues to recall ‘horror’ stories that emerged during the Hayne Royal Commission. Also, the CDR presents additional complexity to effectively selling the Australian open banking story to a wary general public.
It is likely Australians will need to be convinced about the merits of open banking and then guided as to how to effectively leverage the CDR. The onus will be on open banking providers to play this role and to earn an open banking ‘social license’.
Open banking – and particularly the CDR – presents a great opportunity for Australian financial institutions, fintechs and consumers alike. But the key to success will be to ensure people understand and embrace open banking rather than seeing it as something scary lurking at the front door. It will be up to Australian financial institutions and fintechs to get stakeholder communication about open banking right, starting way before midnight.
Seven West Media changes CEOs, reports large loss, goes hunting for acquisitions
The precarious state of free-to-air TV in Australia was highlighted by Seven West Media’s announcement that it recorded a full year loss of A$444.4 million. The loss was due to a dramatic write down in the Seven network’s TV licenses in the wake of recent advertising market declines.
The announcement came just days after new CEO James Warburton came on board following the surprise resignation of CEO Tim Worner. Warbuton said FY19 was a tough year in the economy and advertising markets, which impacted Seven West Media’s performance.
“But we have incredibly strong assets, and our focus moving forward is to speed up the rate of transformation while exploring opportunities for growth in our core and adjacent markets,” he said.
“We will be a hunter and explore M&A opportunities in both traditional media and non-traditional adjacencies that are positive for our shareholders.”
Despite the significant loss, Seven delivered a 13th consecutive year of ratings leadership in Australia. The network was also the number one network in the advertising demographic of people aged 25-54 across the day.
Nine bids for Macquarie Media
Elsewhere, Nine is continuing its acquisitive streak, announcing a bid to take the remaining stake in the Macquarie Radio business it doesn’t already own.
Nine has made an offer to acquire the remaining 45.5 per cent stake in Macquarie Media, which it gained majority ownership of through the Fairfax Media merger in late 2018.
The move would see Nine gain the Macquarie Radio business, which includes stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR and Macquarie Sports Radio.
Macquarie Media responded by recommending its shareholders accept the $1.46 per share off-market bid.
Former Sky News bureau chief launches Ticker TV
Former Sky News Bureau Chief Ahron Young has launched Ticker TV, an online business, technology and aviation channel.
Breaking news and highlights will appear across Ticker’s social channels, while a paid subscription model costing “a dollar a week” will offer users unlimited access to live programming via an app. Ticker will not feature ads, but programs will instead be sponsored.
New regional publication takes on Antony Catalano’s Newcastle HeraldIn regional media news, a new online only publication from News Ltd. is taking on the Newcastle Herald, one of the key publications acquired by Anthony Catalano in his purchase of australian community newspapers in April. The digital masthead Newcastle News is the latest title in a strategy by News Corp Australia to grow local audiences.
Rainmaker expands into ESG
Rainmaker Group, publisher of Financial Standard, has acquired sustainable investment specialist publications The Sustainability Report and Audacious Investing.
Effective October 1, Rachel Alembakis, founder of both publications, will join Rainmaker Group as editor of the titles.
Commenting on the acquisition, group managing director Christopher Page said the business had been looking for the right opportunity to expand into the ESG space:
“We have been following the sector’s development because of its growing importance to Financial Standard readers and Rainmaker Live’s diverse client base of institutional and wholesale investors,” he said.
The acquisition comes six months after Rainmaker Group purchased Money magazine, the longest-running personal finance publication in Australia, from Bauer Media.
Tech giants reject plan for fake news code of conduct
The industry body representing tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter has rejected proposals for an industry code of conduct on fake news, warning that the recommendation would turn Australia’s media regulator into the truth police.
The Digital Industry Group made the warning in a submission to the competition regulator’s digital platforms review, arguing against eight of its 23 recommendations.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recommended new codes of practice to ensure fairness and transparency in the digital advertising market and to govern handling of complaints about inaccurate information, to be enforced by an independent regulator such as the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
But Digi has argued against a “one-size-fits-all” code, arguing that what might be considered appropriate in one forum – such as the removal of a public post containing disinformation – “may be considered as intrusive and inappropriate on a private messaging platform”.
Google changes the way it presents news
Original news reporting will get new prominence and stay at the top of searches longer as Google addresses a major concern of publishers and reporters that their work was being swamped by copycats.
The changes follow sustained criticism from traditional media organisations that helped spark the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission inquiry into digital platforms.
Insights & Opinion
Australians young and old are consuming much more video, according to Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts 2019 report. The average person will spend 100 minutes each day watching online video in 2021, up from 84 minutes this year, the report found. That’s the equivalent of watching 25 continuous days of video in 2021.
Takeup of newer media tech is also rising, with nearly one in five Australians now owning their own smart speaker, according to research from Nielson.
Ever wonder why you never got a reply back from a journalist? Overt marketing and irrelevant content are the two key reasons why journalists avoid PR emails, according to PR Newswire’s recent Asia Pacific Media Survey.
