CANBERRA, Australia: Australia’s competition watchdog on Thursday approved the proposed merger of television network Nine Entertainment and newspaper publisher Fairfax Media into a media giant to be known only as Nine.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said the merger, proposed in July, reduced the number of corporations focused on Australian news from five to four. Nine has been Australia’s most popular free-to-air television network in recent decades and Fairfax had traditionally been a quality newspaper publisher in Australia and New Zealand.
“While the merger between these two big name media players raised a number of extremely complex issues, and will likely reduce competition, we concluded that the proposed merger was not likely to substantially lessen competition in any market in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act,” Sims said in a statement.
The merged company would likely become one of the largest providers of online Australian news alongside Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Australia and ahead of state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp., Sims said.
Sims said he understood concerns raised with his commission about the loss of the Fairfax brand that has a reputation for independent investigative journalism.
Fairfax shareholders have yet to vote on the merger plan that would give Nine shareholders 51.1 percent of the combined entity and make Nine chief executive Hugh Marks leader of the new company.
Fairfax shareholders will own the remaining 48.9 percent of the company, which will become Australia’s largest media player.
If Fairfax shareholders endorse the deal at a meeting on Nov. 19, the new entity will begin trading on the Australian share market on Dec. 10.
The union representing Fairfax journalists urged Australia’s competition regulator to block the merger.
The union is concerned by Nine’s reputation for checkbook journalism and the blurring of the line between paid advertising and editorial content.
Australian watchdog approves Nine network, Fairfax merger
Australian watchdog approves Nine network, Fairfax merger
- The merged company would likely become one of the largest providers of online Australian news alongside Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
Media watchdog condemns alleged torture, sexual violence against Palestinian journalist in Israeli prison
- Sami Al‑Sai detailed his account during a public forum organized by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms in Ramallah
- He described severe mistreatment, including beatings, blindfolding, shackling and humiliation
LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned horrifying testimony shared by Palestinian freelance journalist Sami Al‑Sai, who was allegedly subjected to torture and sexual violence while being held in Israel’s Megiddo Prison.
Al‑Sai, who has reported for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher and local station Al‑Fajer TV, detailed his account during a public forum organized by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms in Ramallah on Sunday. He was released from prison in June this year.
Israeli authorities detained the journalist in the occupied West Bank on Feb. 23, 2024, and held him under administrative detention — a policy that allows suspects to be held without formal charges or access to evidence — on the grounds that he posed a “threat to national security,” Al‑Sai said in his testimony.
While in custody at Megiddo Prison, he described severe mistreatment, including beatings, blindfolding, shackling and humiliation. He testified that guards also sexually assaulted him in an incident involving the insertion of a hard object into his body.
In his account, Al‑Sai said he was taken by several guards to an area of the prison where he was repeatedly beaten and insulted before the sexual assault occurred.
Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director, described the allegations as “deeply alarming” and said they reflected a concerning pattern consistent with other testimonies from journalists detained by Israeli authorities. She added that the allegations “point to a troubling and systemic pattern of abuse,” and called for urgent independent investigations, full transparency and accountability for those responsible.
While CPJ said it could not independently verify the details of Al‑Sai’s testimony, the organization said that his account aligns with descriptions from other human rights groups of harsh conditions and mistreatment faced by Palestinians in custody.
The testimony comes amid increased international scrutiny of the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. Alleged mistreatment has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023.
At least 9,300 Palestinians are reported to be held in Israeli prisons. According to CPJ records, about 30 Palestinian journalists are imprisoned in Israel as of Dec. 16.
