Industry membership association data released into Australian News Index

There were 1214 print, digital, radio and television news outlets of community, local, metropolitan, state/territory or national primary coverage listed on the Australian News Index at 31 October 2023. This is the same number of outlets listed at 30 September 2023.

The majority of the outlets listed were local in scope. One market change was observed – the end of the print edition of the North Sydney Sun – and eight other changes were observed, including four outlet closures.

This month’s sample features North West Queensland, where we found most outlets produced high to very high levels of public interest journalism overall.

Also in our October report, we’ve released industry membership association data into the Australian News Index. This data shows relationships between news outlets and/or entities and the associations they are members of.

Read the full October report on our website.

Major announcements at PIJI Roundtable

This month PIJI held the first in its series of Future Focus Roundtables in Sydney. Drawing together delegates from across the public interest journalism sector, the event focused on Local News Markets.

Keynote speaker the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications, announced at the event that PIJI will receive $800,000 in additional funding from the Federal Government to continue its essential work mapping and monitoring the health, diversity and plurality of Australia’s public interest news landscape.

It brings PIJI’s total funding received by government to $1.7 million, recognising the value of PIJI’s work to date, the value it adds in informed policy and industry development and the need for this work to continue into the future.

Other highlights of the day included:

• The Minister’s announcement that consultation on the News Media Assistance Program (News MAP) – which aims to promote a diverse and sustainable media sector – is now open and will close on 22 February 2024. PIJI will be consulting with stakeholders to help inform our submission so please reach out.
• A further announcement by the Minister of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) upcoming Media Diversity Measurement Framework, supported by $10.5 million in funding.

Philanthropy Inquiry seeks further feedback

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into philanthropic giving in Australia has released its draft report and is now seeking further feedback.

PIJI welcomes the draft report’s references to our submission, noting the difficulty public interest journalism outlets face in obtaining DGR status. We were also heartened to see that the draft report suggests expanding access to DGR status for charities focused on public interest journalism.

We encourage interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft report. Feedback can be provided on the Productivity Commission’s website by Friday 9 February 2024.

Support PIJI this Christmas

As 2023 draws to a close, we’d like to thank all of those who have financially supported us over the past year. Your generosity enables PIJI to continue producing the research and policy suggestions that will move Australia towards a sustainable and diverse public interest journalism landscape.

PIJI’s impact is growing. Across our lifetime, we have delivered 33 Australian News Data Reports and sampled news content in 72 local government areas, including 64 in 2023 alone. Our work has contributed to real policy change; our impact is currently being felt in the delivery of the draft report into philanthropic giving in Australia, which contained references to our submission around DGR status for journalism.

If, like us, you believe in the importance of a strong public interest journalism sector, please consider donating to PIJI this festive season. You can make a donation via our website.

Research reveals the views of Australian news on generative AI

The Centre for Media Transition has conducted a widescale investigation of the attitudes towards generative AI in news production and steps being undertaken by Australian newsrooms to prepare for its possible deployment. The research report was released at PIJI’s Industry Roundtable last week.

The results indicate that newsrooms are taking a cautious approach to the technology. Staff can see benefits for news production, particularly around the absorption of menial tasks that have arisen with digitalisation. There are opportunities for trusted brands, conditional on maintaining robust editorial processes.

But editors are also attuned to the significant downside of genAI use if accuracy, authenticity and bias are not adequately dealt with. Transparency and human oversight are critical when AI is used in the newsroom.

Read the full report at the Centre’s website.

Season’s Greetings and holiday closure

The team at PIJI would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy 2024.

We will be taking a short break from close of business Friday 22 December 2023, reopening on Monday 8 January 2024.

We look forward to further conversations, collaboration, inspiration and discussion in 2024.

Industry news

PIJI coverage:

• The Weekly Beast: Ita Buttrose rallies ABC staff in Christmas message while Murdoch’s annual party goes missing
• Boost for AAP newswire as media diversity probed
• The Weekly Beast: Channel Seven’s Bruce Lehrmann scoop gets an unwelcome new airing

Australia:

• Tech giants could be forced to share secret news deals under Australia’s media bargaining code
• The ABC’s new chair faces a big audience problem
• Nine publishing boss James Chessell to depart
• Google’s Gemini: is the new AI model really better than ChatGPT?
• Ben Shepherd joins Schwartz Media as CEO
• ABC cancels The Drum as part of ‘wider restructure’
• James Packer buys up $US80m stake in Ten owner, Paramount Global
• Morry Schwartz steps back as publisher of The Monthly, Quarterly Essay
• 2024 set to be another tricky year for Australian advertising industry
• AFTRS partners with ABC, SBS & more for graduate program
• James Warburton stepping down as Seven CEO
• VOZ on track for 2024 launch, entering final adoption phase
• Google’s Canadian media deal gives Australian news producers hope for the future
• Sora Tanaka is a fitness-obsessed journalist. She also doesn’t exist
• Ben Roberts-Smith ordered to pay media outlets’ legal costs over failed defamation action
• At a time when journalism needs to be at its strongest, an open letter on the Israel/Hamas war has left the profession diminished
• Free-to-air TV wins two battles against streaming giants
• ACCC says ‘critical need’ for regulatory reform against tech giants
• Private Media to make redundancies amid company restructure
• Roy Morgan and ThinkNewsBrand’s Total News data reveals 6 in 10 news readers pay for the content

International:

• How Newsquest and its seven AI-assisted reporters are using ChatGPT
• The Coalition for Local News. Banding together to protect the future of local TV journalism
• Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting to merge
• New York Times Staffers Form Journalistic ‘Independence Caucus’ Amid Concerns Over Union’s Actions
• Predictions for journalism, 2024: AI gets widely adopted by smaller newsrooms
• How publishers are using AI chatbots to boost engagement
• AP, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Conversation renew collaboration to bolster coverage of nonprofit world
• News outlets slash nearly 2,700 jobs this year — the highest number since 2020 — contributing to alarming news deserts
• New York Times Hires First Newsroom Leader Focused on Artificial Intelligence
• AI 101. ChatGPT: A year of transforming our lives
• Google’s $100 million to Canada’s news industry is a small price to pay to avoid regulation
• Why BBC is ‘the neighbour from hell’ for leading regional newsbrand editors
• Most readers want publishers to label AI-generated articles — but trust outlets less when they do
• What’s Press Forward? Here’s your primer.
• Forget the link tax. Focus on one key metric to “save local news”
• Echoes from the desert: Five seasoned reporters reflect on the vanishing landscape of local news
• Tim Dower: The low-down on the Public Interest Journalism Fund
• Your Local Newspaper Might Not Have a Single Reporter