Journalists use the law to cover news, but very few actually seem to understand the rules.
In this edition of Media McKnight:
- Facebook accused of massive copyright infringement
- Live TV chaos — Sky News UK and CBS News meltdowns dissected
- Channel 10 dropped in three regional markets — WIN Network exits
- Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire launch The Long Weekend video podcast
- Why the Logies are better than the BAFTAs
You can watch the video edition of Media McKnight in the player below:
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COPYRIGHT AND FAIR DEALING
A few weeks ago I defended Meta and Facebook regarding the News Media Bargaining Incentive.
Basically, I don’t believe Facebook should be paying to send consumers to rival news sites that use the FaceBook platform to promote and market themselves.
But now, five top publishers have alleged Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg personally ordered the company to pirate millions of books rather than pay for them.
Zuckerberg and Meta have been accused of committing “one of the most massive infringements of copyrighted materials in history” to train its artificial intelligence system Llama.
The company has said it will “fight this lawsuit aggressively”.
Meta – and other AI companies – have been claiming the use of copyrighted material is acceptable under “fair use”.
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That’s still a major legal issue of contention, but in my opinion, a company should not be allowed to steal someone’s work on this scale to generate a new business and profit from it.
Fair use – or fair dealing here in Australia – allows images, pictures and copy to be used for the purposes of news reporting, commentary and comedy.
The use of AI here in Australia is currently been debated with big tech saying any restrictions could lead to companies going elsewhere to build data centres so that they don’t have to comply with our laws.
Fair dealing is something many people who work in media don’t actually understand.
The issue recently came to light in the Media Diary section of the Australia, when journalist Steve Jackson reported that Nine Entertainment had stolen an exclusive picture published by The Daily Mail during the Bondi Beach shootings last December.
As per the article:
“Diary can reveal the kleptomaniacs at the nation’s biggest media outfit are refusing to pay a $20,000 invoice it received from a rival media outlet after they were once again caught out brazenly stealing their competitor’s best pics and openly plonking them on their own news sites, television programs and front pages”.
“In fact, just about all of News Corp’s mastheads splashed with pics owned by the Mail. The only difference between News and Nine? When the Mail sent its invoice to News, the company paid it. What a novel approach”.
“At least it would be at Nine, which is again claiming it’s OK to nick another outlet’s work under the country’s “fair use” provisions. Fair use? Fair dinkum, what a joke”.
But Nine is right.
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The use of a photograph for the purposes of reporting news is covered under fair dealing, which is governed by the Copyright Act 1968.
Understanding the law
Unlike “fair use” in the US, Australian fair dealing only applies to a defined list:
- Research or study — applies to students, academics, and researchers.
- Criticism or review — must be genuine critique, not just a pretext to reproduce content
- Parody or satire — added in 2006; requires the use to actually be parodic or satirical in nature
- Reporting news — covers journalists and news organisations
- Giving professional advice — for lawyers, patent attorneys, and trade mark attorneys only
The “fairness” factors — even within a permitted purpose, the dealing must be fair.
Courts consider:
- The purpose and character of the use
- The amount and substantiality of the part taken
- The effect on the market for the original work
- Whether the work was available for purchase
Nine is right that it can use an exclusive photo from another outlet for the purposes of reporting news.
Where things get messy is the gentlemen’s agreement papers seem to have had over the years that they will honour invoices when they’ve used someone else’s picture.
But they’ve never actually had to honour those invoices – they’ve chosen to do it.
TV news has never entered into that agreement.
It’s not uncommon to see footage from other networks appear on their rivals during news reports and rarely is anything said.
The only time a TV network arcs up is when a rival has pushed it too far by using too much of the material.
But even then, there’s no actual time limit.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told you can only use 30 seconds of someone’s material.
Well, that’s actually not a thing.
I think a lawyer must have said that once to just make things easier and it’s become accepted.
But, no, you are not limited to just using 30 seconds and you are not bound by copyright.
Also, no matter how many people on the internet complain that a news outlet has used their video or pictures without permission, those outlets are allowed to do so.
Once you’ve published, you can’t control what is – and isn’t – used under fair dealing.
There are things worth noting, though.
You can’t just use someone’s vision for illustrative purposes – it has to be specifically to report the news or for commentary about the clip.
Even though they do it, you can’t just rip off vision of a person and play it during an interview unless you are specifically talking about that clip (you have to have a reason to play it).
On YouTube, I get copyright notifications all the time and in 99% of cases I beat them because of the way I have used the clip, staying within the limits of fair dealing.
Don’t be afraid to challenge a copyright strike if you have followed these rules.
A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?
More bad news for TV viewers in regional Australia, with news WIN is set to drop Channel 10 in three markets.
In an exclusive report by Kevin Perry on the TV Blackbox website, it’s been revealed the WIN Network will stop broadcasting Network 10 services in the Riverland and Mount Gambier regions of South Australia, along with the Griffith market in New South Wales on June 30.
The closure follows ongoing financial pressures facing regional media outlets, with declining advertising revenue continuing to impact the economics of maintaining commercial services in smaller markets.
Broadcasting authorities have historically permitted WIN to carry affiliate agreements with all three commercial networks in these regions because of their relatively small population bases.
However, WIN now believes it is no longer financially sustainable to continue broadcasting 10’s services in those areas.
The move mirrors a similar decision made in 2024, when broadcasts of Network 10 programming were withdrawn from the Mildura market.
Network 10 has released a statement to Kevin criticising the move, but it is a sign of things to come.
What’s happening in these regional outer markets are indicative of the turmoil going through the TV sector.
This is just the beginning, mark my words.
Stations here and there will shut down because of the financial pressures. And we know thanks to information made public that Network 10 has lost half a billion dollars in the local market over the past two years.
