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Australian Financial Review

January 18, 2023

The Australian Financial Review (abbreviated to the AFR) is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; owned by Nine Entertainment and has been published continuously since its founding in 1951. The AFR, along with the rest of Fairfax Media (aside from some publications which were sold to Australian Community Media), was sold to Nine Entertainment for more than A$2.3 billion.[2] The AFR is published in tabloid format six times a week, whilst providing 24/7 online coverage through its website. In November 2019, the AFR reached 2.647 million Australians through both print and digital mediums (Mumbrella).[3]

The Australian Financial Review
The Daily Habit of Successful People
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatCompact
Owner(s)Nine Entertainment
Founder(s)John Fairfax & Sons
PublisherNine Publishing
Editor-in-chiefMichael Stutchbury
EditorPaul Bailey
Managing editorJoanne Gray
Founded16 August 1951 (1951-08-16)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersSydney, New South Wales
CountryAustralia
CirculationMon–Fri: 47,200
Sat: 56,100[1]
ISSN0404-2018 (print)
1444-9900 (web)
OCLC number1131035760
Websitewww.afr.com

The Australian Financial Review started as a print-only weekly newspaper in 1951, before changing to a bi-weekly in 1961, and a daily newspaper in 1963. The paper now publishes multiple magazines and a supplementary weekend paper, which was launched in 1995. In that same year, the AFR website was also released, which helped to expand its readership base across all media.[4]

Historically, its news articles and editorials favoured neoliberal ideals, influencing Australian policy debates during the 1970s–1980s. During the 2000s, the AFR took on the role of the corporate watchdog, scrutinising businesses and the government for foul play and corruption. In more recent years, its editorial stance and news coverage has become more neutral; however, the AFR is still considered moderately conservative in its reporting bias with regards to free-market regulation policies.

History

The Australian Financial Review newspaper started as a weekly publication in 1951, published by John Fairfax & Sons. The paper's main objective was to inform the Australian public on business life and news.[5]

In 1961, the AFR converted to a bi-weekly, and then established itself as the first daily newspaper by 1963.[6] Despite other newspapers claiming the title of the first daily national paper, Maxwell Newton was the editor in charge of taking the Financial Review from a bi-weekly to the first daily national paper.[7] During 1961-62, the AFR's primary competitor was The Australian Financial Times, which was in operation for less than 12 months. In the 1960s and 1970s, the AFR developed a strong readership amongst a specialist business audience due to its neutral stance on domestic government policies.[5] In the 1970s, despite the AFR's reputation as a national business daily, many saw it as the primary competitor for The Australian given its high proportion of readers in the AB demographic.[8]

In 1995, Fairfax launched the Australian Financial Review Magazine in response to its growing readership across a wide-ranging audience.[9] The magazine was published to cover topics other than business including leisure, politics, travel, sports, fashion, and other peripheral topics.[10] In December 2019, the magazine recorded an average issue readership of 326,000.[11] Since its launch in 1995, the AFR Magazine has won the 'Best Newspaper Inserted Magazine' (2013-2019), 'Newspaper Inserted Brand of the Year' (2019) and Mumbrella's 'Special Issue of the Year' (2019).[12]

The magazine's founding was followed by the launch of the AFR's website in the same year, which started as a free online source of financial news.[13]

In 1997, the AFR launched its Weekend Edition which extended the paper's publications into the weekend, with an explicit focus of targeting the growing readership base by providing news articles outside of the traditional finance setting.[14]

In 2016, the AFR launched mobile and iPad compatible applications to provide its digital subscribers more accessibility to its news platform. This was aimed at allowing cross-platform accessibility without having to download two separate applications across different device platforms.[15] The application carries similar features to the website including sections such as: Street Talk and Rear Window. The product management team decided to revamp the app due to the wide uptake of smartphones in the Australian market, and to improve their user-interface experience. The UTS Business School was the launch partner for the app, providing logistical advice on the app's delivery.[16] The app’s subscription price is included in the ‘all premium digital subscription’ bundle.

The Australian Financial Review has grown its product offerings since its beginnings as a finance newsroom. It has consistently been well received by the journalism sector as one of the most high-quality newsrooms across Australia.[17] Since the 2000s, the AFR has launched BOSS (magazine for business leadership and strategy) and the Sophisticated Traveller magazine. In 2019, the Australian Financial Review recorded double-digit subscriber growth, as it continued to market its newspaper as the driver of Australian businesspeople’s success and ambitions.[3] In 2020, due to the newspaper company's expansion efforts across different readership bases, the AFR reached 2.647m Australians a month.[3]

Evolution of Paywall System

The AFR first introduced its paywall in 2006, charging online users to view its articles – a payment model that had not yet been utilised by any other Australian newspaper firm.[18] The switch to a paywall was done because the newspaper company thought it could further monetise its niche business audience who could afford it.[19] Following this change, the AFR continued to adjust the pricing of its subscription due to low subscriber growth.[20]

In 2011, it newly introduced a freemium paywall in which only a small portion of articles were free. It has been noted that the AFR's website locks approximately 86% of its online content behind a paywall, higher than its closest competitor the National Business Review.[21] This was aimed at increasing its digital readership which in 2011 amounted to 6,000 subscribers.[22] In addition, it was later determined that the AFR's failures in attracting online subscribers was due to its paywall being too expensive. Its 2012 price of $59 AUD was notably higher than other international mastheads, including The New York Times which was priced at $37.84 AUD.[23] As a result, the AFR has since lowered its digital subscription price to $29.50 AUD.

