Optus cuts comms roles as NBN Co alumni move in. April 8, 2026 11:55 Optus is overhauling its communications and corporate affairs structure and has cut up to nine roles, as former NBN Co staff join its comms and marketing leadership ranks. Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider has cut up to six roles in its internal communications unit and removed three positions in external communications, with those in the latter required to reapply for their roles. All new hires into the external unit are contractors rather than full-time staff, Mumbrella understands. The external unit was previously overseen by associate directors of media and corporate affairs, Kathy Lipari, who resigned from Optus in January and joined News Corp two months later and Nicole Higgins, who is now on maternity leave. Mumbrella understands Lipari's role has not been replaced, while Higgins' maternity leave vacancy has recently been filled by Amber Scotto de Perta. The changes to the external team are understood to form part of a broader restructure overseen by Jane McNamara, who joined Optus as VP of external comms and stakeholder engagement last October. She came from NBN Co. Mumbrella understands the changes reflect a wider strategic reset rather than a straightforward cost-cutting exercise, and at least one of the affected in McNamara's team has been deployed within Optus. "Optus has made changes to its communications teams focused on how the teams are structured to support the business and its transformation program," an Optus spokesperson said in a statement. "For privacy reasons, we don't comment on individual employees or employee matters." McNamara is among several former NBN Co communications and marketing leaders to have joined Optus since former NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue took the helm at the end of 2024. Others include Felicity Ross, Optus' chief corporate affairs and marketing officer, and Rebecca Kington, director of strategic enablement within corporate affairs and marketing. The telco is also understood to have hired additional NBN Co alumni, Scott Whiffin and Jennifer Beauvillain De Montreuil, to work across communications and engagement, although their roles have not been publicly announced. The changes follow several years of public relations crises for Optus, including a cyberattack in late 2022. Two years later, the network experienced a nationwide outage that contributed to the resignation of then-CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. More recently, Optus was hit by a major emergency services outage across parts of South Australia and Western Australia during which four people died, with two deaths directly linked to the network blackout. Writing about the Triple 0 outage at the time, crisis communications expert Peter Wilkinson described Rue as "a poor communicator, that's clear, so he relied on his communication team, and the crisis was beyond them." 1 COMMENTS Cameron Craig 8 Apr 26 When a company with a trust deficit cuts comms roles and fills the top ranks with the CEO's old network, it does not scream transformation. It screams control. Have your say. Or comment anonymously Your comment will be marked as unverified

News Corp has outlined plans for its Dow Jones division to reach $1 billion in annual segment EBITDA within five years during an investor briefing. The business intelligence and news unit has driven 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year total segment EBITDA growth for News Corp. Between fiscal 2018 and 2025, Dow Jones transformed its revenue base to 82% digital and 80% recurring, achieving 17% compound annual segment EBITDA growth whilst nearly doubling margins to 25.2%. Key growth drivers include accelerating Risk & Energy businesses, expanding direct-to-consumer offerings, focusing on high-margin enterprise news, and maintaining cost discipline. Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour emphasised the company's positioning as a provider of trusted data for AI models, alongside its core news and business intelligence offerings.

NewsCorp Meta signs major AI licensing deal. NewsCorp Meta partnership expands AI content licensing. The NewsCorp Meta partnership represents a major development in the relationship between global media companies and technology platforms. News Corp recently announced a large multi-year AI content licensing agreement with Meta. The deal could reach a value of about $150 million annually. As a result, Meta will be able to use News Corp's editorial content to train and improve its artificial intelligence systems. The agreement allows Meta to access a wide collection of News Corp materials from publications in both the United States and the United Kingdom. This collection includes news articles, analysis pieces, and multimedia reports produced over many years. As a result, Meta gains access to reliable and structured information created by professional journalists. Therefore, the company can use this material to improve how its AI systems understand and generate information. In addition, the partnership highlights the growing value of trusted journalism in the AI era. Artificial intelligence systems depend on high-quality data to learn effectively. Consequently, reputable media sources have become extremely valuable training resources for technology companies. Strategic importance of the NewsCorp Meta deal. The NewsCorp Meta agreement shows how traditional media companies are adapting to a changing digital economy. For years, many publishers have faced declining advertising revenue. At the same time, digital platforms have taken a larger share of the online market. Therefore, media organizations are now exploring new ways to generate revenue. Licensing content for artificial intelligence training has become one promising strategy. By allowing technology companies to use their archives, publishers can monetize decades of journalism. Moreover, this approach allows them to maintain the value of professional reporting while expanding their revenue sources. Meanwhile, Meta benefits by gaining access to credible and professionally produced journalism. AI systems perform better when they are trained on reliable information. As a result, the partnership helps improve the accuracy and context of automated responses. Furthermore, this collaboration may help Meta address ongoing concerns about misinformation across digital platforms. In addition, the partnership demonstrates how both companies bring complementary strengths. News Corp contributes trusted journalism and large content archives. Meta, however, contributes advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure. Therefore, the collaboration creates an environment where both organizations can benefit. Industry impact and market response. The announcement quickly attracted attention from investors and industry analysts. Many experts see the licensing agreement as a strategic move in the evolving AI market. High-quality data is becoming increasingly important for training advanced AI models. Consequently, established publishers now hold valuable resources for technology companies. Industry observers believe the NewsCorp Meta partnership reflects a wider trend. Technology companies are actively searching for structured and trustworthy datasets. At the same time, media companies are looking for new ways to monetize their intellectual property. Therefore, partnerships between publishers and technology firms may become more common in the future. Moreover, the agreement highlights the growing importance of collaboration between media and technology sectors. Instead of competing directly, many companies now see opportunities to work together. As a result, both industries can benefit from shared innovation and new business models. Future outlook for the NewsCorp Meta collaboration. Looking ahead, the NewsCorp Meta collaboration may influence future partnerships across the industry. If the agreement proves successful, other publishers may pursue similar licensing deals. Consequently, the role of media companies in AI development could expand significantly. In addition, the partnership reinforces the long-term importance of professional journalism. Artificial intelligence systems still rely heavily on accurate and verified information. Therefore, trusted reporting will continue to play a vital role in the development of AI technologies. Ultimately, the agreement shows how collaboration can shape the future of digital innovation. By combining reliable journalism with advanced artificial intelligence tools, both companies strengthen their positions in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.