Radio peak body CRA claims news media “ripped off” celeb interviews

CRA wants Google to rank radio's original content higher in search results.

Commercial Radio Australia says online news websites “ripped off” celebrity interviews from Breakfast and Drive shows and should be compensated with higher search rankings.

That’s despite the fact that the news media are employing journalists to write these stories that promote shows, with attribution, and with commercial benefits to both sides.

“Google’s search algorithms frequently direct consumers to the site that has ‘ripped off’ the content rather than the station that produced the content,” says CRA.

CRA is disgruntled that stories published by media outlets, based on interviews with celebrities and other newsmakers during key shifts, are ranking higher in organic search results.

However, that content is mostly pitched to journalists by the radio networks in the hope of securing editorial coverage for its shows and on-air talent, to drive awareness and listeners.

Three pitches sent to Radio Today from Australian Radio Network, Southern Cross Austereo and NOVA Entertainment are published below, an almost daily occurrence from radio publicists.

The peak body believes a collective licensing-fee arrangement would enable broadcasters to share in ad revenue that Google and Facebook generate from radio-created content.

In its submission to the ACCC’s consultation paper on a mandatory news media bargaining code, CRA also expressed concerns that the code might apply only narrowly to “news media”.

The result of which could exclude radio content, “leaving radio to fight the bargaining imbalance with the digital platforms unsupported by Government or regulators”.

“It is apparent that substantial advertising revenue is being earned by the digital platforms at the expense of Australian media businesses,” CRA said.

The Government announced in April that it had directed the ACCC to develop a mandatory code of conduct to address bargaining imbalances between media and digital platforms.

CRA argued the code should exempt radio from compliance with any news threshold, to reflect the contribution to local communities and integrated programming style.

CRA also wants the new code to make sure Google priorities the primary source of radio content through a badge or similar system.

The draft code is expected to be released for public consultation before the end of July.