Nine Entertainment merger

The mega-cap deal that saw Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media merge was inspired by initial chats between Hugh Marks ([Nine CEO) and Nick Falloon (Fairfax chairman).[24] The pair discussed how the two companies’ assets could synergise, improve efficiencies, save costs and increase scale. During the lead up to the merger, there were a few roadblocks. In 2016, the proposed merger was not feasible due to government legislation surrounding media ownership.[25] In addition, Nine Entertainment's board believed that its share price was undervalued and thus wanted to delay any acquisition until its fair value had been reflected. Amongst the delays in talks between the two parties, Fairfax had other suitors including private equity groups TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman, which ended up walking away from the table.[26]

In 2018, Nine Entertainment's board re-entered into talks with Fairfax of a potential merger after its share price had jumped following an upbeat earnings report.[27] The proposed structure of the takeover was 0.3627 Nine shares plus $0.025 AUD per Fairfax share, composing a cash plus scrip deal. This represented a 21.9% takeover premium to Fairfax's last close, and valued Fairfax at $2313.8mm AUD.[2] Once the deal was made, it was reported that Fairfax's portfolio newspapers, including the AFR, would maintain independence from Nine's media groups. As part of the proposed deal, Hugh Marks took over corporate control of the combined group with Fairfax CEO, Greg Hywood, stepping down.

The combined entity in 2018 was forecasted to have approximately 6,000 employees (inclusive of all the duplicate roles made redundant), major resources across all media types including print, TV, radio and online; and $3 billion in revenue.[28]

The proposed merger was also put under review by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) on antitrust measures.[29] It was announced in November 2018 that the ACCC would not oppose the merger. The investigation looked at the merger’s impact on the online news industry’s competition and involved contacting numerous stakeholders. It was noted that the merger would most likely reduce competition in the domestic media market, but that it was not in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act. The main point of divergence between the two business’ assets was the fact that Nine Entertainment’s news assets provided mass market news coverage whereas Fairfax Media’s news assets provided more specialist coverage.[30]

Despite the ACCC's ruling, there were a few stakeholders who voiced their concerns about the merger's impact on the Australian media industry's competitive landscape.[31] Union groups such as the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and the Journalists' union warned the ACCC that the mega-cap takeover would threaten the editorial independence of Fairfax Media's portfolio newspaper companies. Former prime minister Paul Keating also voiced his criticisms labelling the ACCC's decision as "appalling", considering that a more concentrated media industry would reduce coverage of city-specific political issues.[32]

Features and operations

Newspaper Sections

Within the AFR’s daily newspaper, regularly scheduled sections include:[33]

  • World – news and analysis on global companies and the international business environment.
  • Chanticleer – the long-running business opinion column (begun July 1974) that looks into individual companies in-depth, analysing their operations, management and board of directors.[34]
  • Accounting & Consulting – Targeted at senior executives and management, this section lays out lateral personnel movements within the finance sector, recent company news, and key participants in the industry
  • Education – provides information regarding professional development, the education sector, and news regarding company training
  • Companies & Markets – this section features in-depth analysis of the Australian business environment including equity markets, debt markets and the M&A industry
  • Legal Affairs – targeted at lawyers, this section provides coverage of the legal industry: its trends and news about the top law firms in Australia
  • Property – this section provides analysis of the Australian property market: house prices, commercial properties, developers, REITS, and others. Each major capital city has its own journalism team covering the respective property markets.
  • Life & Leisure – this two-day weekly insert focuses on more leisurely topics including fashion, travel, social media, jewellery, etc.

Products and Operations

Across the AFR group, the team does not only publish newspapers. Its range of operations is listed below:

  • The Australian Financial Review daily newspaper, founded in 1951, the paper aims to provide information regarding the Australian business landscape.
  • The Weekend Edition, delivered on Saturday, covers important business topics as well as general news and leisure-focused topics.
  • Afr.com, the AFR's news website, provides online access to a news database with topics including markets, politics, policy, property, and others.[35]
  • Sophisticated Traveller – Since 2004, this quarterly magazine has been targeting high net worth individuals, covering content regarding luxury travel.[36]
  • Australian Financial Review Magazine – Monthly inserted magazine providing content on high profile business news, politics, fashion and luxury. The magazine was launched in 1995.[37]
  • BOSS - This magazine aims to deliver content to Australia's business seniors about company management, leadership and influential trends.
  • LUXURY – A quarterly magazine covering trends in the luxury industry including watches, jewellery, fashion, and others.

Financial Review Rich List

The Financial Review Rich List aims to compile an annual ranking of the wealthiest Australian citizens. The list was first published in the BRW Magazine in 1984.[38] Since its beginnings, the compilation of the list and its publishing have been taken over by the AFR, now being published annually in the Australian Financial Review Magazine and on the afr.com. Along with the names of the richest people, the list explicates the person or family's net worth and provides a short summary on the business activities and sector they are engaged in. The valuations are conducted by utilising a mix of publicly available information and private consultations. In 2019, the cut-off for making the Rich List was $472m AUD. In 2020, the cut-off was raised to $540m AUD.[39]

Reporting stance

During 1975 to 1983, when The Australian widely articulated its political stance on conservative liberalism, it had been noted that the AFR also promoted neo-liberalism through its news coverage and editorials, exerting influence on the business sphere of Australia and its elitist readership base.[40] The newspaper has also been labelled as one of the propagators of radical liberalism during the 1970s – 1980s, shaping the policy debate surrounding market deregulation at that time.[41] This was in line with the overarching political stance of all Fairfax Holdings owned newspapers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, which in the 1970s was also right-leaning in its political views.[42] However, contrasting to The Australian, the AFR was still perceived as a newspaper with a strong sense of integrity in reporting facts, despite its editorial style leaning towards conservative business ideals.

In the wake of the 1987 stock market crash, the Australian news media sector was blamed for overlooking corporate corruption and wrongdoings, whilst publishing primarily favourable news articles handed to them from corporate PR teams.[6] Also during this time, The National Times who was Australia’s leading financial investigative journalism newspaper, shut down after the stock market crash. So during the 2000s, following the financial market failures and economic downturn of the 1990s, the AFR’s reporting focus steered more towards business investigative journalism, scrutinising big corporations, government power and corruption.[6] This was viewed as the AFR making reparations for its lack of scrutiny over the corporate sector in the lead-up to the stock market crash.

One major factor that allowed the AFR to undertake deep corporate investigations was that it did not need advertising revenue to stay afloat – its cover price was sufficient. On the other hand, all other daily mastheads needed company advertising to stay profitable. This afforded the AFR’s editors the flexibility to pursue and publish news articles that shed a negative light on major companies without needing to be concerned about its financial impacts.

