PIJI preparing response to ACCC draft code

PIJI is conducting research including industry and community consultations to inform our response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft news and digital platforms mandatory bargaining code.

The objective of the code is to address the market power imbalance between digital platforms and the news media sector and quickly ensure fair payment for content. This code has the potential to set market precedence globally.

Formulation of the PIJI response will be led by our Policy Working Group and builds on our original joint submission with the Judith Neilson Institute For Journalism and Ideas (JNI) to the ACCC’s concepts paper.

The draft code was released late last week and reflects many of the PIJI-JNI joint submission recommendations. Key elements of the draft code include:

• Direct or collective negotiation by news organisations with digital platforms
• A binding final offer arbitration approach to negotiations
• Large penalties of up to $10 million for breaches of the code
• At least 28 days of notice for algorithmic changes that affect the surfacing of news content

Under final offer arbitration each side submits a final offer and the arbitrator must choose one or the other. This means that if a party makes an excessively low or high offer the proposal by the other side will be chosen.

To provide feedback to PIJI on the draft code, please contact our Chief Executive Anna Draffin.

Defamation Law

The news sector has welcomed the Federal Attorney General’s announcement that he will be seeking an overhaul of Australia’s defamation laws.

Christian Porter is proposing a public interest journalism defence requiring a defendant to prove the statement was a matter of public interest and the defendant reasonably believed its publication was in the public interest.

The move comes after Geoffrey Rush’s record $2.9 million judgement against the Daily Telegraph.

The reforms are aimed at bringing escalating defamation payouts under control, avoid trivial defamation action and encourage plaintiffs to resolve cases without resorting to litigation.

NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman led the push for the changes, saying ‘‘the ability of those who hold the powerful to account to do so without the chilling effects of having a defence that never works and the prospect of damages payouts so large that they may cripple the media’s willingness to tackle matters of public interest’’.

PIJI Appointment

PIJI is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Simon Wilkie to our Policy Working Group.

Professor Simon Wilkie’s career spans a remarkable array of roles that extend beyond the higher education sphere and include appointments as Chief Economic Policy Strategist at Microsoft Corporation and Chief Economist with the US Federal Communications Commission.

In 2019, Professor Wilkie joined Monash Business School from the University of Southern California (USC), where he was Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Professor of Economics, Communication and Law in the USC Gould School of Law.

You can read more about Simon here.

Grants & Funding

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) unveiled the 2020 recipients of its Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund, with 41 grants to share in $5 million.

The round had over 300 applications, which represented almost three times the number of applications as the previous round. Two-thirds of the recipients are in regional areas.

The Federal Government also awarded $50 million to 107 regional publishers and broadcasters – 92 publishers, 13 radio and five TV broadcasters – through its Public Interest News Gathering (PING) program.

Mapping Project

The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project saw some positive developments in the news landscape during July.

Six new newspapers commenced operation: one in Victoria and five in regional Queensland. The Queensland papers all opened in areas where newspapers had recently closed down: Chinchilla, Kingaroy, Emerald, Gayndah, Gympie.

No contractions were logged during the month, instead 34 newsrooms came back online after operations were suspended.

PIJI researchers continue to track newsroom changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example mastheads that have resumed print editions, the emergence of digital-only operations and newsroom or station closures. If you have been affected or know of a news organisation that has, please submit your information. We appreciate all contributions.

Recent Media Coverage

Australia

• Regional newspaper future will rely on independent publishers, Coonamble newspaper editor says. ABC News, August 5
• Industry responds to mandatory payment code for tech platforms: ‘This is a watershed moment to benefit all Australians’. Mumbrella, August 3
• Google and Facebook told to pay for news content. The Australian, August 1
• ABC, SBS exclusion from tech giants’ payments a ‘government’ decision, SMH/The Age, August 3

International

United Kingdom

• New York Times digital revenue passes print for the first time, Financial Times, August 5
• Pandemic fears are boosting demand for trustworthy news, The Economist, July 29
• Nesta study reveals UK is “lagging behind” other countries in funding of public interest news. Journalism.co.uk, July 17

USA

• Pay cuts have provided a temporary fix, but the pandemic persists, Columbia Journalism Review, July 29
• Nadler: Journalism industry ‘gravely threatened’ by Google, Facebook, The Hill, July 29