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ABC Books
Stop the Presses: How Greed, Incompetence (and the Internet) Wrecked Fairfax
Stop the Presses: How Greed, Incompetence (and the Internet) Wrecked Fairfax
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In the last few years the biggest story in the media is the media itself -- its future, what shape it will take, who will own it and what the Internet, falling share prices, a dearth of resources, and a slew of managers who just barely know what they are doing means for the future of quality journalism.
All of these dilemmas and tensions are embodied in the story of Fairfax Media - only 10 years ago one of the most powerful institutions in the country, now a car crash in slow motion. The story also features all the major players -- not only in media, but in business and in politics: not just the Fairfaxes, the Murdochs and the Packers, but also Gina Rinehart.
STOP PRESS will cast a wide net, raising several questions about the world we live in:
- Are the politicians right when say that this poses a threat to democracy -- or are they secretly performing high-fives because there will be less scrutiny of their performance?
- Why does it matter if Gina Rinehart gains control - in what respect is she worse for society than William Randolph Hurst, Lord Beaverbrook, Rupert Murdoch ... or Kerry Packer, for that matter?
- Can Fairfax survive its transition online, and will it still be able to shine bright light into dark corners if -- as fund-manager Simon Marais, who represents the companyʼs second-largest shareholder calculates - those revenues will only support half the number of journalists?
- And finally, what if newsprint is an anachronism, an out-dated top-down hierarchy of events and opinion -- in todayʼs connected world surely anyone can be a journalist and all the information you need is available everywhere, instantly, and for nothing?
All of these dilemmas and tensions are embodied in the story of Fairfax Media - only 10 years ago one of the most powerful institutions in the country, now a car crash in slow motion. The story also features all the major players -- not only in media, but in business and in politics: not just the Fairfaxes, the Murdochs and the Packers, but also Gina Rinehart.
STOP PRESS will cast a wide net, raising several questions about the world we live in:
- Are the politicians right when say that this poses a threat to democracy -- or are they secretly performing high-fives because there will be less scrutiny of their performance?
- Why does it matter if Gina Rinehart gains control - in what respect is she worse for society than William Randolph Hurst, Lord Beaverbrook, Rupert Murdoch ... or Kerry Packer, for that matter?
- Can Fairfax survive its transition online, and will it still be able to shine bright light into dark corners if -- as fund-manager Simon Marais, who represents the companyʼs second-largest shareholder calculates - those revenues will only support half the number of journalists?
- And finally, what if newsprint is an anachronism, an out-dated top-down hierarchy of events and opinion -- in todayʼs connected world surely anyone can be a journalist and all the information you need is available everywhere, instantly, and for nothing?
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