In the early 2010s, the AFR’s political stance has been labelled as neutral.[43] During the controversial 2013 tax debate regarding taxes for ‘extraordinary’ profits generated by mining companies, major mastheads from regions with high mining interests had almost four-fold the amount of negative articles compared to positive articles. The Australian, the biggest national daily, had a large number of both positive and negative articles, but had a limited amount of neutral articles. Out of all the daily mastheads, the AFR published the most articles surrounding the tax debate and also the most neutral articles.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ABCs: Weekend nationals grow circulation as metro weekly newspapers continue to decline - Mumbrella". Mumbrella. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b Mergermarket - An Acuris company. (n.d.). Fairfax Media Limited Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd Merger. Retrieved from www.mergermarket.com/Common/Mergermarket/Deals/DealDetails.aspx?dealsysid=933952&extern=19&id=239512&contextid=1018456074&zone=205&currencyCode=AUD
  3. ^ a b c Mumbrella. (2020). SMH, AFR and The Age all report audience growth in November. Retrieved from the Mumbrella website: https://mumbrella.com.au/smh-afr-and-the-age-all-report-audience-growth-in-november-616747[bare URL]
  4. ^ https://www.afr.com/ AFR website
  5. ^ a b Doyle H. (2001). "Australian Financial Review". In The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Carson, A. (2014). "The political economy of the print media and the decline of corporate investigative journalism in Australia". Australian Journal of Political Science, 49(4), pp.726–742.
  7. ^ Goot, M. (2015, November). Fifty years of the Australian. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, (157), 5+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A436233544/AONE?u=usyd&sid=AONE&xid=e17f5c80[bare URL]
  8. ^ Goot, M. (2015, November). Fifty years of the Australian. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, (157), 5+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A436233544/AONE?u=usyd&sid=AONE&xid=e17f5c80[bare URL]
  9. ^ Nine for Brands. (2020). The Australian Financial Review Magazine. Retrieved from the Nine for Brands website: https://www.nineforbrands.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/AFR-Magazine_2020.pdf[bare URL]
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  13. ^ Muck Rack. (n.d.). Australian Financial Review. Retrieved from https://muckrack.com/media-outlet/ausfinancialreview[bare URL]
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  16. ^ The Misfits Media Company. (2016). The Australian Financial Review Launched Universal App. Retrieved from https://www.bandt.com.au/the-australian-financial-review-launches-universal-app/[bare URL]
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  19. ^ Young, S. (2011). The elite public sphere. In How Australia Decides: Election Reporting and the Media (pp. 42-60). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511984778.004
  20. ^ Carson, A. (2015). Behind the newspaper paywall – lessons in charging for online content: a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print. Media, Culture & Society, 37(7), 1022–1041. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715591669[bare URL]
  21. ^ Carson, A. (2015). Behind the newspaper paywall – lessons in charging for online content: a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print. Media, Culture & Society, 37(7), 1022–1041. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715591669[bare URL]
  22. ^ Burrowes, T. (2011). A decade on, AFR has 6711 subscribers to its paywall. Retrieved from the Mumbrella website: https://mumbrella.com.au/a-decade-on-afr-has-6711-subscribers-to-its-paywall-39369[bare URL]
  23. ^ Carson, A. (2015). Behind the newspaper paywall – lessons in charging for online content: a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print. Media, Culture & Society, 37(7), 1022–1041. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715591669[bare URL]
  24. ^ McDuling, J. (7 December 2018). What does the Nine-Fairfax merger mean? Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/what-does-the-nine-fairfax-merger-mean-20181204-p50k1o.html[bare URL]
  25. ^ Department of Intrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. (n.d.). Updating Australia's media laws. Canberra, Australia: Author.
  26. ^ Dunckley, M. (7 May 2017). Fairfax Media confirms unsolicited TPG approach. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/tpg-moves-to-buy-fairfax-medias-publishing-and-property-arms--reports-20170507-gvzoz2.html[bare URL]
  27. ^ Harrison, T. (2018). Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd share price is up 15% on profit growth of 55%. Retrieved from the Motley Fool website: https://www.fool.com.au/2018/02/22/nine-entertainment-co-holdings-ltd-share-price-is-up-15-on-profit-growth-of-55/[bare URL]
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  29. ^ Duke, J. (8 November 2018). Competition regulator gives green light to Nine-Fairfax merger. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/competition-regulator-gives-green-light-to-nine-fairfax-merger-20181107-p50egf.html[bare URL]
  30. ^ Australia Competition & Consumer Commission. (2018). ACCC will not oppose Nine-Fairfax merger. Retrieved from https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-will-not-oppose-nine-fairfax-merger[bare URL]
  31. ^ Duke, J. (8 November 2018). Competition regulator gives green light to Nine-Fairfax merger. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/competition-regulator-gives-green-light-to-nine-fairfax-merger-20181107-p50egf.html[bare URL]
  32. ^ Ex-PM Paul Keating calls Nine, Fairfax merger 'appalling'. (8 November 2018). SBS News. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ex-pm-paul-keating-calls-nine-fairfax-merger-appalling[bare URL]
  33. ^ Nine for Brands. (2020). Financial Review. Retrieved from https://www.nineforbrands.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Australian-Financial-Review-Media-Kit-2020.pdf[bare URL]
  34. ^ Boyd, Tony (5 August 2021). "With gravitas and humour, Chanticleer tells the story behind the news". Australian Financial Review. Nine Entertainment. Retrieved 9 July 2022. The country's pre-eminent business column was born during a long lunch in Melbourne in the mid-1970s.
  35. ^ Myllylahti, Merja. (2017). "What Content is Worth Locking Behind a Paywall? Digital news commodification in leading Australasian financial newspapers". Digital Journalism, 5(4), 460–471, (Paywall site)
  36. ^ 'Oh So Frenchy' - Sophisticated Traveller 'Insider' Edition Revealed. (15 February 2019). B&T Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.bandt.com.au/sophisticated-traveller-opens-2019-insider-edition/[bare URL]
  37. ^ Mumbrella. (2017). Australian Financial Review Magazine marks ten years of its watch lift out. Retrieved from the Mumbrella website: https://mumbrella.com.au/australian-financial-review-magazine-marks-ten-years-watch-lift-461070[bare URL]
  38. ^ Stensholt, J., Tadros, E. (26 May 2017). Rich List 2017: the 15 names on every list since 1984. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved from http://www.afr.com.au
  39. ^ Bailey, M., Sprague, J. (30 October 2020). The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved from http://www.afr.com.au
  40. ^ Mcknight, D. (2003). "A World Hungry for a New Philosophy": Rupert Murdoch and the rise of neo-liberalism. Journalism Studies (London, England), 4(3), 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700306493[bare URL]
  41. ^ Mcknight, D. (2003). "A World Hungry for a New Philosophy": Rupert Murdoch and the rise of neo-liberalism. Journalism Studies (London, England), 4(3), 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700306493[bare URL]
  42. ^ Tiffen, Rodney. (1987). Quality and Bias in the Australian Press: News Limited, Fairfax, and the Herald and Weekly Times. Australian Quarterly, 59(3-4), p. 329–329.
  43. ^ Boulus, P. (2014). The press and issue framing in the Australian mining tax debate. Australian Journal of Political Science, 49(4), 694–710. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2014.948378[bare URL]
  44. ^ Boulus, P. (2014). The press and issue framing in the Australian mining tax debate. Australian Journal of Political Science, 49(4), 694–710. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2014.948378[bare URL]

External links

  • Official website
  • Financial Review Smart Investor website
  • AFR TV website

