Melissa Sweet: Protecting public interest journalism to protect public health
When I began reporting on health at AAP in the late 1980s, a small army of specialist health and science journalists would attend National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) meetings. We were given large folders containing agenda items and related discussion papers. We waited outside the Council meetings and interviewed key NHMRC members about […]
Stalling tactics and costly tantrums: Latest in international push for news-digital media deals
Months after the Australian government unveiled measures to incentivise tech giants to comply with the News Media Bargaining Code, no progress has been made. The News Bargaining incentive, introduced after Meta’s 2024 decision to not renew or make new commercials deals for Australian news content, builds on the 2021 Code by including a charge and […]
Allan Fels: The future of the Media Bargaining Code in the new parliament
The 2025 Australian federal election delivered some unexpected results and rewrote the political and policy landscape. While the dust continues to settle, the one thing that is clear is the new parliament has delivered a strong mandate for the Labor government. Labor has increased its majority in the House of Representatives and made significant gains […]
PIJI data contributes to ACMA report on media diversity
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published the final instalment of its News media in Australia 2025 report, which draws on work from PIJI’s Australian News Data Project. The new Indicator 4: range and variety of news content interactive report uses PIJI and Australian Bureau of Statistics data to show the extent to […]
Allan Fels: Public interest journalism must be able to thrive
Originally published in The Australian. I was heartened by the ongoing commitment to the media bargaining code expressed by major political parties and members of the crossbench during the election campaign. This bipartisan support, highlighted in a survey of major parties and independents conducted by the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, and in recent televised leaders’ […]
Major parties commit to strengthening News Media Bargaining Code
The Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) welcomes support from major political parties and key independent members for the strengthening of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code. “Public interest journalism ensures a diversity of voices in public discussion and serves as one of the most important mechanisms for accountable and democratic governments. Without it, we risk the […]
Politicians share views on state of Australian public interest journalism
In April 2025, PIJI sent out a survey to several major Australian political parties and independents to gain insight into their views on public interest journalism issues ahead of the federal election. Those who responded revealed their thoughts on the vital role public interest journalism has to play in a functional democracy, the serious threats […]
PIJI’s final monthly Australian News Data Report
Today marks the final release of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative’s Australian News Data Report. Launched in 2020, the report provided monthly insight into the state of the country’s news industry, shining a light on everything from market changes in news production to local character and quantity of public interest journalism. The December report breaks down the number […]
PIJI CEO testifies before Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society
PIJI welcomes federal government inquiry’s recognition of public interest journalism’s role in the debate of the impact of social media on Australian society.
The state of the media: Digital News Report 2023
Report shows concerning trends for the news industry.
What does the Ben Roberts-Smith trial mean for news?
A wrap-up of reaction to the suit’s result.
Investigating public interest journalism from all angles
PIJI is developing and refining several projects that expand and build upon our current research into public interest journalism. This suite of projects will help to build a robust dataset informed by both rigorous qualitative and quantitative data, as well as by community and industry knowledge. Health Check On Local News In September 2022, PIJI […]
Survey: News coverage of local councils
The Public Interest Journalism Initiative is surveying councils about news coverage of their activities to ensure public interest journalism continues to thrive. Since 2020, PIJI has been gathering information on the impact of COVID-19 on local news and the impact of government interventions to support the sector. PIJI now wants to hear from communications staff, elected officials […]
Media diversity report takes up PIJI recommendations
A Senate Committee investigating media diversity in Australia has released its final report, which includes several recommendations included in PIJI’s submissions. The Media Diversity in Australia report was released following a year-long inquiry and makes several recommendations based on our research and included in our submissions. The Australian Senate Environment and Communications committee’s recommendations included deductible […]
PIJI showcases new research into philanthropy for journalism
PIJI Chief Executive Anna Draffin has highlighted new research into philanthropy for journalism showing the potential to grow support for the not-for-profit journalism sector through addressing regulatory constraints. Speaking at an event hosted by The Walkley Foundation and PS Media on September 15 entitled “Why philanthropy is backing local journalism”, one of the issues raised was the […]
Media Reform Green Paper
In 2021, PIJI made a submission to government on the Media Reform Green Paper — Modernising television regulation in Australia. PIJI’s Submission on the Media Reform Green Paper: Modernising television regulation in Australia noted that television remains a trusted source of news for Australians. It recommended that: To complement content obligations, any new broadcasting regulatory framework should be designed to incentivise news programming and diversity, […]
Queensland shield law consultation
PIJI and the Centre for Advancing Journalism prepared a joint submission to the Queensland Government’s 2021 consultation on the introduction of shield laws to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. The submission supported the development of shield laws on the basis that the protection of journalists’ sources is a key component of the production of public interest journalism. Prior […]
ACMA disinformation code submission
In November PIJI made a submission to the Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI) on its draft Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation. Our submission stated that the code did not sufficiently address the issue of news quality and the role that the availability of high-quality news plays in improving the digital information ecosystem. A recommendation was […]
Journalism’s new normal
By Professor Glenn Withers Applied Economics and Australian National University Australian communities are battling multiple challenges of the times. The vast majority of Australians believe good journalism is important during these trying days. Fires, floods, storms, drought and pandemic have had impacts for us all. In dealing with this, public interest journalism has been a […]