Incoming Fairfax chairman Nick Falloon cleared to join board after radio licence mix up

Incoming Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon has been cleared to take his seat on the Fairfax Media board after being granted a temporary clearance to breach the Broadcasting Services Act.

Last week it was reported Fallon, who will take over from current chairman Roger Corbett in August, could not take his seat on the board as he was not among directors cleared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to breach the law limiting the number of radio licences a company can control in a single market.

That breach was caused by Fairfax Radio’s merger with Macquarie Radio, with the new entity currently holding three licences in Sydney. However, the ACMA has now cleared Falloon to be added to the list and he has been added to the Fairfax board.

Whilst Fairfax has sought clearance for its directors, including Todd Sampson, to breach the rules as far back as January, Falloon had not been granted the same clearance when he was named as a new appointment to the board at the end of March.