January 18, 2023
australian, financial, review, abbreviated, australian, business, focused, compact, daily, newspaper, covering, current, business, economic, affairs, australia, world, newspaper, based, sydney, south, wales, australia, owned, nine, entertainment, been, publish. The Australian Financial Review abbreviated to the AFR is an Australian business focused compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world The newspaper is based in Sydney New South Wales Australia owned by Nine Entertainment and has been published continuously since its founding in 1951 The AFR along with the rest of Fairfax Media aside from some publications which were sold to Australian Community Media was sold to Nine Entertainment for more than A 2 3 billion 2 The AFR is published in tabloid format six times a week whilst providing 24 7 online coverage through its website In November 2019 the AFR reached 2 647 million Australians through both print and digital mediums Mumbrella 3 The Australian Financial ReviewThe Daily Habit of Successful PeopleTypeDaily newspaperFormatCompactOwner s Nine EntertainmentFounder s John Fairfax amp SonsPublisherNine PublishingEditor in chiefMichael StutchburyEditorPaul BaileyManaging editorJoanne GrayFounded16 August 1951 1951 08 16 LanguageEnglishHeadquartersSydney New South WalesCountryAustraliaCirculationMon Fri 47 200Sat 56 100 1 ISSN0404 2018 print 1444 9900 web OCLC number1131035760Websitewww wbr afr wbr comMedia of AustraliaList of newspapersThe Australian Financial Review started as a print only weekly newspaper in 1951 before changing to a bi weekly in 1961 and a daily newspaper in 1963 The paper now publishes multiple magazines and a supplementary weekend paper which was launched in 1995 In that same year the AFR website was also released which helped to expand its readership base across all media 4 Historically its news articles and editorials favoured neoliberal ideals influencing Australian policy debates during the 1970s 1980s During the 2000s the AFR took on the role of the corporate watchdog scrutinising businesses and the government for foul play and corruption In more recent years its editorial stance and news coverage has become more neutral however the AFR is still considered moderately conservative in its reporting bias with regards to free market regulation policies Contents 1 History 1 1 Evolution of Paywall System 1 2 Nine Entertainment merger 2 Features and operations 2 1 Newspaper Sections 2 2 Products and Operations 2 3 Financial Review Rich List 3 Reporting stance 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe Australian Financial Review newspaper started as a weekly publication in 1951 published by John Fairfax amp Sons The paper s main objective was to inform the Australian public on business life and news 5 In 1961 the AFR converted to a bi weekly and then established itself as the first daily newspaper by 1963 6 Despite other newspapers claiming the title of the first daily national paper Maxwell Newton was the editor in charge of taking the Financial Review from a bi weekly to the first daily national paper 7 During 1961 62 the AFR s primary competitor was The Australian Financial Times which was in operation for less than 12 months In the 1960s and 1970s the AFR developed a strong readership amongst a specialist business audience due to its neutral stance on domestic government policies 5 In the 1970s despite the AFR s reputation as a national business daily many saw it as the primary competitor for The Australian given its high proportion of readers in the AB demographic 8 In 1995 Fairfax launched the Australian Financial Review Magazine in response to its growing readership across a wide ranging audience 9 The magazine was published to cover topics other than business including leisure politics travel sports fashion and other peripheral topics 10 In December 2019 the magazine recorded an average issue readership of 326 000 11 Since its launch in 1995 the AFR Magazine has won the Best Newspaper Inserted Magazine 2013 2019 Newspaper Inserted Brand of the Year 2019 and Mumbrella s Special Issue of the Year 2019 12 The magazine s founding was followed by the launch of the AFR s website in the same year which started as a free online source of financial news 13 In 1997 the AFR launched its Weekend Edition which extended the paper s publications into the weekend with an explicit focus of targeting the growing readership base by providing news articles outside of the traditional finance setting 14 In 2016 the AFR launched mobile and iPad compatible applications to provide its digital subscribers more accessibility to its news platform This was aimed at allowing cross platform accessibility without having to download two separate applications across different device platforms 15 The application carries similar features to the website including sections such as Street Talk and Rear Window The product management team decided to revamp the app due to the wide uptake of smartphones in the Australian market and to improve their user interface experience The UTS Business School was the launch partner for the app providing logistical advice on the app s delivery 16 The app s subscription price is included in the all premium digital subscription bundle The Australian Financial Review has grown its product offerings since its beginnings as a finance newsroom It has consistently been well received by the journalism sector as one of the most high quality newsrooms across Australia 17 Since the 2000s the AFR has launched BOSS magazine for business leadership and strategy and the Sophisticated Traveller magazine In 2019 the Australian Financial Review recorded double digit subscriber growth as it continued to market its newspaper as the driver of Australian businesspeople s success and ambitions 3 In 2020 due to the newspaper company s expansion efforts across different readership bases the AFR reached 2 647m Australians a month 3 Evolution of Paywall System Edit The AFR first introduced its paywall in 2006 charging online users to view its articles a payment model that had not yet been utilised by any other Australian newspaper firm 18 The switch to a paywall was done because the newspaper company thought it could further monetise its niche business