Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead.In today’s audio-led edition, Seven West Media and News Corp lobby for government help on funding; households make the switch to ad-funded tiers, and we look ahead to the final upfront events of the year.If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* A complimentary ticket to all of Unmade’s events, including Unlock (this Thursday October 31), Compass (across November), HumAIn (Q2 2025) and REmade (Q3 2025);* Member-only content like this post; and all of our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media Unmade. Fighting disinformation by funding news: Media bosses stop up the rhetoric; Ad-supported TV back in vogueAfter last week’s softener from the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, Australia’s big media players are moving into lobbying overdrive. Seven will argue this week that the giant digital platforms are a force for evil; while News Corp’s boss is arguing that the little end of town cannot be the solution.Instead, Seven and News Corp are lobbying for the government to support the not-too-big, not-too-small Goldilocks solution of companies like, well, Seven and News Corp.As the Australian reports, the editor-in-chief of Seven West Media, Anthony De Ceglie, will tomorrow use a Melbourne Press Club speech to attack the platforms including Elon Musk’s X, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, saying: “Elon Musk doesn’t care about the truth. In fact, he revels in peddling lies and boasts about using his bin fire of a site to influence the US election.“Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is seemingly happy for Meta to profit off the page impressions that child sex offenders create when they routinely use his site to prey on their next victim.“Against these evil forces — and calling them that is not an exaggeration — there is only one true antidote. The news. The truth. The fourth estate.”De Ceglie will also champion the idea of a tax break for producing news and current affairs content.And News Corp’s executive chairman Michael Miller argues in The Australian today that the government should try to force Meta to go on supporting the big media players it did deals with three years ago:“The government is at risk of abandoning the engine rooms of Australian news, which is where the bulk of the jobs are and where the bulk of important Australian stories are told,” he said.“The parliament’s primary focus should be those deals Meta has walked away from.As well as discussing De Ceglie and Miller’s arguments, today’s edition of Start the Week examines new numbers from Kantar which suggest a big jump in household penetration of ad-supported streaming services - up from 10% of homes to 25% in just a year; and looks across the agenda of media events over the next couple of weeks.Further reading:* The Australian: Seven boss Anthony De Ceglie slams government for not supporting media* The Australian: News Corp boss Michael Miller urges government to prioritise survival of mainstream media outlets* Unmade: Landing lights glimmer for a digital levy to fund news* Mi3: Meta barked, Australia blinked: News Bargaining Code to be shelved as Feds prepare possible digital ad tax* The Australian: Viewers are increasingly signing up to streaming services with advertising, Kantar research showsToday’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe Udy.Editing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - Unmade This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unmade.substack.com

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