The vast majority of Australians value public interest journalism and are willing to pay for it, according to a research report released today by the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI), in the midst of a dramatic contraction within the news industry.

The Essential Report polled over 1000 people and found that the Australian population is a voracious consumer of media, with 86 per cent of respondents accessing commercial TV and radio, as well as hardcopy or online news.

An overwhelming 81 per cent of respondents said public interest journalism[1] (PIJ) is important, but this rises to 86 per cent during natural disasters and 85 per cent during public health crises.

The majority of respondents (53 per cent) will endorse a $6 a year tax increase to support, while 40 per cent would agree to an annual tax increase of $12.

“The results of this report show very clearly the value the Australian public in principle places on journalism in our society,” says report lead Glenn Withers, Professor of Economics at Australian National University’s Research School of Economics.

“What is also interesting, is that a large number of people also say they are actually willing to pay for it through the mechanism of their taxes.

“And in a finding that is extremely relevant to the world we’re currently living in, an even higher value is placed on public interest journalism during times of crises.”

April’s release of The Essential Report forms part of PIJI’s 12 month research project into understanding how the community values public interest journalism. The project involves public sentiment surveys conducted at six-monthly intervals beginning in October 2019. Further analysis of trends in public sentiment across demographics and comparisons over time will be conducted following the third survey in October 2020.
This is particularly relevant in the wake of current closures and cutbacks

Respondents also demonstrated concern that there may be an undersupply of news in the local government sphere.

This is particularly relevant in the wake of closures and cutbacks at newsrooms in so many local and regional areas, as tracked by PIJI’s Australian Newsroom Mapping Project.

Twice as many respondents, at 28 per cent, expressed concern over an insufficient amount of local government coverage, when compared to concern over insufficient coverage of national affairs extent of coverage, at 13 per cent.

“The Federal Government has been proactive on several measures to try to slow the national spate of newsrooms closures, suspensions of production and job losses,” says PIJI Chairman Professor Allan Fels AO.

“The government is to be congratulated on this work to date, including on its announcement of a world-first mandatory code with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to force digital platforms to pay for news content they use,” continued Mr Fels, a former Chairman of the ACCC.

“But the reality is that the stresses placed on public interest journalism by the migration of advertising online started long before the arrival of COVID-19, its arrival just hastened the inevitable.

“The public is saying very clearly in the research we are releasing today that it values public interest journalism and its role in our society, and they are willing to pay for it. The disappearance of local news would remove an essential piece of our democratic process, including governmental and judicial transparency.

“We hope this research encourages the government to continue on  its current path and work towards pulling the remaining policy levers available, to ensure we don’t end up relying on fake news or misinformation on the issues that really matter.”

Among a spate of closures and contractions, Australian Community Media has suspended production on a number of titles until the end of June. News Corp has stopped printing 60 local products, Taylor Group’s The Bunyip newspaper in South Australia has closed, a number of regional newspapers have suspended production indefinitely. Sunraysia Daily has reduced to print just once a week.

The evolving snapshot of COVID-19’s impact on news can be seen in PIJI’s ongoing Australian Newsroom Mapping Project

[1] Reporting on news and current affairs, as well as the recording, investigation and explanation of it.