audience who could afford it 19 Following this change the AFR continued to adjust the pricing of its subscription due to low subscriber growth 20 In 2011 it newly introduced a freemium paywall in which only a small portion of articles were free It has been noted that the AFR s website locks approximately 86 of its online content behind a paywall higher than its closest competitor the National Business Review 21 This was aimed at increasing its digital readership which in 2011 amounted to 6 000 subscribers 22 In addition it was later determined that the AFR s failures in attracting online subscribers was due to its paywall being too expensive Its 2012 price of 59 AUD was notably higher than other international mastheads including The New York Times which was priced at 37 84 AUD 23 As a result the AFR has since lowered its digital subscription price to 29 50 AUD Nine Entertainment merger Edit The mega cap deal that saw Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media merge was inspired by initial chats between Hugh Marks Nine CEO and Nick Falloon Fairfax chairman 24 The pair discussed how the two companies assets could synergise improve efficiencies save costs and increase scale During the lead up to the merger there were a few roadblocks In 2016 the proposed merger was not feasible due to government legislation surrounding media ownership 25 In addition Nine Entertainment s board believed that its share price was undervalued and thus wanted to delay any acquisition until its fair value had been reflected Amongst the delays in talks between the two parties Fairfax had other suitors including private equity groups TPG Capital and Hellman amp Friedman which ended up walking away from the table 26 In 2018 Nine Entertainment s board re entered into talks with Fairfax of a potential merger after its share price had jumped following an upbeat earnings report 27 The proposed structure of the takeover was 0 3627 Nine shares plus 0 025 AUD per Fairfax share composing a cash plus scrip deal This represented a 21 9 takeover premium to Fairfax s last close and valued Fairfax at 2313 8mm AUD 2 Once the deal was made it was reported that Fairfax s portfolio newspapers including the AFR would maintain independence from Nine s media groups As part of the proposed deal Hugh Marks took over corporate control of the combined group with Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood stepping down The combined entity in 2018 was forecasted to have approximately 6 000 employees inclusive of all the duplicate roles made redundant major resources across all media types including print TV radio and online and 3 billion in revenue 28 The proposed merger was also put under review by the Australian Competition amp Consumer Commission ACCC on antitrust measures 29 It was announced in November 2018 that the ACCC would not oppose the merger The investigation looked at the merger s impact on the online news industry s competition and involved contacting numerous stakeholders It was noted that the merger would most likely reduce competition in the domestic media market but that it was not in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act The main point of divergence between the two business assets was the fact that Nine Entertainment s news assets provided mass market news coverage whereas Fairfax Media s news assets provided more specialist coverage 30 Despite the ACCC s ruling there were a few stakeholders who voiced their concerns about the merger s impact on the Australian media industry s competitive landscape 31 Union groups such as the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and the Journalists union warned the ACCC that the mega cap takeover would threaten the editorial independence of Fairfax Media s portfolio newspaper companies Former prime minister Paul Keating also voiced his criticisms labelling the ACCC s decision as appalling considering that a more concentrated media industry would reduce coverage of city specific political issues 32 Features and operations EditNewspaper Sections Edit Within the AFR s daily newspaper regularly scheduled sections include 33 World news and analysis on global companies and the international business environment Chanticleer the long running business opinion column begun July 1974 that looks into individual companies in depth analysing their operations management and board of directors 34 Accounting amp Consulting Targeted at senior executives and management this section lays out lateral personnel movements within the finance sector recent company news and key participants in the industry Education provides information regarding professional development the education sector and news regarding company training Companies amp Markets this section features in depth analysis of the Australian business environment including equity markets debt markets and the M amp A industry Legal Affairs targeted at lawyers this section provides coverage of the legal industry its trends and news about the top law firms in Australia Property this section provides analysis of the Australian property market house prices commercial properties developers REITS and others Each major capital city has its own journalism team covering the respective property markets Life amp Leisure this two day weekly insert focuses on more leisurely topics including fashion travel social media jewellery etc Products and Operations Edit Across the AFR group the team does not only publish newspapers Its range of operations is listed below The Australian Financial Review daily newspaper founded in 1951 the paper aims to provide information regarding the Australian business landscape The Weekend Edition delivered on Saturday covers important business topics as well as general news and leisure focused topics Afr com the AFR s news website provides online access to a news database with topics including markets politics policy property and others 35 Sophisticated Traveller Since 2004 this quarterly magazine has been targeting high net worth individuals covering content regarding luxury travel 36 Australian Financial Review Magazine Monthly inserted magazine providing content on high profile business news politics fashion and luxury The magazine was launched in 1995 37 BOSS This magazine aims to deliver