Welcome to The Spy Report at Media Spy - a handy guide to what’s making news in the media industry. Our team of contributors will help keep you up to date on developments in the industry and what we’re talking about in the forums.


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New Media

iiNet sued for allowing pirates to download movies, TV

The Australian film and television industry has launched a major legal action against one of Australia’s largest internet service providers for allegedly allowing its users to download pirated movies and TV shows.
The action against iiNet was filed in the Federal Court today by Village Roadshow, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th […]

November 20th 2008 — 3:24 pmNew Media
Industry slanging matches juvenile and demeaning: Greiner

The departing chairman of the Australian Subscription Radio and Television Association (ASTRA), Nick Greiner, has criticised the fierce rivalry between the pay-TV and free-to-air sectors, describing it as juvenile and demeaning for the proffesionalism of all involved.
Speaking at the Association’s annual general meeting, the former NSW premier said he now realised he had been “deluded” […]

Newscorp, GTV foreshadow job cuts

Rupert Murdoch is preparing to cut jobs from his Australian and UK newspaper businesses as a result of falling profits and slowing advertising revenues. The media mogul refused to say how many positions would be cuin order to avoid adverse headlines, according to The Age.
News Corporation shares fell 23.1% on Wednesday, closing at their worst […]

November 8th 2008 — 12:37 pmIndustry, New Media, Print, Talking Points, Television
SBS ‘losing its way’

Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser has joined a number of public figures in supporting a statement that says SBS is not only “becoming less special, but it is also losing sight of the original idea of the service”.
Others to endorse the statement include author Raimond Gaita, playwright Stephen Sewell, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside, poet […]

RN will remain strong: Scott

The ABC’s managing director Mark Scott says that the quality and diversity of Radio National will remain strong despite cuts to its programming and budget. ABC News reports that following a motion from the Greens, supported by the Senate, Mr Scott defended the decision.
“We are doing nothing to change the fundamental foundation of Radio […]

October 16th 2008 — 6:01 pmIndustry, New Media, Radio, Talking Points
Conroy announces inquiry into the ABC and SBS

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has anounced a public inquiry into the role of Australia’s two public broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. The minister also anounced a new system for the appointment of members to the boards of the respective broadcasters.
The inquiry will be conducted by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, the […]

YouTube starts offering full-length CBS shows

YouTube has begun to show full-length episodes of shows from US network CBS Corporation’s archives in a bid to boost advertising revenue. Google, the site’s owner, says it is in negotiations with other networks to sign similar deals. Many local and overseas networks already offer short (up to 10-minute) clips of shows, including the BBC, […]

October 11th 2008 — 8:24 pmAdvertising, Industry, International, New Media, United States
News website goes local

News Community Media (NCM) and News Digital Media (NDM) have combined more than a hundred of their community newspapers into a single web portal - Where I Live.
The site will feature content from Cumberland, Courier, Leader, Quest and Messenger community newspaper groups along with user-generated content.
NCM managing director Mark Elgood said the site will engage […]

September 29th 2008 — 7:11 pmNew Media, Print
Stripe Radio set for launch

The next innovation in radio won’t be on radios at all. It will be on your mobile. Stripe Radio is about to launch in Australia.
“It is not your traditional radio in how a receiver goes but it is programmed as a commercial radio station would be,” Stripe’s Matt Whittemore tells Undercover News.
“The difference being that […]

September 25th 2008 — 6:45 amNew Media
ABC mobile service will include advertising

Crikey today reports that a new ABC mobile phone service - internally known as the “Hybrid Mobile Project” will feature advertising for non-ABC commercial businesses alongside editorial content. Leaked mock-up pages for the new website include ads for two tourism-related companies.
According to Crikey, the project has backing from the highest levels of the organisation, including […]

September 8th 2008 — 5:53 pmAdvertising, General, Industry, New Media, Talking Points, Television