At Nine Entertainment’s annual general meeting, CEO Matt Stanton issued his strongest warning yet over the impact of artificial intelligence on Australian journalism, saying global tech giants are “scraping and stealing” local content and that intervention is now urgent to protect jobs and the viability of newsrooms.
Responding to a question from Don Adams of the Australian Shareholders Association, who asked whether Nine’s cost-cutting could reduce journalist numbers, Stanton was frank about the growing risk that AI disruption could do far more damage than any internal restructure.
“We’re paying for journalism, but the revenue is flowing elsewhere,” he said.
“There needs to be an intervention. These are global players doing this, and we feel very strongly about it.”
Stanton said the company remained in a strong financial position and was striking a balance between efficiency and investment. But he warned that the unchecked rise of AI scraping – where platforms use publishers’ content to train or feed generative systems – could push the media industry to a breaking point.
“As we go through this process, we need to achieve the right level of efficiency while maintaining the strong content creation we’re known for,” he said.
Stanton described the situation as a looming D-Day moment for journalism unless governments and regulators act to update frameworks such as the News Media Bargaining Code.
“The Code remains incredibly important, particularly given the impact of AI firms scraping and stealing our content,” he said.
The CEO said Nine had absorbed the financial hit from Meta’s withdrawal from news funding while maintaining editorial investment, but warned that no media business could sustain the current imbalance indefinitely.
“We managed through that and found efficiencies, but we still need to continue investing in journalism. We also need broader support as Australia’s largest local media company,” he said.
Matt Stanton at the MW100, where he delivered his acceptance speech via video message
“They must be held to the same standards”
Stanton’s comments echo his remarks earlier this year when he topped the Mediaweek 100 Power List. In his acceptance speech, he urged the industry to reject pessimism but warned that collaboration could not mean complacency.
“These international tech giants are increasingly shaping how our content is found, framed and funded,” he said.
“They must operate with the same level of responsibility, integrity and accountability to all Australians that we demand of ourselves.”
“Holding them to account isn’t about conflict, it’s about shared responsibility in a thriving media ecosystem.”
Stanton’s message was clear: without urgent intervention, the AI-driven erosion of journalism’s value chain could soon reach a point of no return.