News Corp and Facebook Inc have reached pay deals for news in Australia three weeks after Canberra passed laws that would make digital giants help cover the costs of journalism.
The New York-based news business, which operates mainly in the US, Britain and Australia, on Tuesday said that it had reached a multiyear agreement with Facebook that covers its major Australian mastheads, as well as regional publications.
The deal follows a similar agreement struck with Google last month.
Photo: AP
Sky News Australia, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, had also reached a new agreement that extends and builds on an existing Facebook agreement, a News Corp statement said.
The deal follows an agreement reached in 2019 in which News Corp US publications receive payment for access to stories through Facebook News.
“The agreement with Facebook is a landmark in transforming the terms of trade for journalism, and will have a material and meaningful impact on our Australian news businesses,” News Corp chief executive officer Robert Thomson said.
Facebook News Partnerships in Australia and New Zealand head Andrew Hunter said that the agreements with News Corp Australia and Sky News Australia “mean that people on Facebook will gain access to premium news articles and breaking news video from News Corp’s network of national, metropolitan, rural and suburban newsrooms.”
Thomson thanked the Australian government for “taking a principled stand for publishers” through its laws that could force Facebook and Google pay for news content accessed through their platforms if the two gateways to the Internet fail to strike fair deals.
News Corp now has pay deals with Facebook, Google and Apple Inc to provide access to journalism.
Google had been quicker than Facebook to ink deals with Australian news businesses as the digital platform laws made their way through parliamentary processes.
Seven West Media is the only other major Australian media organization to announce a pay deal with Facebook.
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS