Australia's media landscape - already dominated by big media groups, which makes it the world's least competitive - is about to become even more concentrated with a bid to merge Seven West and Southern Cross Media, and it's got some decent coverage this morning, though not in all the dailies by any means. Going very big on the story is Nine's Australian Financial Review. I mention Nine there because if the merger does go ahead - regulators need to approve it - it's snatched potential ownership of well-performing SCM from Nine, which at the moment has bulging pockets following the sale of Domain and was reckoned to be looking at the radio-based broadcaster.   The AFR's coverage is extensive and insightful - it has the complete story, plus brilliant commentary too, and even a feature on Seven West founder billionaire Kerry Stokes.   That coverage begins on page one with a piece from Sam Buckingham-Jones and Anthony Macdonald ('Investors fume over media deal')  which the

Editors and recruiters increasingly weigh a journalist’s online footprint alongside reporting chops. A strong personal handle on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or LinkedIn can extend a story’s reach beyond a publication’s own channels and pull new readers into the funnel. That upside is real but so are the risks of over-indexing on follower counts at the expense of credibility and craft. Personal distribution matters. Reporters with engaged audiences can lift engagement on day one, help with sourcing and accelerate feedback loops on beats. “Over the past decade, and more prominently in the post-COVID era, it has been strongly observed that social media reach has become a key factor not just in politics or the film industry but in journalism as well,” says Jaideep Pandey, an independent journalist from Lucknow. Traditionally, work experience, bylines and professional exposure were considered the primary criteria for selecting a reporter or desk professional. “However,

The Delhi High Court has awarded Rs 5 lakh as compensation to TV Today for a series of defamatory tweets against the channel and senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. The Judgement, delivered by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, stated that the tweets were “highly defamatory”, causing reputational harm to the journalist and to the media group, Bar and Bench reported. "The Court finds that the objectionable tweets were highly defamatory and remain unsubstantiated by the defendant, despite having been afforded sufficient opportunity to do so Such an irresponsible act of the defendant has to be deprecated ... Having considered the overall circumstances, this Court deems it just and proper to award ₹5,00,000 as general compensatory damages to the plaintiff, to redress the reputational harm, emotional hardship, and loss of professional credibility caused by the conduct of the defendant," the September 3 order said. The defamation case was initiated in 2020 by TV Today against A

Image source: TNIE, Ladakh Express and The Hindu; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   A region that once symbolised India’s post-2019 restructuring has erupted in grief, anger and suspicion. The September 24 protests in Leh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule protections ended in police firing, leaving four dead and more than 80 injured. Days later, Ladakh’s Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) withdrew from scheduled talks with the Centre, citing the government’s refusal to order an independent probe. The arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act has only deepened mistrust, fuelling charges of “false narratives” and foreign conspiracy theories. Hot off the Press Naseer Ganai for The Times of India reported that the ABL demanded a judicial inquiry by a retired Supreme Court judge into the firing, along with the release of arrested youth and the withdrawal of the “anti-national” tag slapped on protestors. Co-chair Chering

Seven West Media (SWM) and Southern Cross Media (SCA) have agreed to merge in a deal - if approved by regulators - which will see one of Australia’s largest integrated media companies, combining free-to-air TV, audio, streaming, digital and publishing – and bringing together metro and regional under one umbrella. Heith Mackay-Cruise will take over as board chair of the merged company next year.   The combined group will target the core 25–54 demographic, offering what both sides are calling a “one stop shop” for advertisers. Both boards have signed off on the proposed merger, with Kerry Stokes AC confirming SWM’s unanimous support. “The combination of these two companies brings together the best creators of media content in the country, delivering significant financial and strategic benefits for SWM shareholders,” Stokes said. “This is an important merger, as the combined company will be better able to serve both metropolitan and regional viewers, listener

Welcome to Tuesday and a mixed bag this morning though much of the coverage in the dailies revolves around Optus - if they ever make a movie out of it, The Never Ending Story would do as a title - and money issues, whether that be tax, the budget, metro blow-outs, or executive bonuses 'BLOWN UP'. Let's get into it.  At The Australian, three of Holt Street's finest - Greg Brown, Jared Lynch and Liam Mendes - shine the spotlight on Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon (pictured), who is 'lost for words' as The Oz puts it in a picture caption, on a visit to Australia to try and shore up the embattled telco. The intro tells us Optus are "refusing to reveal what went wrong in a second outage in as many weeks". Today, the CEO will "face a grilling" when he meets Communications Minister Anika Wells, says The Oz's story. It will be very interesting to hear what the outcome is once all the talk is done.  The Australian Financial Review gets right to the point in today's Chanticleer column

Rajiv Pratap, a senior independent journalist missing since September 18, was found dead on Sunday, September 28, 2025. His body was recovered from the Joshiada Barrage lake in Uttarkashi district. Pratap ran a YouTube channel, Delhi Uttarakhand Live. An Indian Express report stated that Superintendent of Police Sarita Dobhal said Pratap met with an accident and his car fell into the river. His family has alleged he was threatened and intimidated over a story on the district hospital in Uttarkashi that he uploaded on September 16. Pratap’s wife, Muskan, said that she had talked to him around 11 pm on September 18, after which he was unavailable. “He was telling me that he was feeling anxious after his reports on a hospital and a school. He said that many people were calling him, threatening to kill him if the videos were not taken down.” Megha Upadhyay, a reporter at ABP Network and a friend of the deceased journalist, shared the news on LinkedIn after an extensive ten-day