President’s column – 3 July 2020

Are journalists about to return to country
council chambers? The Federal Government has thrown the regional media a much
needed lifeline – and there was more good news for the sector this week.

Further details of the $50 million package to
support public interest journalism were announced and the sale of Australian
Associated Press (AAP) to consortium of philanthropists and investors was
finalised on Monday.

In March, AAP’s then major shareholders (Nine Entertainment Co and News Corp) said they were closing the service for good because it was no longer commercially viable.

Now a consortium has stepped up to continue a
business that has serviced media outlets across the country for 85 years.

Even more encouraging was the new owners saying
they had “a desire to protect media diversity … through ensuring the long-term
sustainability of the AAP newswire and its provision of independent quality
journalism on issues that should matter to all Australians”. Long may they
reign I say.

The Federal Government also appears to be
prioritising continued high-quality news production, especially  in regional and remote areas – so the
announcement that $20 million is being allocated to television, $18 million for
publishing, and $12 million for radio under the Public Interest News Gathering
(PING) program is welcome.

Separate to PING, the Commonwealth administers
another initiative supporting public interest journalism: The Regional and
Small Publishers Innovation Fund which began in 2018.

Recognising that media outlets are struggling
with the plummeting advertising revenues in the wake of Covid-19, the
Government has brought forward the 2020 funding round, and an announcement of
successful recipients can be expected shortly.

It is to be hoped this taxpayer support slows or
reverses the disappearance of over a hundred regional and community mastheads
since the pandemic struck in March. However, the issue that remains unresolved
is the long-term viability of media outlets, particularly small and independent
mastheads in the regions.

The erosion of the traditional newspaper and TV
station business model – by Internet advertising, social media and changing
consumer sentiment – has been underway since the 1990s.

The resultant changes of ownership and
progressive belt-tightening have not been terribly obvious in the capitals. But
in the regions and even many suburban areas there is no disguising the fact
that fewer and fewer journalists are reporting on the many activities of their
local communities, including councils.

This is a trend with serious repercussions for
future civic engagement and social cohesion – not to mention accountability and
good governance.

ALGA’s concerns on this issue are long-standing. In 2019, we commissioned a study which outlined the attenuation of public interest news gathering in regional and rural areas while recognising that there are no easy answers.

A string of inquiries and reviews have considered a range of possible solutions: subsidies, tax incentives, and codes requiring Facebook and Google to pay for links to news publisher sites.

Those internet giants have shown little
inclination to pay for news content – even when directed to do so by
governments in Europe.

The ACCC’s draft news media bargaining code due
shortly could further address the bargaining power imbalances between
Australian news media businesses and digital platforms.

It is unlikely there was a connection, but
Google recently announced it would pay some media groups in Australia, Brazil
and Germany for content.

Whether this voluntary move, coupled with a new
code, is a significant development or not remains to be seen. But in any event,
small publishers won’t benefit substantially.

ALGA remains committed to ensuring local
communities – particularly in the regions – remain well informed about what is
going on around them. The ABC does an admirable job in that regard, but we need
viable print and digital mastheads as well.

We are continuing to work with the Public
Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) as it maps newsroom coverage and
researches public support for independent journalism as well tax and business
models to sustain independent news coverage.

I’d urge councils to volunteer their experience
and knowledge if PIJI comes calling. Sure, we don’t always enjoy media
scrutiny, the filtering of information or the lack of interest in good-news
stories, but our communities will be the poorer for lack of information and
diversity if regional and community media dies.