Meta won’t renew deals with Australian news outlets
Facebook’s parent company Meta confirmed it would not renew its commercial deals with Australian news outlets.
These deals, drawn up three years ago after the advent of the News Media Bargaining Code, saw around $70 million a year flowing to Australian news rooms from the tech giant.
The move represents a major blow to the flow of investable dollars into public interest journalism. This represents a loss of revenue, and also adds to the broader issues facing the sector. PIJI released a statement noting the sector’s need for long-term structural reform, as well as immediate attention.
Read a full wrap up of coverage of PIJI in relation to this issue on our website.
Green shoots on the Australian News Index
There were 1,213 print, digital, radio and television news outlets of community, local, metropolitan, state/territory or national primary coverage listed on the Australian News Index as at 31 January 2024, an increase of two from the previous month.
The Index saw a number of green shoots appear in the form of outlet openings. One outlet – the Hobart Weekly News – was recorded as having opened in January. Two other outlets were recorded as having opened last year: the Burdekin Life in 2023, and the Moruya Mail last October. The latter two were among ten changes made to outlet records in January, which also included an increase in service and a name change for the Limestone Coast Today (formerly the Naracoorte Herald).
Also in January, we observed changes to the operating entity of five southern New South Wales based outlets.
Read the full report on our website.
News MAP update
Over the past month PIJI has held a series of industry consultations on the News MAP inquiry.
Extensive consultations took place between February and March with stakeholders from academia, peak bodies and news outlets. We also held a number of one-on-one meetings over those weeks. Consultations are ongoing.
We would like to thank all of those who have participated in our industry consultations for their comments and feedback. We look forward to continuing the conversation and exploration of ideas with our peers in future.
When finalised, our submission to the News MAP inquiry will be published on our website.
PIJI makes final submission to philanthropy inquiry
PIJI’s final submission to the Productivity Commission’s philanthropy inquiry is now public and can be read online.
In our submission, we again highlighted the lack of clarity for donors looking to give to public interest journalism, and the significant mechanical barriers for not-for-profit news organisations seeking to both register as a charity with the ACNC and obtain Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. We noted that we strongly support the Commission’s draft recommendation for a simpler, refocused DGR system that creates fairer and more consistent outcomes for donors, charities and the community.
Read both our initial and final submissions on our website.
Queensland extends shield laws
Queensland extended its journalist shield laws to apply in the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
The Crime and Corruption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 will ensure journalists cannot be compelled to provide information, documents or answer questions at a CCC hearing where this would disclose the identity of a confidential source, unless it is in the public interest.
MPC Fellowship recipient announced
The first recipient of the Melbourne Press Club’s Regional Journalism Fellowship Program is Kayla Jones.
The Press Club established the Fellowship program with the Brian M Davis Charitable Foundation late last year to provide opportunities for school leavers from diverse regional communities to embark on a journalism career.
Read more about the Fellowship and Kayla here.
Upcoming opportunities and key dates
- Friday 22 March – Melbourne Press Club seminar: On the Frontline: Multicultural Media’s Vital Role in Public Interest Journalism. Register here.
- Wednesday 27 March – Walkley Foundation webinar: Where do I go for information about journalism revenue? Featuring PIJI CEO Anna Draffin. Register here.
Industry news roundup
PIJI coverage:
- Australian news media could seek payment from Meta for content used to train AI
- A Meta crisis for Australian journalism?
- Job losses and potentially ‘dire’ impact on regional media from Meta’s news exit
- Meta’s lost revenue is a huge hit for public interest journalism, which was already reeling from cutbacks
- Is Australia’s golden age of third-party fact checking over?
- Grim picture for regional media as Meta withdrawal could accelerate contraction
Australia:
- The brutal reality is that Australia’s media is broken and policy tinkering will not help
- There are big opportunities in AI, but also very real risks — how can governments get the balance right?