content to Australia s business seniors about company management leadership and influential trends LUXURY A quarterly magazine covering trends in the luxury industry including watches jewellery fashion and others Financial Review Rich List Edit The Financial Review Rich List aims to compile an annual ranking of the wealthiest Australian citizens The list was first published in the BRW Magazine in 1984 38 Since its beginnings the compilation of the list and its publishing have been taken over by the AFR now being published annually in the Australian Financial Review Magazine and on the afr com Along with the names of the richest people the list explicates the person or family s net worth and provides a short summary on the business activities and sector they are engaged in The valuations are conducted by utilising a mix of publicly available information and private consultations In 2019 the cut off for making the Rich List was 472m AUD In 2020 the cut off was raised to 540m AUD 39 Reporting stance EditDuring 1975 to 1983 when The Australian widely articulated its political stance on conservative liberalism it had been noted that the AFR also promoted neo liberalism through its news coverage and editorials exerting influence on the business sphere of Australia and its elitist readership base 40 The newspaper has also been labelled as one of the propagators of radical liberalism during the 1970s 1980s shaping the policy debate surrounding market deregulation at that time 41 This was in line with the overarching political stance of all Fairfax Holdings owned newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald which in the 1970s was also right leaning in its political views 42 However contrasting to The Australian the AFR was still perceived as a newspaper with a strong sense of integrity in reporting facts despite its editorial style leaning towards conservative business ideals In the wake of the 1987 stock market crash the Australian news media sector was blamed for overlooking corporate corruption and wrongdoings whilst publishing primarily favourable news articles handed to them from corporate PR teams 6 Also during this time The National Times who was Australia s leading financial investigative journalism newspaper shut down after the stock market crash So during the 2000s following the financial market failures and economic downturn of the 1990s the AFR s reporting focus steered more towards business investigative journalism scrutinising big corporations government power and corruption 6 This was viewed as the AFR making reparations for its lack of scrutiny over the corporate sector in the lead up to the stock market crash One major factor that allowed the AFR to undertake deep corporate investigations was that it did not need advertising revenue to stay afloat its cover price was sufficient On the other hand all other daily mastheads needed company advertising to stay profitable This afforded the AFR s editors the flexibility to pursue and publish news articles that shed a negative light on major companies without needing to be concerned about its financial impacts In the early 2010s the AFR s political stance has been labelled as neutral 43 During the controversial 2013 tax debate regarding taxes for extraordinary profits generated by mining companies major mastheads from regions with high mining interests had almost four fold the amount of negative articles compared to positive articles The Australian the biggest national daily had a large number of both positive and negative articles but had a limited amount of neutral articles Out of all the daily mastheads the AFR published the most articles surrounding the tax debate and also the most neutral articles 44 See also Edit Australia portal Business and economics portal Journalism portalList of newspapers in Australia Financial Review Rich ListReferences Edit ABCs Weekend nationals grow circulation as metro weekly newspapers continue to decline Mumbrella Mumbrella 17 February 2017 Retrieved 25 May 2017 a b Mergermarket An Acuris company n d Fairfax Media Limited Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd Merger Retrieved from www mergermarket com Common Mergermarket Deals DealDetails aspx dealsysid 933952 amp extern 19 amp id 239512 amp contextid 1018456074 amp zone 205 amp currencyCode AUD a b c Mumbrella 2020 SMH AFR and The Age all report audience growth in November Retrieved from the Mumbrella website https mumbrella com au smh afr and the age all report audience growth in november 616747 bare URL https www afr com AFR website a b Doyle H 2001 Australian Financial Review In The Oxford Companion to Australian History Oxford University Press a b c Carson A 2014 The political economy of the print media and the decline of corporate investigative journalism in Australia Australian Journal of Political Science 49 4 pp 726 742 Goot M 2015 November Fifty years of the Australian Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy 157 5 https link gale com apps doc A436233544 AONE u usyd amp sid AONE amp xid e17f5c80 bare URL Goot M 2015 November Fifty years of the Australian Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy 157 5 https link gale com apps doc A436233544 AONE u usyd amp sid AONE amp xid e17f5c80 bare URL Nine for Brands 2020 The Australian Financial Review Magazine Retrieved from the Nine for Brands website https www nineforbrands com au wp content uploads 2020 04 AFR Magazine 2020 pdf bare URL Mumbrella 2017 Australian Financial Review Magazine marks ten years of its watch lift out Retrieved from the Mumbrella website https mumbrella com au australian financial review magazine marks ten years watch lift 461070 bare URL First full year since Nine purchase of Fairfax sees audience increases for SMH The Age and Australian Financial Review Roy Morgan 6 February 2020 Retrieved 23 February 2021 Nine for Brands 2020 The Australian Financial Review Magazine Retrieved from the Nine for Brands website https www nineforbrands com au wp content uploads 2020 04 AFR Magazine 2020 pdf bare URL Muck Rack n d Australian Financial Review Retrieved from https muckrack com media outlet ausfinancialreview bare URL Nine for Brands 2020 The Australian Financial Review Magazine Retrieved from the Nine for Brands website https www