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'Local content threatened' by Imparja takeover

Posted September 19, 2008 09:30:00

Possible takeover: Channel Nine (ABC TV)

An expert in Australian media says local news in the Northern Territory could suffer if the Nine Network in Darwin is sold.

The ABC understands the Alice Springs-based Imparja Television has made an offer to buy Channel Nine Darwin.

If the deal goes ahead it is unclear if Imparja will keep Nine's newsroom in Darwin.

Doctor Mike Minehan is from Insearch, affiliated with the University of Technology in Sydney.

He says local news is vital for a community.

"News is actually a very dedicated activity to put together and I think if you cut it in any way, if you cut its budget, cut its time, if you just become a parcel service for some far-flung station from another state, then I think it would be tragic for the local community."

The CEO of Imparja Television, Alistair Feehan, says he currently has no reason to believe Nine is selling its assets.

Tags: digitalmultimedia-art, television, industry, media, indigenous, information-and-communication, broadcasting, television, nt, alice-springs-0870, darwin-0800

Comments (6)

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• Eric:

  19 Sep 2008 10:10:41am

  I can understand the concern. There is so much more going on every day in Darwin than there is in Alice Springs.
  
  Heaven forbid that the bulk of our television news shows start coming out of Sydney.

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• Scott:

  19 Sep 2008 10:51:15am

  So.... Someone from Sydney is concerned that "local news in the Northern Territory could suffer" if an Alice Springs company buys the Darwin affiliate of a Melbourne company!?

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• Fiona:

  19 Sep 2008 10:52:17am

  You'd be surprised actually. Alice has newsworthy events occuring all the time

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• Neil:

  19 Sep 2008 10:53:32am

  No commercial news organization in Australia can come anywhere near the ABC for quality, local content, or service to regional Australia.
  
  The commercials are hopeless at it. They should stick to what they do best - broadcasting inane ads, reality tv, and their "dumb street" soaps for people with the average intelligence of a year 5 school pupil.
  
  Leave the real news reporting to the grown-ups at the ABC.
  
  I'm sure Imparja will have more local content than Eddie's Nein network anyway.
  
  

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• Dennis Booth:

  19 Sep 2008 11:14:09am

  If this happens it is one of the most retrograde steps involving the media in Australia. Darwin is a city of 80,000 plus and another 40,000 in Palmerston and the rural area. It is and has been for some time one of the real growth areas of Australia and as such has a lot of local news occuring. To suggest someone would buy out Nine and then run just 5 min update bulletins as has been suggested borders on the ludicrous. Expect the fall-out if it goes ahead to be beyond what many in the South might think. Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful.

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• Gulf :

  19 Sep 2008 11:40:51am

  If Imparja was to purchase 9 Darwin you can bet they would scrap the news service and provide an Interstate service.
  Currently the news that Imparja broadcasts for the Gulf of Carpenteria is sourced from 9 Brisbane, really local news. The only Territory news is provided by the ABC, which is heaps better than the commercial stations anyway.

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