The new chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Ita Buttrose, must address a long agenda of urgent matters in order to protect, maintain and reinvigorate public broadcasting in Australia.
MEAA, the union for Australian journalists, says today’s decision of the Federal Court in the defamation action brought by Chau Chak Wing against the former Fairfax newspapers demonstrates the urgent need for an overhaul of Australia’s outdated defamation laws. The defence of qualified privilege was rejected by the court.
MEAA Media’s National Media Section committee has written to the Philippines Ambassador to Australia to protest the latest arrest and intimidation of Maria Ressa, the chief executive officer of online news site Rappler.
MEAA Media members across Australian journalism stand in solidarity with their colleagues at BuzzFeed Australia who face cuts to a quarter of their workforce as a result of a worldwide savings push.
