- Title: Australian newspapers redact front pages to protest media curbs
- Date: 21st October 2019
- Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) REDACTED FRONT PAGE OF THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
- Embargoed: 4th November 2019 04:23
- Keywords: Australia press freedom media media law newspapers redacted
- Location: SYDNEY / CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
- City: SYDNEY / CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA003B21G7RB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Australia's biggest newspapers ran front pages on Monday (October 21) made up to appear heavily redacted, in a protest against legislation that restricts press freedoms, a rare show of unity by the usually partisan media industry.
Australia has no constitutional safeguards for free speech, although the government added a provision to protect whistleblowers when it strengthened counter-espionage laws in 2018. Media groups say press freedoms remain restricted.
Mastheads from the domestic unit of Rupert Murdoch's conservative News Corp and fierce newspaper rivals at Nine Entertainment ran front pages with most of the words blacked out, giving the impression the copy had been censored, in the manner of a classified government document.
The media protest aimed to put public pressure on the government to exempt journalists from laws limiting access to sensitive information, enact a properly functioning freedom of information system, and raise the benchmark for defamation lawsuits.
(Production: Stefica Nicol Bikes) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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