Australia’s population is more diverse than ever. But new research confirms Australia’s journalist workforce remains overwhelmingly Anglo-Celtic and white.
The majority of country press audiences prefer to read their local paper in print than online. In fact, many said they would stop reading their papers if they went digital only.
With regional news outlets long in decline, people have been increasingly turning to social media for information. Facebook’s news ban places that under threat.
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Small newspapers and new start-ups face significant barriers to receiving government grant money and a share of ad revenue from Google and Facebook, making their survival less than assured.
Research by the UTS Centre for Media Transition suggests it will be hard for digital-only local newspapers to match what local print editions gave their communities.
News Corp’s announcement it will stop printing 100 suburban and community newspapers is another blow for regional Australia and the the media landscape more broadly.
The federal government has announced a package to help regional media through the coronavirus crisis. But our national broadcasters have not been so lucky.
The Coalition government has reintroduced a bill seeking to mandate the ABC devote more resources to covering regional Australia – a measure that has been defeated before by parliament.
Danny Casey/AAP
The latest proposals to amend the ABC Charter raise questions about media law reform. To be effective and sustainable, it needs to be strategic, not ad hoc and politicised.
Rural and regional Australians deserve more than tokenistic media coverage of their regions.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Before media reform becomes a runaway train, we need to return to the drawing board and rethink the maps that define and guide broadcasters on reporting news for “local areas”.
Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has floated the idea of reforming media laws, but Australia media terrain has changed.
AAP/Penny Bradfield