The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has released a report with recommendations to support Australia’s newspaper services in rural, regional and remote areas.
Committee chair, Dr Anne Webster MP said: “Regional newspapers in Australia represent a large and diverse industry, which has experienced significant challenges over the past decade. With the transition to digital news and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, assessing the health of our regional newspapers is more important than ever before.”
The Committee made 12 recommendations aimed at addressing core sector issues and implementing alternative and sustainable business practices, to ensure the longevity of local newspapers across Australia.
Their first recommendation is that the Australian Government undertake a comprehensive review of the viability of regional newspapers in Australia, reporting its findings to the Committee within two years.
Following that is the amendment of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority to consider the factors outlined in the News in Australia: diversity and localism research paper in determining whether an unacceptable media diversity situation exists.
The report noted that the government should consider the funding and development of a project to gather and analyse core longitudinal data on regional newspapers in Australia over a minimum 10-year period.
The Committee recommended the Government examine legislative amendments which would allow the sharing of industry data on regional newspaper providers between relevant Government agencies.
It suggested the Government create and maintain a national, publicly available register of regional news providers (both print and digital), using the US News Desert project by the University of North Carolina as a model.
Another recommendation is for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications to work with the ABC and SBS to facilitate partnerships with small regional publishers and broadcasters, modelled on the BBC Local News Partnerships program.
The Government is also being urged to review government advertising expenditure across all departments and agencies with a view to ensuring a minimum of 20 per cent of government print advertising is placed in regional newspapers.
The report said: “This should be part of long term advertising contracts that provide certainty of income for regional publications. The Committee expects this measure to be cost neutral and able to be implemented within 12 months.
“An independent process should be established to select the newspaper outlets eligible to participate in the print advertising program.”
In addition, the government has been recommended to develop a targeted grants program aimed at small, independent newspapers based in regional and remote Australian communities.
The report also recommended funding for research, programs and initiatives to assist local publishers, including regional newspapers to:
• Identify and implement alternative, sustainable business models, achieved through a diverse range of revenue streams that might include advertising, audience generated income, services and e-commerce
• Increase capabilities required to perform the governance, administrative and editorial functions of the news organisation
• Implement effective technology to reach their target audience and monetise outputs
As part of the review for the first recommendation, the report noted that the government should also consider the viability of a tax rebate for regional businesses that support their local newspaper through a minimum advertising spend, and for regional newspapers that produce public interest journalism and employ local journalists.
The report also proposed The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Communications and the Australian Communications and Media Authority work with relevant digital platforms and news providers to ensure appropriate transparency in voluntary commercial deals.
The last of the recommendations is for the Consumer and Competition Act 2010 to be amended to require that news media organisations must have revenue of $75,000 for the most recent year and for at least 3 of the 5 most recent years to register for the News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code.
The Committee also recommended a multi-pronged approach to support the long-term viability of the sector, particularly for small and independent newspapers based in regional and remote Australian communities.
The approach includes the funding and development of a project to gather and analyse core longitudinal data on regional newspapers in Australia.
Dr Webster said: “For people in regional, rural, or remote communities, regional newspapers are the main source of local information. It also plays an important role in maintaining an interconnected community, and a healthy democracy.
“A diversity of opinion from all sides of the political spectrum and coverage of local, as well as national issues, is essential to public debate. It is important we ensure the sector remains viable in the long-term,” she added.