The Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) recently led a joint submission with The Judith Neilson Institute For Journalism and Ideas (JNI)  to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s  (ACCC) Concepts Paper on the Mandatory News Media Bargaining Code.

Our submission supports the establishment of the Code with some basic principles for success, including:

• A hybrid bargaining framework
• Adoption of an interim measure to calculate the value of news content used by digital platforms
• A pragmatic funding distribution model for news producers
• The immediate need the Australian Government’s to consider other complementary measures such as tax rebates and incentives for philanthropy

The ACCC is expected to release the draft Code at the end of July 2020.

To read more about the Code and PIJI-JNI recommendations, click here.

Newsroom contractions down as temporary closures ease

The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project has released a data update, showing industry contractions dropping to 180 from the previous high of 219.

This is mainly due to temporary closures coming back online following the first wave of the pandemic. Temporary closures now sit at 46, from last month’s peak of 86.

Despite closures and service reductions, we have also seen a handful of good news stories with openings around regional areas.

One Melbourne community newspaper, The Local Paper has returned from its April closure and launched dedicated print editions for the North, Northwest and Eastern suburbs.

If you have information to share with our research team about local newsroom or other industry changes, please email info@piji.com.au.

ACMA Misinformation position paper released

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a position paper to guide the creation of a voluntary code for digital platforms to address misinformation and encourage quality news, including the objectives of:

• Reducing the impact of potentially harmful misinformation
• Empowering better judgement of news quality and information
• Strengthen the transparency and accountability of platform practices.

ACMA will report back to the Federal Government by June 2021. More information here.

New Appointment

PIJI appoints new external members PIJI’s board is delighted to announce the appointment of two new external members to the Finance & Risk Committee: Mette Schepers (Chair) and Irene Yeung (General Member).

Mette is an internationally-experienced financial and professional services executive and non-executive director. She is known for building and growing businesses and developing strategy.

Irene is a senior executive with experience in risk management and corporate governance. She identifies emerging risks, designs policies and standards to mitigate risks and helps teams implement them in a practical way.

Industry funding announcements

The Federal Government’s Public Interest News Gathering Fund (PING) will distribute $50 million in funding between 107 regional publishers and broadcasters to provide support through the COVID-19 pandemic:

• TV to receive $20 million (5 organisations)
• Publishing will receive $18 million (among 92 publishers)
• Radio will get $12 million (13 organisations)

The Walkley Foundation has announced $134,000 in grants to fund 11 reporting projects on regional Australia, the Pacific and Asia: 

• Seven freelance journalists were awarded $89,000 for regional reporting
• A total of $20,000 for two recipients of the Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism
• Three recipients to share in $25,000 for the Judith Neilson Institute Freelance Grant for Asian Journalism

Recent Media Coverage

AUSTRALIA

• Fears councils, authorities won’t be held accountable: Jobs will go and media experts say so too will accountability of local politicians and authorities, ABC, May 28
• ‘It’s a real loss’: Gippsland rocked by local newspaper closures:  For almost 150 years, The Great Southern Star and Yarram Standard delivered the news of their Gippsland communities but in May the presses stopped. The Age, May 31
• Regional newspaper cuts leave locals fearing loss of community and accountability: Denise and Bruce Morcombe say their local paper, the Sunshine Coast Daily, was vital in keeping Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance in the public eye.  ABC 7:30, June 19
• Embattled regional media outlets may knock back government grants:
  Regional media companies may be forced to refuse or return government funding because of a condition preventing them from cutting the amount of journalism they provide to local communities over the next 12 months. Brisbane Times, July 2
• How will regional and suburban media survive in a post-coronavirus world?
  The ongoing financial woes many media organisations around the country are facing have been exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, prompting a wide-ranging discussion about the future of journalism in Australia. ABC, June 22

INTERNATIONAL 

USA

• Future of media: more digital and more economic pain, Reuters Institute says (Reuters, June 16)
• ‘Team of Rivals’ forms non-profit to preserve community reporting (Bernardsville News, June 16)

Canada

• COVID-19 and the future of journalism (The Globe And Mail, June 1)

UK

• Covid-19 accelerates digital shifts in the media industry (Journalism.co.uk, June 16)

NZ

• Crisis, disintegration, hope: only intervention can save NZ media (The Conversation, June 3)