Australian networks refuse to run anti-Rupert Murdoch TV advertisement

SYDNEY--Australia's commercial television networks are refusing to run an advert which accuses Rupert Murdoch of printing "misleading crap" in his newspapers ahead of national elections, the activist group behind the ad said Wednesday. [VIDEO: The TV ad Australian networks refused to air]


Australian-born Murdoch, now a US citizen, owns mass-selling newspapers in his former homeland and his Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph has called for voters to "kick out" Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labor government in Saturday's polls.

"It was great when you could pick up the paper and get... well... news," says the man in the ad by activist group GetUp! as he stands on his front lawn to collect his newspaper, later using it to clean up his dog's droppings.

"But political bias presented as news is, well, misleading crap. "Don't let the crap decide your vote. Stand up for what you want. Tell Rupert, 'We'll choose our own government'."

The left-leaning GetUp!, which describes itself as an independent community advocacy organisation, is complaining to the competition watchdog after three major commercial networks refused to air the video which has been viewed more than 270,600 times on YouTube.

"Seven, Nine and 10 are still refusing to run it," GetUp! spokesman Rohan Wenn told AFP, adding that the Nine Network had originally broadcast the ad but then had a change of heart.

Wenn said the Seven Network had described the ad as "distasteful" and Network Ten, of which Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch is a director, had said it did not want to target another media organisation.

GetUp! director Sam McLean told national broadcaster ABC it was unfortunate the ad would not receive airplay by the commercial channels in the lead up to the election widely expected to be won by conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott.

"We think that's an outrageous breach of our right to freedom of speech," McLean said.
Murdoch's News Corp has made no secret of its support for Abbott, with the Telegraph running a front page editorial the day after Rudd called the polls under the headline "Kick This Mob Out".

The tabloid has since run a string of stories against the government, including one in which Rudd was photoshopped to look like bumbling Colonel Klink from television show "Hogan's Heroes" wearing a Nazi uniform and monocle.

News has defended its coverage, saying in an editorial on Sunday that Labor had led a "bad government" and News had been a "critical voice for our readers".

"We are not, and never have been, cheerleaders for any one side of politics," it said in the Sunday Telegraph editorial. "We have consistently railed against incompetence."

source: interaksyon.com

Intel Media opens offices in LA, New York in TV push

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp’s media arm is opening offices in New York and Los Angeles as the company pushes ahead with an Internet television service that it plans to launch later this year, an Intel spokesman said on Friday.

Setting up shop in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica and New York’s Nolita brings Intel closer to the major TV networks and production studios that the world’s biggest chipmaker must strike deals with to gather content for its live and on-demand service, Intel spokesman Jon Carvill said.

Opening the offices is a sign that Intel is committed to moving ahead with the venture even though progress making deals has been slow. Some industry insiders have expressed doubts about Intel’s ability to successfully create a business to challenge traditional cable operators.

“It suggests that there’s an ongoing level of interest, maybe an incremental positive to their commitment,” said Cody Acree, an analyst at Williams Financial Group. “They have to continue down this path or there’s no hope of being successful.”

Intel plans to introduce the TV service, to be delivered through the Internet and a set-top box, this year in a phased rollout in regional markets, Carvill said.

In July, Intel Media hired Moe Khosravy, a cloud-computing expert who previously worked at Microsoft Corp and VMWare Inc, as head of software and user experiences. Intel has about 375 people working on the TV business, most of them based at Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

Doubts about Intel’s commitment to the venture emerged in June after newly appointed Chief Executive Brian Krzanich warned he was taking a cautious approach to television, far from the company’s core business of chip manufacturing.

Some content providers have agreed with Intel about how their content would be distributed, but as of June the chipmaker had yet to sign any deals despite offering to pay sizeable premiums over traditional cable rates.

Carvill declined to comment on Intel’s negotiations.

Intel is not the only technology company trying to revolutionize the TV industry, where Comcast Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc and DirecTV are players and have much to lose from potential new entrants. Apple Inc, Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc are believed to be working on their own new TV services and products.

Media companies typically give better prices to operators with more viewers, such as large cable companies, and charge higher prices to smaller or newer entrants. Since Intel’s TV service has yet to start, it can expect to pay a premium.

While Intel has not said how much it plans to charge for its TV service, Intel Media head Erik Huggers has billed it as a premium product, with small bundles of channels and an attractive user interface rather than as a cut-rate option for consumers hoping to save money by canceling their cable subscriptions.

source: interaksyon.com