Chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the inquiry was sparked by the Australian federal police raid in 2019 of the home of a News Corp reporter seeking information about the publication of classified material, shortly followed by a raid on the ABC headquarters over reporting of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Last year the AFP ruled out pursuing charges against the journalist, Annika Smethurst, or anyone else for her story revealing plans to extend the Australian Signals Directorate’s spying powers.
National and international outrage followed the raids, which were seen as an attack on press freedom, and resulted in assurances journalists will not be prosecuted without the attorney general’s consent.
Inquiry points way for press freedom reform miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
IFJ 27 April 2021
Australia: Journalists’ union urges new approach to media regulation
Australia’s journalists’ union – the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance – has voted to end its decades long relationship with the Australian Press Council, citing concerns about governance and consistency of rulings at the press regulator. Credit: MEAA Facebook
Formed in 1976 as an alternative to government intervention, the Australian Press Council has been an important arbiter of media standards, adjudicating complaints from the public about material in newspapers, magazines and online news sites at publishers that belong to the Press Council.
MEAA’s predecessor, the Australian Journalists’ Association, played a crucial role in establishing the Press Council after more than 20 years of lobbying for self-regulation. Despite not being a publisher itself, MEAA has contributed more than $A100,000 each year to the organisation within recent years.
Journalists’ union gives notice to quit Australian Press Council
3 minute read
A man wearing a mask reads a newspaper, in Perth, Australia, 2 February 2021, Matt Jelonek/Getty Images The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance hopes its decision to withdraw from the Australian Press Council will spark a discussion about media regulation.
This statement was originally published on meaa.org on 21 April 2021.
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the union for Australian journalists, will be giving notice that it intends to withdraw from the Australian Press Council.
The National Media Section Committee of the MEAA – a governing committee made up of rank-and-file members – resolved last night to advise the APC that it will be giving the required four years’ notice to leave the organisation in 2025.
April 22, 2021 10:16
The Australia Press Council (APC) has expressed disappointment in the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s (MEAA) announcement that it intends to leave the industry body.
In a statement, the APC said it is “disappointed” with the MEAA’s decision and “does not agree with all of the observations in the MEAA press release.”
The APC did, however, acknowledge there is a “need for the self-regulatory regime to evolve to take account of convergence across all media platforms”, but stopped short of admitting it hadn’t evolved sufficiently in this way.
ADVERTISEMENT
In its announcement, the MEAA said its members believe the council has “lost credibility” and has failed to keep up with media convergence.