News Corp CEO: claims of anti-Labor bias are ‘baseless’
Julian Clake
The newly appointed CEO of News Corp Australia Julian Clarke has rejected suggestions that the publisher is running a campaign against the Labor government.
Speaking to Mumbrella after a panel discussion of newspaper CEOs at the industry’s Future Forum event in Sydney, Clarke would not discuss the controversy over News Corp’s election coverage in detail, but described accusations by Labor PM Kevin Rudd as “baseless”.
“We know why they are doing it and it is baseless”, Clarke told Mumbrella.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has responded to a series of highly critical front pages in News Corp publications such as The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and Courier Mail by accusing the company of pursuing its own commercial interests.
“I think (Rupert Murdoch) made it fairly clear through one of his editors the other day that he doesn’t really like us and would like to give us the old heave ho and get his mate Mr Abbott in,” said Rudd earlier this month.
Last night, campaign group GetUp launched its own attack on News Corp’s political coverage.
Clarke’s remark came following an event where he was joined by the CEOs of Fairfax Media Greg Hywood, APN News and Media Michael Miller and West Australian Newspapers Chris Wharton.
Speaking about his predecessor Kim Williams’s rounds of cost cutting Clarke said there was a limit to what could be achieved through such means.
“My central position in all of this is that as much as the internet has intervened in a negative way, it has also released us,” said Clarke.
“We are now 24/7 and capable of video and of transactional platforms. It is a whole new exciting world that we live in and it is a matter of now articulating that,” he said.
“No one owes us a living; we probably had a tailwind for many, many years… and while cost cutting is absolutely essential you can only do it once. This is really about growing our business.”
Kim Williams’s cost cutting regime and the anger this engendered in News Corp Australia’s editors was seen by many as a key factor in his demise.
Rival Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood also spoke about his success in lowering his cost base and focusing the business.
We made the decision a few years ago that what was happening in the market was the absolute manifestation of structural change,” said Hywood.
“There is a real momentum and excitement in our business and changing the way we do things is fascinating it’s own right,” he said.
“We talk a lot about restructuring the business but the fundamental approach we are taking is that the weighing around our cost reductions is really about servicing the core which is really about storytelling and sales.”
Nic Christensen
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Funny man. Guess we should believe him. Probably another leftist conspiracy thing when you think about it, all these ‘baseless’ claims.
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BS all round. No question. But you have to like Clarke’s angle on cost cutting.
Hywood is patently not focused on sales or storytelling. His sales teams are totally confused with hardly any relationship to inventory. They have gone from high value to big box warehouse sales. As for storytelling, you only have to look at the mish-mash metro arrangements, with all sorts of confusion and double or triple messaging. It’s a joke and the whole mess is purely a functiuon of mindless cuts.
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Bahahahahahahaha! Bahahahahahahaha! Can’t…..stop……laughing……Julian Clarke…….is…….delusional……..bahahahahahahaha!
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He’s having a laugh………………………….
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Wow. Just wow. If Julian Clarke wants to restore any fragment of reputation News Corp has left he needs to address the current editor of the Tele, Paul Whittaker. It is mostly his work that has generated such bad publicity for the company regarding bias etc in recent times. We know all the News Corp tabs have a certain style but nothing has been as rabid and selective as the Tele. It doesn’t suit Australia and it’s backfiring.
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Enjoying the left’s deranged Murodch obsession. Great fun.
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That is laughable. He sure showed us what he thinks of us.
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What ‘effing’ planet does this guy come from – oh yeah: Planet Murdoch.
Does he think we’re that stupid – oh yeah: he does!
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Yeah, and neither are Jones and Hadley
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Did Greg Hywood really say that? He is cutting deep, deep. They ruin a once magnificent business, now valued at 59c.
Lots of good decent people still doing their best, despairing at management. Even Gina looking good.
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What a foolish statement; this man obviously does not read The Daily Telegraph.
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Fair enough. Show me the photoshopped front cover featuring a liberal politician.
You can’t put the Prime Minister in a Nazi uniform and then suggest you’re not biased.
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Right on, Bill C! You can still see Hogan’s Heroes on Foxtel and the sight of those actors in Nazi uniforms insults all of us. How typically vile of News Ltd to capitalise on Hogan’s Heroes’ excess and take it even further.
Responsible people who care about the future and bicycles (and will therefore be voting Labor) must join as one to demand that Hogan’s Heroes be taken off air before News Ltd gets any more evil, sinister ideas to manipulate stupid people who do not wear black.
It shocks me that 53% of the population, according to the latest polls, could be that stupid.
Clearly they should not be entitled to vote.
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