It’s not a good sign for the television industry, but hopefully it can recover. Although the signs are certainly not looking good.
CBS RATINGS WOES
Speaking of Channel 10, it’s parent company in the US is having a few issues with its CBS Evening News service.
During President Trump’s visit to China, both NBC and ABC had their news anchors on the ground in China reporting live.
CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil could only get as far as Taiwan because of a Visa issue.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, his camera operator suffered a medical emergency during the live broadcast, forcing Dokoupil to throw to a break.
You can see a clip of what happened in the video edition of Media McKnight in the player above.
Production staff could be heard calling for a Doctor and the feed finally went to a back-up presenter in the studio, who also threw to a break.
CBS issued a statement saying the cameraman suffered a medical episode but is ok and recovering.
It’s been a challenging time for the CBS News division under the leadership of Barry Wiess.
The latest ratings from the first week of May show ABC News in first place with over 8.1 million viewers, followed by NBC on 6.1 million and CBS way behind on 3.7 million.
There are reports that Weiss is on the outer. Paramount has denied this, but it is one to watch.
60 Minutes has gone through some major changes under her leadership too. It’s just finished its season and is expected to come back as a very different looking show.
There’s been a lot of commentary that Paramount has basically capitulated to Donald Trump and the White House and are offering them favourable coverage.
That coverage, despite what the success of Fox News is, the coverage on CBS has led to a decline in viewership and lots of jokes of its expense.
It’s also believed that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been a victim of this capitulation to Trump, another claim denied by Paramount, which says it was a financial decision.
Whatever’s happening, it’s not working. And so, Paramount, just like here with Channel 10 in Australia, its parent company, Paramount Global, is facing some serious issues.
MULTI-PLATFORM PARTNERSHIP
I’ve been talking about the move to video podcasting for years now and things are really starting to take off.
It’s been announced Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire will be hosting a new Friday night show called ‘the Long Weekend’.
The new three-hour show will air nationally across the GOLD Network before streaming on iHeart, 9Now and Stan, with global distribution also locked in through the iHeart network.
This is a really clever play and shows the way television and radio are coming together.
ARN gets three hours of content – and isn’t it interesting that they’re not just going with a music format anymore. They’re actually moving into, I wouldn’t call it talk just yet, but it’s certainly a different kind of programming.
You’ll have two guys talking sport and entertainment for three hours. I’m looking forward to see what they do.
And that’s through Jam TV, Eddie McGuire’s production company, which really is the unwritten hero when it comes to Australian production.
It does a lot of sporting games for the AFL. It’s done big events like the Shane Warn Memorial. It does TV shows. It really has become a powerhouse when it comes to live television. I can’t wait to see what they do.
And as for Nine and 9NOW and Stan, it’s interesting that they’re getting into bed with ARN.
ARN CEO Michael Stevenson used to be head of sales at Nine, so there’s a close relationship, but it is fascinating that the two companies are coming together in this way.
Nine was at pains to make the point this deal does not affect Karl and Eddie’s continuing jobs with network. Although, what will Karl do next year has become the talking point for the whole industry.
We wait to see that one.
And you don’t just have to leave it to the big players when it comes to video podcasting.
Have a look at what I did for Libby Gorr recently with her interview with Bill Shorten. I did this with my home equipment. We make interviews from anywhere in the world look professional through a new service I’ve developed called Video Podcast Services.
Libbi Gorr and Bill Shorten on the SO NOW YOU KNOW video podcast (image: Video Podcast Services)
If you want more information and bespoke graphics, I’m doing it for just $80 a record.
Just go to videopodcast.online and find out what it’s all about. I want to make video podcasting the next big thing in Australia. It’s happening overseas. We need to be doing it here.
So get in contact.
WHY THE LOGIES ARE BETTER THAN THE BAFTAs
Sam Pang has confirmed he won’t be hosting the Logies this year, which is a shame because he has done a terrific job in the role.
Speaking of the Logies also leads me to this week’s Salute and a Slap.
First the salute…
I’ve been reminded of just how great production teams in Australia are when it comes to doing live events, especially compared to some overseas examples.
I watched the BAFTA TV awards the other week and I was appalled by the execution and coverage of such a prestigious show.
Host Greg Davies was fantastic, but the red carpet was no-where near as good as the Logies and the actual event was lacking in terms of sleekness and shine.
What I did like though, was the genuine love that came across for the industry. There was a pride in the local television industry Australia needs to embrace.
So, here comes the slap…
The Logie awards should be a celebration of the industry, not a chance to talk it down and make jokes about the industry being irrelevant, especially compared to social media.
Look, I do a TV show from my garage. I’m very aware of the impact social media and alternative platforms are having, but television should still be a pride of place in Australia’s culture.
Celebrities at the Logies event seem to take joy in talking down the medium.
It’s lazy, so don’t do that.
Get up, be proud of the industry. Talk about its 70-year history and the impact it’s had on our lives.
This year is the 70th anniversary of the television industry in Australia. That is something to be proud of.
SH*T I JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT
Actress Kirsten Dunst says she was paid much less than her co-star, Tobey Maguire, in the original Spider-Man Trilogy.
Now, despite the fact she said this a few years ago, that comment is doing the rounds again on social media, but I just don’t give a sh*t.
Tobey Maguire was Spider-Man; he was the star of the show. He doesn’t have to be on pay parody with a co-star who has a much lesser role and isn’t in the film as long.
Sorry, guys. I just don’t care.
Media McKnight is published on YouTube every Tuesday at 8pm AEST at YouTube.com/@McKnightTonight.
The article goes live on the TV Blackbox website every Wednesday morning.
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