● Watson Foundation rams Norwegian krill trawler in Antarctic waters   ♦ Murdoch empire holds 70% of print circulation   ♦ Australia gave away $300B in gas — Norway built a sovereign wealth fund   ♦ Kerry Stokes: mining magnate, media owner, political donor   ♦ Negative gearing costs taxpayers $6B per year   ♦ How they killed the mining tax   ♦ The revolving door between politics and media

Wollongong · Sydney · Australia
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Media

The wealth leaving through the media beat.

Gas revenue foregone · since 2022/07/01
A$68,017,708,800
▲ ~A$537/sec · Punter's Politics / Rort tracking, since 1 Jul 2022
Hover the offshore nodes · click to open a dossier
THE RORT · LIVING MODEL OF POWER · THE DESKDESK LIVE — TRACKING
BEAT / MEDIAOWNERSHIP, INFLUENCE, ACCOUNTABILITY9 INVESTIGATIONS · 4 CASES

Media

Who owns what you read. The concentration of Australian media, the conflicts of interest it creates, and the democracy it undermines.

02 / The evidence

Media Ownership · 6
01Who owns the news you think you’re readingAustralia has some of the most concentrated media ownership in the world. Three billionaires and a US conglomerate control almost everything you read, watch, and hear.…02The mining company that owns your newsKerry Stokes controls a A$10.74 billion industrial empire selling Caterpillar equipment to mines and holding the largest stake in an oil and gas company. He also owns …03The property platform that owned your property reporterAustralia is in the middle of its worst housing affordability crisis on record. The companies whose media outlets shape the housing policy debate are also the ones mak…04Sky News and the regional captureIn Australian cities, you pay to watch Sky News Australia. In much of regional and rural Australia, it is your only available news channel, broadcasting free, all day,…05The revolving door between politics and mediaIn Australia, there is a well-worn path from parliament to the boardrooms and broadcasting studios of the companies that are supposed to be held to account by parliame…06501,876 signatures and nothing happenedIn October 2020, more Australians signed a petition calling for a royal commission into News Corp than have ever signed any petition in Australian parliamentary histor…
The Airline Rort · 1
07What the media coveredQantas has content partnerships with three of Australia's four major media groups: Nine (AFR, SMH, Age), News Corp (The Australian, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun), and A…
Australia's Gas Heist · 1
10What the media covers and howA video about beer and gas tax was watched 8.7 million times. Not because a newspaper published a front-page investigation, but because a senator posted it to Instagra…
The Roads Rort · 1
07What the media coveredThe WestConnex 2021 sale was announced at a COVID media conference. The government led with a new Western Sydney investment fund. Reporters covered the fund. The finan…

Nobody curates this desk. It is assembled from every investigation that touches media — the moment The Rort publishes another, it appears here, and the names that keep surfacing rise on their own.

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