Murdoch's 'Trusted Media' Workshop Pitch Draws Scam Claims

News Australia sent invitations to a select group of local businesses for a workshop hosted by what it called "Australia's most trusted media brands." The pitch promised a personalised 12-month marketing plan tailored to each business. The brands behind the offer are not the ones readers trust most.

The invitation came from the Murdoch stable of newspapers. Five of those mastheads sit at the bottom of the University of Canberra's 2025 Digital News trust ranking. The Daily Telegraph, often called the Daily Terror, scored the lowest: less than half its own readers found it trustworthy. The other four mastheads mentioned in the invitation rank only slightly higher.

More than 500,000 people signed a petition for a Royal Commission into Murdoch media's influence a few years ago. Trust in traditional news has continued to slide since then.

Kim Wingerei, a businessman and commentator, wrote about the invitation. "Au contraire, it came from the Murdoch stable of media brands that garnered over 500,000 signatures in support of a Royal Commission into their influence and untrustworthiness a few years ago," he said. He added that the offer looked like a chance to work with trusted outlets until you check which outlets actually run it. Wingerei called the workshop a marketing play, not a journalism partnership. In his view, Murdoch's papers are using their brand reach to sell access to small businesses, not to improve news credibility.

Wingerei warned that for small business owners, the invitation carries a hidden cost. Paying for a marketing plan from a low-trust outlet may not generate the returns expected. The workshop itself may be a sales pitch for further advertising services, he said.

The University of Canberra report shows that trust in traditional media continues to decline. The Daily Telegraph has less than half of its readers trusting it. The Australian, the Herald Sun, the Courier-Mail, and the Adelaide Advertiser all rank in the bottom tier. None of the five mastheads mentioned in the invitation appear in the top half of the trust ranking.

The petition for a Royal Commission gathered over 500,000 signatures. Wingerei said the petition's size reflects deep skepticism about Murdoch's influence. No Royal Commission was held. The distrust remains.

Wingerei's piece is titled "Don't pay so you can read it. Pay so everyone can!" He argues that the invitation is a scam because it uses the credibility of trusted brands to sell a product from brands that lack trust. The workshop is scheduled for a date not specified in the invitation.

The invitation does not disclose the cost of the marketing plan. Businesses that respond may be asked to pay for the workshop or the plan itself. Wingerei's warning suggests that the return on that investment is questionable given the low trust in the hosting brands.

The better approach for a business owner: verify the host before committing money. Check the trust rankings. Ask which media brands are actually involved. If the answer is Murdoch's papers, the value of the marketing plan may be lower than advertised.

The Daily Telegraph's trust score among its own readers is below 50%. That figure comes from the University of Canberra survey. Wingerei noted the gap between the invitation's promise and the reality of the brands behind it.