Government takes action to support local, independent Australian news and journalism

PIJI joins a coalition of small, independent, multicultural, First Nations and regional news publishers in welcoming the government’s proposal to introduce the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), commending the government for listening to industry feedback during the consultation period and taking real steps to support the sustainability of Australian news and journalism.

To ensure the NBI achieves its full potential, we recommend four adjustments to the legislation when it is introduced to Parliament:

1. The Incentive requires at least 25 per cent of all deals be made with small and medium publishers (revenue under $50M).
2. The proportion of levy revenue allocated to the grant program be increased from five to 15 per cent. A larger allocation is needed to meaningfully support small publishers and to ensure the fund can deliver lasting impact for Australian news media diversity.
3. The eligibility criteria for the grant program be expanded to include media organisations with annual revenue over $150,000 annual turnover.
4. The grant program prioritise funding to smaller organisations that do not benefit from deals or employment-based distributions.

Read the full joint media statement here.

PIJI is an independent advocacy organisation. We appreciate your support.

Please consider forwarding this newsletter to someone interested in the sustainability of public interest journalism and its importance to the survival of democracy.

Allan Fels: Recognising small news publishers is an important step – now we must get the details right 

The government took an important step in recognising the contribution of smaller publishers. We must now work together to ensure the final design delivers.

Final News Bargaining Incentive draft leaves room for improvement 

Key changes – and lack thereof – to the legislation left some in the news industry disappointed.   

AI exacerbating journalism’s struggle for sustainability 

For journalists, the scales weighing the pros and cons of generative AI seem to tip back and forth.

The rise of The Nerd Reich 

As American tech titans grow bolder and more open in their influence on politics, Gil Duran has been diligently working to sound the alarm.

ICYMI: Industry updates

Australia

• The Coalition and Greens voiced strong concerns over the final draft of the News Bargaining Incentive, asserting key changes will mean less money for Australian media.
  Companies such as Google and Meta have yet to comment, but Computer & Communications Industry Association vice president for digital trade Jonathan McHale said “US authorities should respond vigorously” if Australia did not “abandon this misguided approach”.
• Nine Entertainment axed 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Managing director of publishing Tory Maguire labelled the move an evolution to adapt to structural change during “an extreme state of disruption because of AI”.
  The move comes two years after Nine cut about 200 jobs when Meta walked away from deals with Australian news publishers.
• AI giant Anthropic denied being in talks to license the ABC’s content after ABC managing director Hugh Marks told a panel that Anthropic wanted access to the national broadcaster’s archive of audio and video content, in addition to its news content.
  During the panel, Marks also said Australian media companies are in a “disproportional bargaining position” with global tech companies that feel entitled to take IP for free.
  This comes after the ABC struck a deal with Anthropic and rolled out a pilot program which will see AI used to help convert radio bulletins into digital news articles.
• The ABC and SBS rejected antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal’s proposal for an external regulatory body to vet the broadcasters’ coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
  Segal told the royal commission there was a common perception in the Jewish community that the public broadcasters’ coverage of Israel’s actions in Gaza lacked balance and gave disproportionate voice to anti-Israel perspectives.
  In individual statements, the ABC and SBS defended their reporting.
• News Corp’s Sky News Australia rebranded as News24 following the expiry of a licensing deal with the UK’s Sky News.
  
• One Nation leader Pauline Hanson followed through on her threat to block access to the ABC and the Guardian, with journalists from the outlets banned from the announcement of the party’s Victorian state election candidates. A reporter from The Age was also blocked from the event.Hanson said she would not accept “rubbish”, “spin” and “lies” from the ABC and the Guardian. She did not specify which news reports from the outlets had contained such content.
  Following the event, Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom executive director Peter Greste said in a statement “no political party should have the right to pick and choose the news outlets who ask them questions.”
  “One of the strengths of our democracy is the ability of all journalists to robustly interrogate politicians on behalf of the people who hire them — the voters. It isn’t always comfortable, but that freedom is one of the reasons our political system is one of the world’s most stable and effective.”

Around the World

• New York Times reporters are the latest journalists to have been subpoenaed by the US Trump administration over their work and the government’s investigations into leaks.
  Similar action was previously taken against reporters for publishers such as the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
• US President Donald Trump removed the BBC’s commercial arm from his multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit, but continues to pursue his claim against the broadcaster.
  A federal judge also ruled Trump must turn over financial records to the BBC, despite his lawyers backing off their initial assertions that a 2024 BBC production had caused the president economic injuries and diminished the value of his companies.
• The Indonesian government is preparing to introduce a draft bill which would reportedly require tech platforms to pay compensation for aggregating, republishing or link-previewing news content, as well as using news content for AI training.
  The draft bill would also reportedly prohibit the use of AI to copy an individual’s “distinctive style” and would mandate disclosure of AI use in content.
• Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies approved a new law granting journalists the right to access information held by public institutions. Until now, journalists’ access to information depended on the discretion of authorities and administrations.
• A group of journalists, including a CNN team, were attacked by Israeli settlers while in the West Bank covering the one-year anniversary of the killing of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, who had been beaten to death by settlers.
  Israeli police said four suspects were arrested after the attack on the journalists.
• Al Jazeera has reportedly cut more than 20 journalists’ jobs in Gaza.
  This comes after more than 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including several Al Jazeera media workers. Some of these killings have been attributed as direct reprisals for their work.

Have something to share? Submit content for review to info@piji.com.au