Sam Buckingham-Jones
Sam Buckingham-Jones follows the money, power and regulation around media, marketing and telecommunications, treating broadcasters, platforms and advertisers as finance stories driven by strategy and personalities rather than programming alone.
He is the media and marketing reporter at The Australian Financial Review, writing across daily news, analysis and weekend features about the commercial fortunes of major media companies and the people who run them. His coverage sits at the intersection of corporate finance, government policy and audience behaviour, with a consistent focus on how decisions about streaming, advertising and content shape balance sheets and influence. Alongside media and marketing, he also takes in telecommunications and digital platforms where they collide with news, entertainment and advertising economics.
Media companies, streaming and corporate strategy
Buckingham-Jones reports closely on the strategic choices of established broadcasters and pay-TV groups under pressure from streaming rivals and changing viewer habits. In coverage of Foxtel’s “streaming apocalypse”, Seven’s new boss bracing for impact, and Nine executives launching a review that could backfire, he traces how legacy businesses restructure, cut costs and pursue new digital products to survive shifting markets. His reporting on Rupert Murdoch’s battle for control highlights ownership structures, debt, regulatory exposure and succession questions as financial risks as much as political intrigue. Across these pieces he emphasises boardroom decisions, investor expectations and revenue models, explaining what programming changes, rights deals and restructures mean for profitability and competitive position.
Regulation, gambling and the business of sport
He regularly covers the collision between media, gambling and government regulation, treating advertising bans and sports-betting debates as balance-sheet events for broadcasters, codes and betting companies. In work on the gambling advertising debate involving media companies, bookmakers and the AFL and NRL, he details confidential briefings, lobbying efforts and the commercial stakes for television rights and sponsorship. The long-form piece on Peter V’landys’ $4 billion NRL bet extends this thread into sport administration, unpacking how broadcast deals, wagering partnerships and competition expansion are calculated as financial bets on future audiences.
Across these stories he shows a preference for digging out who was in the room, what was promised and how regulatory outcomes will move revenue between clubs, leagues, broadcasters and betting operators.
Profiles of media power players and on-air talent
Profiles and interviews are a recurring format, often used to explore how individual decisions by powerful figures ripple through organisations and markets.
His reporting on Ita Buttrose’s monitoring of ABC hosts’ Twitter posts, Kim Williams’ “harder, faster, bolder” plans for the ABC, and Williams’ lessons on persuasion from Paul Keating all examine leadership style, internal politics and governance alongside public communication. A piece on Bruce McWilliam’s retirement presents a lawyer and dealmaker as a central character in decades of broadcast negotiations, using biography to explain the commercial and legal environment in which networks operate.
The profile of Kyle Sandilands in the cancel culture era, and features on figures such as the long-time brewer Chuck Hahn, show an interest in personality-driven stories where audience, brand value and controversy become business assets or liabilities. These profiles typically combine narrative detail with clear attention to contracts, ratings, sponsorships and institutional change, making them useful for understanding both the person and the corporate consequences around them.
Platforms, telecommunications and the value of news
Buckingham-Jones also reports on how digital platforms and telecommunications businesses value and distribute news and entertainment content.
In analysis of Swiss research into how much news content is worth to Google, he dissects bargaining power, payment frameworks and the implications of regulation and news media codes for publishers’ revenue. His remit includes telecommunications and infrastructure where they intersect with media, marketing and distribution, as reflected in his description as a media, marketing and telecommunications reporter at The Australian Financial Review and as a speaker at investment and industry forums. Across this strand of coverage he treats platforms and telcos as financial actors in the media ecosystem, focusing on data, licensing and regulatory risk rather than product launches.
Taken together, Buckingham-Jones’ work is defined by close attention to how commercial strategy, regulation and individual decision-making shape the business outcomes of media, marketing, telecommunications and adjacent sectors such as gambling and sport. He favours reported stories built around key players and specific deals, with enough financial and policy detail to show what is at stake for companies and audiences rather than simply announcing change.
4 more finance journalists.
Aaron Bell
Aaron Bell stands out for turning broker research and complex market commentary into clear stories for everyday investors. He writes about the Australian share market as a journalist for The Motley Fool Australia and also works as a freelance journalist and editor focused on financial topics and the Australian economy. His beat covers ASX-listed companies and exchange-traded funds. He writes on broker recommendations, valuation changes, price targets, upside forecasts, earnings results, guidance, and share price reactions. He also covers thematic and emerging markets ETFs, NASDAQ-focused funds, and sectors such as space-related industries. In his reporting, he uses numbers, rating changes, and target prices to explain risk, reward, and what has changed in the business.
Adam McCleery
Adam McCleery tracks the money and deals shaping advertising and media agencies. He is a journalist at AdNews, covering agency pitches, account moves, media buying decisions, budgets, contracts and settlements. His beat sits between finance, media and marketing, with a focus on advertiser confidence, commercial outcomes and the pressures facing agencies, brands and media owners. He reports on television, streaming, subscription models and platform strategies, as well as artificial intelligence, data, privacy and ad technology. His past work spans print, digital and business-to-business titles. He writes in a straightforward, deal-driven style. He follows how brands review, consolidate or shift agency relationships, and how pricing, measurement, fragmentation, policy and economic conditions affect spending, investment, risk and the value of agency services.
Adelaide Miller
Adelaide Miller is an award-winning national business reporter at the ABC who stands out for linking markets coverage with accountability reporting on how finance, regulation and corporate decisions affect workers, consumers and small businesses. She covers superannuation, small business obligations, the ASX, global indices, inflation, government debt, investor sentiment, cryptocurrency, corporate conduct, mortgage stress, and consumer impact. She reports on the gap between legislative intent and on-the-ground practice, and she often uses data, live markets context, and direct reporting from affected people. Her background includes ABC Investigations, Background Briefing, and Four Corners. She also has reported on AI-driven political campaigning, Telstra’s Senate inquiry scrutiny, family law, and a personal essay on her grandmother’s dementia. She works across TV, radio, online, and podcast formats.
Adeshola Ore
Adeshola Ore reports on finance and public policy through their effects on everyday life. They are a reporter at the Guardian, covering tax debates, public spending, institutional policy and the communities shaped by them. Their beat also includes politics, rights, social equity, climate, migration, Indigenous policy, agriculture, food safety and public health. Notable reporting has covered bird flu and egg supplies, catastrophic floods, death cap mushroom poisonings, refugee communities, university misconduct and place-naming rules in Tasmania. Earlier work included global climate conferences, international affairs and social policy. Ore reports through live political coverage, ground-level interviews, documents and hearings. They write news features and explainers that clarify complex rules, risks and rights. They also contribute to the Guardian’s daily news podcast, bringing field reporting and interviews with affected communities into wider discussions of politics and policy.