The Public Interest Journalism Initiative is an Australian-first: the only think tank in the country dedicated to researching the health and sustainability of public interest journalism in Australia.

Public interest journalism is a public good; it is the accurate, reliable news and journalism at the heart of public discussion, diversity of voice, open justice, accountability and informed decision-making. It educates, inspires and brings together communities.

PIJI is committed to ensuring that this practice can continue for generations of Australians to come, and is proud of our impact to date. Our research revealed the true state of public interest journalism around the country, including the closures of hundreds of media outlets over the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and the further consolidation of the sector in many places.

Our research informs our policy proposals and submissions to government and other authorities in areas that impact the state or production of public interest journalism.

Since 2019, we have:

• Revealed the consolidation in local news availability around Australia
• Made 16 submissions to inquiries in areas related to public interest journalism, including the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, the Senate Press Freedom Inquiry, the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation, the Mandatory News Media Bargaining Code, the Senate Inquiry into media diversity, and the Regional Newspapers Inquiry.
• Seen 36 of our recommendations adopted or incorporated by the inquiring body
• Created an interactive, nationwide map of local news outlets
• Sampled more than 15 local government areas to determine the localised production of core news in print and digital outlets
• Engaged with key stakeholders from across the political spectrum
• Received coverage in multiple news outlets around Australia, including ABC News, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and The Mandarin
• Been mentioned in Hansard 65 times and cited in more than 10 academic papers, recognising our important contribution to political and public debate.

Our flagship research endeavour, the Australian News Data Project, can be found here.

As a not for profit, we rely on your support to keep our impactful work going. We appreciate your support.