nineforbrands com au wp content uploads 2020 04 AFR Magazine 2020 pdf bare URL Samios Z 2017 NEWSThe AFR launches news app with cross device accessibility Retrieved from the Mumbrella website https mumbrella com au afr launches multi channel app 408804 bare URL The Misfits Media Company 2016 The Australian Financial Review Launched Universal App Retrieved from https www bandt com au the australian financial review launches universal app bare URL Henningham J 1996 Journalists perceptions of newspaper quality Australian Journalism Review 18 1 13 19 Jackson S 30 November 2011 Australian Financial Review lowers its paywall The Australian Retrieved from https www theaustralian com au bare URL Young S 2011 The elite public sphere In How Australia Decides Election Reporting and the Media pp 42 60 Cambridge Cambridge University Press doi 10 1017 CBO9780511984778 004 Carson A 2015 Behind the newspaper paywall lessons in charging for online content a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print Media Culture amp Society 37 7 1022 1041 https doi org 10 1177 0163443715591669 bare URL Carson A 2015 Behind the newspaper paywall lessons in charging for online content a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print Media Culture amp Society 37 7 1022 1041 https doi org 10 1177 0163443715591669 bare URL Burrowes T 2011 A decade on AFR has 6711 subscribers to its paywall Retrieved from the Mumbrella website https mumbrella com au a decade on afr has 6711 subscribers to its paywall 39369 bare URL Carson A 2015 Behind the newspaper paywall lessons in charging for online content a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print Media Culture amp Society 37 7 1022 1041 https doi org 10 1177 0163443715591669 bare URL McDuling J 7 December 2018 What does the Nine Fairfax merger mean Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from https www smh com au business companies what does the nine fairfax merger mean 20181204 p50k1o html bare URL Department of Intrastructure Transport Regional Development and Communications n d Updating Australia s media laws Canberra Australia Author Dunckley M 7 May 2017 Fairfax Media confirms unsolicited TPG approach Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from https www smh com au business companies tpg moves to buy fairfax medias publishing and property arms reports 20170507 gvzoz2 html bare URL Harrison T 2018 Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd share price is up 15 on profit growth of 55 Retrieved from the Motley Fool website https www fool com au 2018 02 22 nine entertainment co holdings ltd share price is up 15 on profit growth of 55 bare URL McDuling J 2018 What does the Nine Fairfax merger mean Retrieved from https www smh com au business companies what does the nine fairfax merger mean 20181204 p50k1o html bare URL Duke J 8 November 2018 Competition regulator gives green light to Nine Fairfax merger Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from https www smh com au business companies competition regulator gives green light to nine fairfax merger 20181107 p50egf html bare URL Australia Competition amp Consumer Commission 2018 ACCC will not oppose Nine Fairfax merger Retrieved from https www accc gov au media release accc will not oppose nine fairfax merger bare URL Duke J 8 November 2018 Competition regulator gives green light to Nine Fairfax merger Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from https www smh com au business companies competition regulator gives green light to nine fairfax merger 20181107 p50egf html bare URL Ex PM Paul Keating calls Nine Fairfax merger appalling 8 November 2018 SBS News Retrieved from https www sbs com au news ex pm paul keating calls nine fairfax merger appalling bare URL Nine for Brands 2020 Financial Review Retrieved from https www nineforbrands com au wp content uploads 2020 07 Australian Financial Review Media Kit 2020 pdf bare URL Boyd Tony 5 August 2021 With gravitas and humour Chanticleer tells the story behind the news Australian Financial Review Nine Entertainment Retrieved 9 July 2022 The country s pre eminent business column was born during a long lunch in Melbourne in the mid 1970s Myllylahti Merja 2017 What Content is Worth Locking Behind a Paywall Digital news commodification in leading Australasian financial newspapers Digital Journalism 5 4 460 471 Paywall site Oh So Frenchy Sophisticated Traveller Insider Edition Revealed 15 February 2019 B amp T Magazine Retrieved from https www bandt com au sophisticated traveller opens 2019 insider edition bare URL Mumbrella 2017 Australian Financial Review Magazine marks ten years of its watch lift out Retrieved from the Mumbrella website https mumbrella com au australian financial review magazine marks ten years watch lift 461070 bare URL Stensholt J Tadros E 26 May 2017 Rich List 2017 the 15 names on every list since 1984 Australian Financial Review Retrieved from http www afr com au Bailey M Sprague J 30 October 2020 The full list Australia s wealthiest 200 revealed Australian Financial Review Retrieved from http www afr com au Mcknight D 2003 A World Hungry for a New Philosophy Rupert Murdoch and the rise of neo liberalism Journalism Studies London England 4 3 347 358 https doi org 10 1080 14616700306493 bare URL Mcknight D 2003 A World Hungry for a New Philosophy Rupert Murdoch and the rise of neo liberalism Journalism Studies London England 4 3 347 358 https doi org 10 1080 14616700306493 bare URL Tiffen Rodney 1987 Quality and Bias in the Australian Press News Limited Fairfax and the Herald and Weekly Times Australian Quarterly 59 3 4 p 329 329 Boulus P 2014 The press and issue framing in the Australian mining tax debate Australian Journal of Political Science 49 4 694 710 https doi org 10 1080 10361146 2014 948378 bare URL Boulus P 2014 The press and issue framing in the Australian mining tax debate Australian Journal of Political Science 49 4 694 710 https doi org 10 1080 10361146 2014 948378 bare URL External links EditOfficial website Financial Review Smart Investor website AFR TV website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Australian Financial Review amp oldid 1133155028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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