- Australian government concerned as Meta dumps transparency tool CrowdTangle
- Veteran Nine news boss Darren Wick calls it quits
- Radio market overhaul as Southern Cross says it may accept ARN bid
- The ABC loses more in the Meta v media and government standoff
- The ACCC is asking news outlets if they can live without Facebook
- Don’t build your home on someone else’s land – TikTok, cookies, and Facebook news
- Meta claims it gives news publishers $115m in free traffic every year
- Threats, lawsuits, smears: How the global war on fact-checkers and misinfo experts came to Australia
- ‘News is not the reason people use Facebook and Instagram’: Meta Australia hits back at media claims
- Microsoft still supports Australia’s media code as rival Meta shuns the news
- Fresh directions, more funds: What new chair Kim Williams wants for the ABC
- Triple M takeover: SCA finally says ‘no’ to ARN/Anchorage and open to revised proposal
- ABC News launches pilot WhatsApp channel as referral traffic from social media giants shows sharp decline
- Facebook ate and then ignored the news industry. It’s hard, but we should leave it be
- Facebook faces $1.5bn fines over news media bargaining code
- Misleading clickbait is prevalent on Facebook and Instagram in Canada after Meta’s news ban. Could it happen in Australia?
- Pressure mounts on Facebook to be part of solution to ‘problem they’ve caused’
- ‘No one can tell brands how they should react’: Will advertisers punish Meta for exiting news deals?
- Community-based entrepreneurs are leading the way in solving the local news crisis
- Beyond Meta: Why local publishers are essential for marketers
- Digital expert slams publishers for seeking “intervention over innovation” after Meta pulls out of media deals
- Michael Miller: Government’s response to Meta will be “watched closely on the international stage”
- After Meta’s exit, where to next for Australia’s news media bargaining code?
- Facebook will stop subsidizing Australian news. Will tax dollars have to replace it?
- If Meta’s intransigence isn’t enough, AI poses an even greater threat to journalism
- Meta is ending its deals to pay for Australian news content. This is how it could change your Facebook and Instagram feeds
- Meta won’t renew commercial deals with Australian news media
- Meta’s dumping of content deals with publishers will cost jobs, says Country Press Australia
- Meta’s move will increase misinformation and harm democracy
- Onerous demands and threats: Inside Facebook’s secret media deals
- Content deal with Facebook, Google critical for Australian journalism
- What’s a newspaper for in 2024?
- MEAA and CRA: Proposed Bill would “harm” radio in regional and remote communities
- Details of deal between Meta and Network 10 revealed as tech giant pulls out of Media Code
International:
- AI is a big opportunity for the news media. Let’s not blow it.
- The local news crisis will be solved at the grassroots
- Journalism Needs Leaders Who Know How to Run a Business
- Colossal decline of UK regional media since 2007 revealed
- Young People Get Their News from TikTok. That’s a Huge Problem for Democrats.
- How should we value news used by AI? A checklist for publishers
- Foreign govts to be banned from owning UK newspapers and magazines
- Revisiting WEHCO Media’s tablet program
- Sports Illustrated’s Employees Are Told Print Edition Will Close in May
- As AI use grows, we must articulate ‘the enduring principles that define journalism’
- AI news that’s fit to print: The New York Times’ editorial AI director on the current state of AI-powered journalism
- A company linked to a large “pink slime” network is being hired by big publishers like Gannett
- The National Trust for Local News buys a “mission-driven” printing press in Colorado
- U.S. News Organizations Could Receive $11 Billion Windfall If JCPA Passes.
- Honolulu Civil Beat now thriving as a nonprofit
- San Francisco leaders urge city to invest in local media
- Five of this year’s Pulitzer finalists are AI-powered
- Ukraine’s local news deserts could be barrier to national recovery
- Sprouts of Hope in a Gloomy Media Landscape
- Q&A: The Haitian Times
- UK publishers should be ready for Facebook to switch off news altogether
- With Midwest expansion, the Pivot Fund tries to put grassroots news sources on philanthropy’s radar
- A top pipeline for local journalists is saying no to hedge funds
- What happened when the Chicago Sun-Times freed the news
- Newshub is set to close – New Zealand’s democracy will be poorer for it
- ‘The impact is substantial’: Media buyers react to NZ-based Newshub’s closure
- The Guardian’s new “Deeply Read” article ranking focuses on attention, not just clicks
- UK publishers tell Parliament: Stop AI using our content without permission
- Just say ‘yes’ to cookies: Five ways to save quality journalism on the open web
- How the Media Industry Keeps Losing the Future