News Corp's sponsored housing special, The Home Front, featured six of its own cadet journalists as case studies, not members of the general public. The series, sponsored by CommBank, ran across the company's tabloids and news.com.au, with front pages declaring the "Great Australian Dream" of home ownership "in tatters".
The papers said: "Young Australians are at the coalface of Australia's housing crisis so we tapped into our network of cadet reporters to power our Home Front series." One cadet wrote she would never own a home and would rent for life, saying: "If I decided to purchase a home or apartment, I would be in debt and any life changes or health issues could create serious financial hardship."
Sponsored series and survey
The series was sponsored by CommBank, with the bank's yellow brand colours incorporated into the title. The main story was based on a survey of 1,000 Australians conducted by News Corp's in-house research arm, the Growth Distillery, in partnership with consultants SEC Newgate.
Much of the blame for the housing crisis was attributed to the government and the "intense public debate over federal Labor's shock $77 billion tax hikes". Readers were told: "The consumer price index has risen by nearly 20 per cent since Anthony Albanese came to power four years ago."
Wednesday's papers offered gen Z tips to get into the property market. Tip number six advised negotiating a wage increase: "Check the market rate for your role, document what you've delivered, then book a conversation with your boss. Two women I know did exactly this, prepared together for an hour, and walked out with a combined $37,000 pay rise." News Corp recruitment ads offer cadetships that pay about $65,000.
Correction on book launch
The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age's CBD column initially reported that Western Australia's premier, Roger Cook, would launch Josh Frydenberg's memoir, A Grateful Son, next month. A correction the next day stated: "An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that WA premier Roger Cook would attend Josh Frydenberg's book launch. Former premier Richard Court will attend." Court was the Liberal premier from 1993 to 2001.
Chessell's exit and Nine's turmoil
James Chessell resigned as editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review, with his last day set for 12 October, to join former AFR columnist Joe Aston at his media startup, Rampart. Nine Publishing's managing director, Tory Maguire, told the newsroom that AFR editor Cosima Marriner would replace Chessell. The speed of his departure after two years angered staff, who felt he had been a disruptive force and had betrayed them to join a rival.
Aston's monthly column with the Fin was discontinued, and he was given notice to find new legal representation. Nick Bonyhady, business editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, also left for Rampart, relinquishing his title to return to reporting while working out his notice.
At Nine Entertainment, 30 journalists have taken redundancy from the SMH and the Age due to the "extreme state of disruption because of AI". The company is stripping out more than $160m in costs over three years. Amanda Laing, brought in to run a new streaming and broadcast division 18 months ago, was made redundant. The division, including the Nine Network, 9Now app and streaming platform Stan, will be subsumed into the group. Nine's value has fallen from $5bn five years ago to $1.04bn, with the share price down 42% over the past 12 months, to 68c on Thursday.
Peter Manning remembered
Peter Manning, former head of ABC TV news and current affairs and Radio National, died on Monday aged 81. He was honoured last year by the Walkleys for his outstanding contribution to journalism. Manning oversaw a golden age for Four Corners between 1985 and 1989 and launched programs including Lateline, Foreign Correspondent and Landline, as well as the Labor in Power series.
Under his leadership, Four Corners won the Gold Walkley in 1985 for Chris Masters' report about the sinking of the Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior. Manning gave some of the biggest names in television their first break, including Stan Grant, Marian Wilkinson, Sue Spencer, Tony Jones, Deb Whitmont and Paul Barry.
He is survived by his partner, Carole, his children, Thea Burke, Paddy Manning and Megan Manning, and four grandchildren. His funeral will be at St Brigid's church in Marrickville on 9 October.
