The News Media Assistance Program (News MAP) has finally arrived, with applications for the Journalism Assistance Fund opening last month.
But the launch of the first of two rounds of grants comes too late for the news publishers which folded and journalists who lost their jobs since the development of the program was announced in 2022.
For those left standing, the move is a welcome sign of relief to come – but some industry players say it still falls short of the support needed for the pursuit of sustainability and media diversity.
In November, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts held a design consultation with several key industry players for the forthcoming second round of grants, currently labelled the News Innovation Fund.
Invitees included representatives from major media companies, small independent news publishers, peak bodies and researchers.
PIJI was not invited to the meeting but spoke with some attendees to gain insight into the future of News MAP.
Proposed funding leaves news publishers wanting more
The News Innovation Fund is expected to open for applications around April 2026, with funding to be released to successful applicants in July – a revelation that “really upset everyone in the room” during the design consultation, one attendee told PIJI on the condition of anonymity.
In response to PIJI’s enquiry to communications minister Anika Wells’ office, a government spokesperson confirmed $31.5 million will be made available through round two of News MAP. The second round will focus on “supporting business innovation and building commercial sustainability and resilience of news organisations”.
The attendee said design consultation participants were told this funding would likely be distributed over two years.
“Nobody in the room believes that $15 million a year across the sector is going to do anything, really,” he said.
“And there was deep frustration, bordering on anger, about how slow the government has been in terms of addressing a really serious issue.”
The attendee said News MAP funding was initially intended to be distributed in July this year, but the federal election put everything on hold.
Following the election, then-communications minister Michelle Rowland – who had been working on News MAP for years – was replaced by Wells, who also took on the role of sport minister.
The attendee pointed to this shake-up, which he said included the appointment of a new team to review News MAP, and Wells’ larger portfolio responsibilities as factors that likely contributed to the further delay of the funding packages.
“You would have thought there’d be some kind of continuity, but they just kind of started afresh,” he said.
“Hundreds of jobs have been lost.”
“[There’s] a feeling that the government is dragging its feet on all of this … [and not seriously taking] steps to counter what it says it’s concerned about, which is a loss of social cohesion, polarisation of views and also a very fragile media ecosystem, particularly in rural, regional community outlets.”
A September 2024 PIJI report found 183 Australian news outlets had closed during the previous five years; another 175 contractions, from mergers to newsroom closures, were seen in the industry in the same period.
Further contractions this year resulted in at least dozens more job losses across major organisations like the ABC, ACM and Nine.
In addition to News MAP’s slow progress, the attendee said the funding shows no support for new entrants to the industry.
Lack of support for ‘green shoots’
Newswires and peak bodies such as the Local & Independent News Association (LINA) are ineligible to apply for the first round of grants under the Journalism Assistance Fund, and it is unclear whether these services will be eligible to apply for the News Innovation Fund.
The government spokesperson told PIJI the government is engaging with industry and stakeholders on the design of News MAP’s second round of funding to ensure it meets the needs of the sector, with eligibility criteria still being finalised.
The spokesperson said the government has already given LINA $4.16 million to provide business development and other support services to hyperlocal and independent news businesses.
The delay to News MAP’s implementation pushed LINA to the brink of shuttering before the not-for-profit was granted an extension to its government contract in July.
LINA executive director Claire Stuchbery told PIJI that funding will expire on June 30, 2026.
Despite being ineligible to apply to the Journalism Assistance Fund, Stuchbery – who also attended the News Innovation Fund design consultation meeting – said the not-for-profit was pleased to see the funding being rolled out as the news media industry is “desperate” for support.
But she said LINA was concerned the allocation of funds may be “reinforcing the status quo” by focusing on distribution to publishers already employing journalists, rather than the creation of new roles and supporting “green shoots” in news deserts.
Stuchbery hopes funding distribution will expand in scope to fulfil the ‘innovation’ factor under the upcoming News Innovation Fund.
However, she said $31.5 million over the next two years would not stretch enough to meet the industry’s needs, or fuel its capacity to innovate and build sustainability.
And the amount of funding on offer does not appear to be up for negotiation.
“The policymakers are working within the framework of what has been allocated in the budget at the moment,” Stuchbery said.
“So they were very focused on what can be done with the money that’s available, and industry is looking at, ‘How do we prioritise what needs to happen, given that the amount of money is not going to be enough to actually address a lot of the need?’”
Welcome opportunity for overlooked media
Peri Strathearn, managing editor of independent local news publisher Murray Bridge News, told PIJI his thoughts leaving the design consultation echoed how he felt throughout the News MAP process.
Namely, it was “fantastic” the government was working to support journalism, but “you’d love it to be more money”.
“Obviously the government has a few different lines in the water around the bargaining code, social benefits and media literacy, as well as News MAP,” Strathearn said.
“But particularly at the small end of the sector, it’s hard going.”
At the time of speaking, Strathearn planned to apply for the Journalism Assistance Fund, now open to entities which produce and publish digitally-distributed ‘core news content’.
The $67.6 million fund will be split into grants worth between $39,000 to $7.5 million over three years.
For Strathearn, who founded Murray Bridge News in 2020, the potential funding would be a welcome boost.
His outlet serves an important function in informing the local community of approximately 20,000; an October 2022 PIJI survey found 95 per cent of the stories produced by Murray Bridge News that month were public interest journalism, a higher amount than produced by other outlets servicing Murray Bridge.
With strong general and paid subscriber numbers, along with recently expanded offerings such as email and print editions, Strathearn said Murray Bridge News is “doing fantastically” from audience and product perspectives.
But in terms of revenue, he said lack of interest from government and corporate advertisers makes conditions tough.
Strathearn said Murray Bridge News instead relies on support from local businesses – no easy feat in a small community which has endured a challenging few years fighting through Covid, a flood and a major employer burning down.
There has also been lack of access to government support, as Strathearn said Murray Bridge News was ineligible for the various government subsidies and grants intended to support news publishers over the past few years. The outlet was finally able to obtain government funding under the News Media Relief Program in 2024.
“We’re kind of doing great and we’re doing awfully at the same time – that’s the dichotomy of working in independent media,” he said.
Sezen Bakan