Latest editorial
An Australian Broadcasting Corporation page on Facebook is displayed without posts in Sydney
FACEBOOK has been slammed for “gravely undermining press freedom” when it blocked access to Australian news sites today.
The social media behemoth dramatically escalated its confrontation with the country over a new law requiring it and Google to pay news publishers for content overnight on Wednesday, shutting down Facebook pages belonging to media companies — and many more besides.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison denounced the “arrogant” decision to “unfriend Australia,” while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the crackdown illustrated the “immense market power of these media digital giants.”
Claims that digital media has rendered press power obsolete are a dangerous myth, argues DES FREEDMAN
![[Pic: Andrew Wiard]](https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-01/19860330_a_wiard_0001JPG.jpg.webp?itok=nkzZbinE)
As advertising drains away, newsrooms shrink and local papers disappear, MIKE WAYNE argues that the market model for news is broken – and that public-interest alternatives, rooted in democratic accountability, are more necessary than ever
LOUISA BULL traces how derecognition, outsourcing and digitalisation reshaped the industry, weakened collective bargaining and created today’s precarious media workforce