Most people consuming information online in Australia take no steps to verify its accuracy, writes Katharine Murphy, political editor at The Guardian.
Amanda Meade, also at The Guardian, analyses the role that philanthropy could play in changing the journalistic climate in Australia.
Quotable Quotes
“We have always supposed we have a free press. That belief has been shaken to the core in recent times.” – ABC Chair Ita Buttrose told the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, adding that police raids on the ABC’s Sydney offices and the home of a News Corp journalist had “tarnished” Australia’s standing.
“For us it’s really declaring that we’re open for business.” – Seven West Media CEO James Warburton on his plans to seek out a partner to launch a streaming business.
Movers & Shakers
Sarah-Jane Tasker has been appointed Business Editor at The Western Australian. Sarah, who started her career at The Sunday Times in Perth, has spent the past 11 years as a senior business writer at The Australian.
James Hennessy has been appointed Editor at Business Insider. James was formerly Deputy Editor at Pedestrian Group.
Ben Butler has moved from The Australian to the The Guardian Australia as Senior Business Reporter.
Rachel Alembakis, founder of The Sustainability Report and Audacious Investing, is joining the new owner of the publications, Rainmaker Group, as editor of the two titles.
Simon Thomsen is the new Editor of Startup Daily. He was previously Associate Editor of Business Insider Australia.
Hannah Wootton has moved from Money Management to the Australian Financial Review, where she is reporting on professional services and legal affairs.
Aleks Vickovich has moved from Business Insider to the Australian Financial Review, where he covers banking, wealth management and financial services.
Grace Ormsby left Lawyers Weekly and started at Momentum Media sister publication Nest Egg.
Jassmyn Goh has returned Money Management as a News Editor after working as a financial journalist in London.
Kylie Purcell from Your Money has joined Finder as Investment Editor.
Karina Barrymore has left News Corp to pursue freelance writing and editing, including authoring crime novels. Her new novel Where the Truth Lies, published by Simon & Schuster, is due out in March 2020.
Effie Zahos and Maria Bekiaris have started at Canstar, as Editor-at-Large and Editorial Campaigns Manager respectively after leaving Money Magazine.
Elise Shaw, formerly Digital Content Editor at Commonwealth Bank, has been appointed Digital News Producer at The Australian.
Eliza Bavin, formerly a producer at Your Money, has started at Financial Standard.
Laura Daquino has moved from InvestSMART to Ticker TV, the new online channel started by former Sky News Bureau Chief Ahron Young.
Malavika Santhebennur joined Momentum Media as features editor for the mortgage titles The Adviser and Mortgage Business.
Cliona O’Dowd is back from maternity leave covering financial services and superannuation at The Australian.
Kristi Cheng has left Financial Standard, where she held a journalist title.
Sarah Kendell joined as SMSF Adviser as Deputy Editor.
Lachlan Maddock joined Investor Daily as a reporter.
Elliot Hastie has left Momentum Media, where he wrote across ifa, Investor Daily, Fintech Business and Wellness Daily, and is now writing for D’Marge.
Nicholas Grove is taking a break after leaving Livewire.
Hrishikesh Joshi has left SelfManagedSuper magazine
Pat Commins has left Australian Financial Review and is moving to The Australian.
Mia Kwok has left ASFA, where she wrote for Superfunds magazine.
Jason Clout left the Australian Financial Review where he was special reports editor. Mark Eggleton will take over the role.
Some good news for regional newspapers
Nine Entertainment’s sale of 160 regional and rural newspapers to former Domain boss Antony Catalano and Thorney Investment Group raised hopes of better times ahead for regional publishing. The $115 million acquisition of Australian Community Newspapers, including The Newcastle Herald and The Canberra Times, is the first major divestment by Nine after it acquired Fairfax last year.
Catalano says he wants to “grow the business, not shrink it to greatness” , hopes to avoid shutting any newspaper, and doesn’t expect to shed staff, although acknowledging there is “some stuff” in the portfolio that doesn’t make sense. He’s flagged plans to invest heavily in seven of ACM’s larger papers – The Newcastle Herald, The Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury, The Border Mail, The Examiner in Launceston, The Ballarat Courier, and The Bendigo Advertiser – and said he wants to return the Canberra Times to producing its own political news and having a greater role in national debate.
Nine brings the subs back
After freeing itself of its regional newspapers assets, a more focused and cashed up Nine Entertainment announced plans to hire 24 sub editors at its major newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review – ending an outsourcing arrangement with Pagemasters introduced by Fairfax in 2011.
James Chessell, editor of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, said the decision reflects the “strong financial position” of the mastheads and that having all aspects of editorial production in-house will help increase the quality of their journalism.
End of days for Your Money
The news isn’t so rosy in all parts of the media, however. It’s been a short life for the Nine and News Corp joint venture Your Money, which closed on May 17, highlighting the challenges of capturing the attention of self-managed super fund trustees.
The venture had hoped to capitalise on the rise of SMSFs and growing interest in personal finance. However, the JV partners said Your Money failed to attract the level of audience and advertising needed to justify continuing the venture.
