KEY POINTS:
The prospective sale by Independent News & Media (INM) of a 39 per cent controlling stake in APN News & Media has opened the door to more upheavals in transtasman media ownership.
The company is understood to be looking at a single buyer, leading to a takeover offer possibly in the first quarter of next year.
Changes in 2006 to Australian media laws saw the merger of Fairfax with Rural Press and INM's unsuccessful bid with private equity partners to privatise APN.
The current move - which may or may not lead to a takeover offer in the New Year - is against the backdrop of big upheavals in global business.
INM - in which Sir Anthony O'Reilly or his interests are said to control nearly 30 per cent - plans to use the proceeds from selling its stake in APN to pay debt.
APN is publisher of half of New Zealand's newspapers including The New Zealand Herald.
Australian newspaper interests are focused on Queensland and northern New South Wales.
APN also has a 50 per cent stake with Clear Channel in the Australian Radio Network which owns the Radio Network with half of New Zealand's radio stations.
The company also owns the biggest outdoor advertising company in Australia and New Zealand.
INM adviser Goldman Sachs JBWere has refused to name parties who had indicated an interest.
Ignoring private equity interests and focusing on Australian prospects, three possible interested parties spring to mind - West Australian Newspapers, Rupert Murdoch and/or the interests of his son Lachlan Murdoch, and Fairfax Media.
West Australian Newspapers - in which Kerry Stokes' Seven Network has obtained a 22.4 per cent stake - would be particularly interested in the newspaper operation. The chief executive, Ken Steinke, is a former chief executive of APN New Zealand.
The Australian reported unnamed sources saying Lachlan Murdoch had looked at APN.
Interest by Fairfax Media - which owns the other half of New Zealand's newspapers - would likely raise market dominance issues.
One argument is that Fairfax does not compete directly with APN apart from in the Sunday newspaper market.
But a respected competition lawyer - who would not be named - said that aggregation of the market would raise issues, especially with the two groups owning the two major websites, nzherald.co.nz and Stuff.co.nz.
There may also be issues with Fairfax-owned suburban newspapers and the Waikato Times, which competes with the Herald for readers in that region.
The Australian said INM is now most likely to solicit either one bidder to launch a full takeover bid or a "carve-up" which would see bidders launch a joint bid, and then divide up the company's key assets.
Recently the APN chief executive of New Zealand Publishing - Martin Simons - was appointed to the newly formed position of group publishing for both Australia and New Zealand.
Richard Herring, currently chief executive of APN Outdoor, was appointed to the newly formed position of group radio and outdoor chief.
NO LIMITS NOW
Fairfax Media has had second thoughts and bought Unlimited Magazine, which was left out of its purchase of IDG Communications titles two years ago.
Fairfax announced this week it would be buying the glossy business magazine for an undisclosed sum and that it would be incorporating it with former IDG titles Computerworld, PC World, CIO, and Reseller News, in a New Zealand-based business media division.
For the past two years the IT titles have been run out of Fairfax's Sydney-based business division, whose New Zealand head Patricia Watson is reported to have been one of 10-15 staff given redundancy.
During IDG's exit from the New Zealand market, it turned down an attempt from former editor Vincent Heeringa to buy Unlimited. Heeringa launched Idealog.
Fairfax opted not to buy the glossy. But it was picked up by IDG's then New Zealand managing director Julie Gill.
The two-year venture has been a success for Gill who has been appointed general manager of the New Zealand business media division that incorporates Unlimited, the old IDG IT titles and the Fairfax business weekly the Independent.
SEAMLESS CHANGE?
Nobody doubts Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Mike Hosking is a strong replacement for Paul Holmes hosting Newstalk ZB's breakfast show. But there is no guarantee the transition from Holmesy to the Million Dollar Man will be seamless.
The Newstalk ZB brand is very strong but radio audiences can be fickle, and I hear that the decision to replace Holmes - announced with a long lead up in March last year - may have been foisted on Newstalk owner The Radio Network earlier than Newstalk had envisaged.
A well-placed radio industry source said Hosking had previously approached rival MediaWorks and was offered a position. When he went back to TRN with the offer, the network - concerned about losing him to the opposition - made commitments for him to take over breakfast.
Hosking is as sharp as a tack and has a following. But can he match Holmes' warmth to carry the breakfast show?
It's a conservative audience - nobody knows that better than Holmes, who saw a massive exodus of listeners in the early days. Holmes exits on December 19 and Hosking takes over early in the New Year.
HUI HOOEY
Media companies are renowned for fostering gossip and intrigue and Maori institutions have their particular brand of office politics.
So all eyes will be on Haunui Royal, the Maori programme-maker who has been appointed to replace Larry Parr as general manager of programming at Maori Television.
Royal is an experienced, award-winning producer and director and was involved in Maori TV in 2003 when Joanna Paul headed the department.
Maori Television chief executive Jim Mather says Royal's broadcasting experience will play a key role in ensuring a solid platform for further development.
Alas not everybody at Maori TV was happy about the appointment and some staff held a hui.
Such hui are not rare at Maori TV and usually lead to nothing more than people letting off steam. But it would be worrying that progress at Maori TV - which peaked while Parr was overseeing programming - may be dissipating.
POPULAR POLITICS
News consumers might be over politics, though it's plausible MMP negotiations after tomorrow's New Zealand election may linger a few weeks yet.
TV networks point out leaders' debates have performed okay in ratings. The TV One debate on October 14 was watched by 34.4 per cent of viewers, the TV One minor parties debate on October 27 had a 24.7 per cent share, the TV3 debate on November 3 had 17.6 per cent and the final debate on TV One on Wednesday had 32.7 per cent.
BAD CALL
TV One coverage of the US election on Wednesday hosted by Paul Henry was a disappointment.
Prime TV ran striking but biased Fox coverage, while regional channel Triangle had coverage from Al Jazeera.
TV One coverage tried hard to provide a local context - but I spent most of the time wishing they would just stop interpreting events and show us the events with feeds direct from US networks ABC and CNN, or the BBC for that matter.
Then they gave up at 5.30pm just as the event was reaching a crescendo. Meanwhile, TVNZ7 - which could have been turned over to a direct feed - was trudging on.
PINK SLIP-UP
Television New Zealand is still without an Australian correspondent in the field as it moves into the second week of its review of Hannah Hodson's slip-up with the rock star Pink.
The interview went pear shaped after Hodson started asking questions about why her sister had been dropped from Pink's staff.
TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards declined to comment on the status of the inquiry yesterday, saying "It is continuing on its inexorable path".
