PIJI submission on News MAP

Following extensive industry consultation, PIJI made a submission to the government’s News MAP consultation. We thank all sector stakeholders who engaged with this process and informed our submission and recommendations.

We also note that the submission was underpinned by our new research, including the fourth instalment of PIJI’s Community Value of Public Interest Journalism series, last updated in 2020. This research in turn informs PIJI’s latest tax rebate modelling, which is also included in the submission.

Highlights of the submission include:

• PIJI supports data and research-driven policy initiatives.
• We recommend that the objective of “media diversity” include consideration of content diversity as well media ownership diversity among other factors.
• There must be a two-speed approach to alleviating the pressure on the sector, with industry telling PIJI through its extensive consultations that high level structural reform must be accompanied by short-term remediation initiatives.
• Structural form examples include tax rebate incentives similar to or extended from the government’s R&D tax scheme and a public interest journalism DGR category.
• Short-term alleviation strategies may include grant funding, with schemes tied to demonstratable editorial standards, an external complaints authority and the generation of public interest journalism with measurable public benefit.

We look forward to continuing the conversation and exploration of ideas with our peers in future. This submission is now available to read on our website.

Australian News Sampling Project: 2023 Report

PIJI has released a new report detailing high level findings from the Australian News Sampling Project across 2023.

The report includes a comparative sample in the Eyre Peninsula, conducted in February and November 2023, and a study of court reporting across regional New South Wales.

Among the key findings are that:

Courts and crime coverage is almost always the least reported category of public interest journalism, while community coverage is frequently the largest category.
Moderate to high levels of public interest journalism is published in most sampled areas.
Regional titles publish a higher proportion of local stories, while publications based in capital cities cover fewer local stories compared to state and national stories.
Read the full report on our website.

Closures and openings on the Australian News Index in Feb

Eight backdated outlet closures were recorded on the Australian News Index, according to PIJI’s latest monthly data report.

The backdated changes in the February edition also include the opening of four new outlets and the reopening of another.

As of 29 February 2024 there are 1209 outlets listed on the Australian News Index, a decrease of four on the previous month.

Read the full February report on our website.

Speech: Anna Draffin at the Productivity Commission’s philanthropy inquiry

PIJI CEO Anna Draffin recently appeared at the public hearings for the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into philanthropy.

Visit our website to read her speech from the day.

Upcoming opportunities and key dates

• Wednesday 1 May – Walkley Foundation webinar: Using solutions journalism to cover diverse communities. Register here.

Industry news roundup

PIJI coverage:

• Concerns grow as Facebook’s news exit nears
• Small publisher fearful of being “kicked off” Meta platforms

Australia:

• News Corp drafts in PwC as it deals with Meta cash hole
• Read Justice Lee’s full verdict on Bruce Lehrmann v Network Ten
• Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) searching for new CEO after Ford Enalls quits
• Seven apologises for misidentifying Bondi Junction attacker
• Meta spreads fake news in Canada and Australia could be next
• What’s next in Meta’s fight over news content
• AAP partners with Google to launch fact-checking program
• Publishers are concerned news could be permanently dumped from Facebook
• New complaint alleges Meta is misleading Australians over its disinformation and misinformation controls on Facebook
• Schwartz Media splits with digital alliance over Meta position
• ASIO boss tells inquiry into Australian secrecy laws foreign intelligence operatives are posing as journalists
• The case for investing in independent publishers and news media
• Disarm Meta’s nuclear option for news, indie publishers say
• Meta or no Meta, the news publishing industry has a fundamental problem

International:

• The ‘fake news’-ification of local news—and what to do about it
• Newsguard downgrades credibility scores for New York Times, GB News and Daily Star
• New Zealand’s Stuff Group to produce news programme after Warner Bros Discovery closes newsroom
• Major South African news site ‘shuts down’ for a day to alert readers to ‘crisis in journalism’
• News Outlets Urge Trump and Biden to Commit to Presidential Debates
• Faced with paying for news, Google omits California sites for some
• Should your news outlet be a charity?
• Getty Images CEO Calls for Industry Standards Around AI
• Exploring perspectives: Editorial pages forge community dialogues and insightful conversations
• News/Media Alliance AI survey reveals support for compensating publishers
• At nonprofit newsrooms, is good journalism but sparse audiences a recipe for irrelevance?
• News-powered hedge fund raises $100m to trade on reporters’ scoops
• In New Orleans, a pioneering nonprofit newsroom ponders a future beyond its founder