Media — it's all around us; shaping our worldview, dictating how and what we see, hear and watch. So who are the media players and what do you need to know about how they operate?
Each week media insiders Tim Burrowes and Vivienne Kelly dissect the stories and the story makers. Real-life succession battles, unfolding crises, what made the front page and why.
It's the final MediaLand, for the year and well, ever!
Vivienne and Tim look back at the big media stories of the year and what they mean for what will be landing on your screens and radios in 2026.
From huge media mergers to who is actually in charge of the big media families now, all the way over to whether commercial radio can't afford three hosts a show any more, we've got you covered.
Guest: Rob Kelly, producer of MediaLand and freelance journalist
You can binge more episodes of the MediaLand podcast with media insiders Tim Burrowes and Vivienne Kelly on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find interviews with the big media bosses, the journalists on the ground and the hacks who hunt for the big media scoops.
Please email us at Medialand@abc.net.au if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you!
5 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
Social media ban bites!
The social media ban is almost here! And so are the legal challenges, while a lot of the country begins to wind down, the media landscape is about to experience an earthquake. The new regulations kick into effect formally on Wednesday the 10th of December, although some companies have gone early with their age gating attempts. How did we get here and what is actually happening on the ground, or in the cyberspace, as the new rules come into effect?
What is going on with media company ownership?!? In a week worthy of a Succession plotline media companies have been shedding stock in each other, which we presume means some major ownership changes might be coming down the pipe.
The media killing season continues with high profile axings across the broadcast industry this week. It's not unusual for this time of year, but why is it so harsh and enduring in 2025 and what does it mean for our local media diet in 2026?
Guest: Cam Wilson, Associate Editor of Crikey and co-author of Conspiracy Nation
You can binge more episodes of the MediaLand podcast with media insiders Tim Burrowes and Vivienne Kelly on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find interviews with the big media bosses, the journalists on the ground and the hacks who hunt for the big media scoops.
Please email us at Medialand@abc.net.au if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you!
28 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT
Gambling advertising under the spotlight
What are you really gambling with? You may recognise those words from the very brief window of advice which has to follow gambling advertising now. But the amount of advertising for gambling, where it’s allowed and the tone it has to take has been a political and business football for decades in Australia. The current Government is following its predecessors in saying it’s going to increase regulation, but critics say we shouldn't be holding our breath.
Quentin Beresford has written books on everything from the hunt for the Tasmanian Tiger to the rules and regulations that bind our environmental laws. His recent obsession has been the gambling industry in Australia and his latest book Hooked investigates the impact of gambling on our daily lives.
It's a great time to buy a media company if you're in the market. A new twist in the tale for the beleaguered Telegraph sale opens door to new buyers and Warner Bros. Discovery wants a bit more cash than people have so far thought it is worth. Are we eventually going to just have one big international media company?
The Walkley Awards for journalistic excellence took place this week! We take a look at the runners and riders and ask whether awards for journalism are particularly useful.
Guest: Quentin Beresford, author of Hooked: Inside the murky world of Australia's gambling industry
You can binge more episodes of the MediaLand podcast with media insiders Tim Burrowes and Vivienne Kelly on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find interviews with the big media bosses, the journalists on the ground and the hacks who hunt for the big media scoops.
Please email us at Medialand@abc.net.au if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you!
Inside a recent episode
A year of mergers, successions and scandals
Published 12 Dec 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] So, he's now trying to say, no, no, it's okay. But just that intersection of every single part of the ecosystem coming together, surely it means fewer things will be made. Look, and one of those things about Netflix is they do change their minds. You know, let's remember they started it off as a mayoral order DVD company. Then they got into streaming and then they got into creating their own streaming content. And then they said, you know, we said that we don't do live sport. Actually, we are going to do live sport. And then they said, you know, we said we don't do advertising. Then they decided to do advertising. […]
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