The Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) welcomes today’s release by the Federal Government of the draft Mandatory News Media Bargaining Code and the inclusion of many of PIJI’s key recommendations in the proposed framework.
PIJI commends the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Federal Government for the speed of this process and the proposed introduction of legislation this year.
“This code will force the digital platforms to make serious offers of payment for content,” says PIJI Chair Allan Fels AO, also a former chair of the ACCC.
“If they don’t, the arbitrator is likely to impose solutions put forward by news organisation, big and small.
“The proposal for the code to be compulsory and to include final arbitration puts real teeth in the process and is a world first.”
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.
Some of the recommendations made by PIJI-JNI included and detailed in the proposed code are:
- Direct or collective negotiation by news organisations with digital platforms
- A binding final arbitration approach to negotiations
- Large penalties of up to $10 million for breaches of the code
- At least 28 days notice for algorithmic changes that affect the surfacing of news content
“We are pleased to see that the recommendations made by PIJI in our joint submission with The Judith Neilson Institute For Journalism and Ideas (JNI) are broadly reflected in the draft framework,” says Professor Fels.
The objective of the code is to address the market power imbalance between digital platforms and the news media sector, and specifically, to quickly secure fair payment for content.
In the ACCC’s own Digital Platforms Inquiry, it noted that for every $100 spent on digital advertising, Google and Facebook accounted for $71, leaving the remaining third to be split among all other market participants.
In releasing the draft Code, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also noted that the code includes several non-financial benefits that will support public broadcasters, such as notification of algorithmic changes.
While Australia’s journalism sector has been under pressure for years by the migration of advertising online, closures across the news landscape have accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PIJI’s Australian Newsroom Mapping Project shows that since January 2019 the Australian news landscape has experienced 180 contractions (closures, mergers, ends of print editions and service reductions).
Of that number, 88 per cent have occurred since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. There are also 46 temporary closures listed on the map.
PIJI supports a thriving and diverse media sector at national, regional and local levels. News is an essential service and the digital platforms are a fundamental part of keeping our communities informed and engaged.
PIJI maintains that the Mandatory News Media Bargaining Code alone is not enough to safeguard the future of public interest journalism. Our joint submission also floated a number of other measures that need to be urgently considered by government.
We will release new research in coming months that will further inform additional policy recommendations to industry and government.
About The Public Interest Journalism Initiative
The Public Interest Journalism Initiative was established to ensure Australia develops a sustainable ecosystem of independent, pluralistic journalism. We are a non-partisan organisation conducting research, developing policy solutions and building a public conversation on the importance of this issue.
PIJI’s work is guided by its core principles of public interest, neutrality, independence, a diversity of voices and duration.