Nine and News will look to redeploy staff from the JV within their organisations.
Printing error gives Tele readers a new perspective
News Corp. could be forgiven for rethinking its printing arrangements after pages from its arch- rival The Sydney Morning Herald mistakenly appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
Readers of the tabloid were treated to unusually progressive views including letters calling for more action on climate change and highlighting a need to reform Anzac Day.
After some confusion, it emerged that a printing error at a western Sydney printing plant had resulted in the content of the two mastheads getting mixed up. The two papers struck a deal last year to be printed at the same location in order to save costs.
Good morning readers, today @dailytelegraph printed 2 pages from The Sydney Morning Herald in some editions. Both papers share the same printing facility in Sydney’s west and the error happened during the production process. We apologise for any confusion this has caused. pic.twitter.com/pzgseljlmh
— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) April 24, 2019
Rainmaker snaps up Money magazine
Bauer Media sold personal finance magazine Money to Rainmaker, saying it wanted to focus on ‘core consumer brands’. The German company publishes several women’s magazines in Australia including Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day.
Rainmaker, which is primarily a financial research house and also owns Financial Standard and some smaller B2B titles, said the acquisition fits its longer-term objective of growing its consumer media platform.
Investment Magazine phases out print
Investment Magazine’s May edition will be the last one in print, as it moves to online only. The frequency of the newsletter will be maintained – twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Apple’s news app cast as a helping hand for journalism
Apple Inc launched its news subscription service Apple News+, portraying it as part of its “commitment to supporting quality journalism”. Launch partners include The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Vogue, National Geographic Magazine, People and ELLE. However, readers Down Under will have to wait. Apple News+ has launched in the US and Canada so far, with launches in Australia and the UK expected later in the year.
Meanwhile, Apple has also unveiled its own TV streaming service and credit card as it seeks to become an entertainment company and financial services firm, moving beyond its incarnation as a tech firm that makes iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
Can Apple News kill fake news and save journalism?, asks Danial Eran Dilger at Apple Insider
Newspapers can thrive if they go back to their community roots, says Rachel Matthews, journalism lecturer at Coventry University.
The post Google, Facebook era could be a golden age for media, suggests John McDuling at The Sydney Morning Herald.
“They are morally bankrupt pathological liars who enable genocide (Myanmar), facilitate foreign undermining of democratic institutions. – New Zealand’s privacy commissioner, John Edwards, lambasting Facebook over its response to the Christchurch terrorist attack.
“If they can write an algorithm to make sure that the ads they want you to see can appear on your mobile phone, then I’m quite confident they can write an algorithm to screen out hate content on social media platforms.” – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for a crackdown on social media companies after the Christchurch attack.
“My experience in the past is to protect jobs. I’ve got a history of hiring, not firing. I want to grow the business, not shrink it to greatness. Not my style.” – Antony Catalano after acquiring Australian Community Media.
Effie Zahos and Susan Hely left Money Magazine following its acquisition from Bauer Media by Rainmaker. Michelle Baltazar, current executive director of media at Rainmaker publication Financial Standard, will step into the editor-in-chief role while Financial Standard editor Darren Snyder will move into the managing editor role at Money Magazine.
Zahos, who recently published A Real Girl’s Guide to Money, is staying at Bauer Media in a new role of finance editor, commentator and financial literacy campaigner.
Jamie Williamson, associate editor of Financial Standard’s magazine FS Advice, will move to the role of editor at Financial Standard. Elizabeth McArthur has also started working at Financial Standard as a journalist.
Aleks Vickovich, former digital editor of the recently closed Your Money, has a new job as news editor of the Australian edition of Business Insider.
Laura Drew has joined Money Management as a senior reporter, having previously worked as deputy news editor at Investment Week in London. Drew is replacing Anastasia Santoreneos who has left Money Management to work as a finance producer with Yahoo Finance.
Stephanie Aikins left Nest Egg/Momentum Media and is now freelancing for travel magazines. She has been replaced by Cameron Micallef from AAP Medianet.
Alice Uribe, editor of Investment Magazine, has left the publication and is moving to US. Elizabeth Fry has taken over as editor of the publication.
Gina Baldassarre, editor of Startup Daily, has left to take up the role of content and communications manager at Qantas Super.
Chris Dastoor started as a journalist at Money Management.
Jackie Edwards of Bloomberg is moving into stock reporting, having previously covered equity markets. Matthew Burgess is now covering superannuation at Bloomberg and has moved to Melbourne.
Scott Murdoch, Data Room co-editor at The Australian, has left the newspaper.
Hrishikesh Joshi, started working as a reporter at Selfmanagedsuper magazine, having previously worked as a correspondent for Business Standard in India.
Tony Kaye has moved on from his role as editor of InvestSMART to start a new position as financial writer with Vanguard Investments, based in Melbourne.
Mia Kwok has started in a new role as Communications and Content Manager at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). In this role she will write and edit articles for Superfunds magazine, as well as managing media relations for the association. Previously Kwok was Commercial Content Editor at Business Insider Australia.
