This is how billionaires buy the news

4 June 26, https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/media-reform-2026/this-is-how-billionaires-buy-the-news/this-is-how-billionaires-buy-the-news?secure_token=62537efc0a5e490f3e8bc38d2bbf7a13f61d3c1c45a1ea3f93ec263479024b5f&t=NXnVIJz2&utm_campaign=Gina_Rinehart_just_bought_your_news&utm_content=36375&utm_medium=email&utm_source=blast

Gina Rinehart emerged as the hidden money behind a near 10% stake in Southern Cross Media – owner of Seven Network, Triple M, and West Australian Newspapers. Kerry Stokes already holds 20%. There is no public interest test. There is no regulator with the power to ask why.

The reason this keeps happening is that most people never find out until it’s too late. Media ownership stories are complex, dry, and easy to bury – and the outlets covering them are often owned by the same people the stories are about.

This video [on original]cuts through that. Watch it, and if it makes you angry, share it – because the Prime Minister will only move on media reform when enough Australians are demanding it loudly enough that staying silent costs more than acting. We’re not there yet. Sharing this is how we get there.

Right now, a key watchdog meant to hold our media to account is funded by those same media owners. It has no real independence, no real teeth – and no power to do anything about billionaires like Rinehart quietly extending their reach into our newsrooms.

The reforms we are calling for would change that: a genuinely independent standards authority, fast complaints with real remedies, and action on concentration.