The Local and Independent News Association (LINA) has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at growing diverse, community-focused voices in Australia’s media landscape.
The Our News. Your Voice campaign calls on Australians to actively support local and independent news organisations as the nation’s media industry faces wider funding and resourcing challenges.
33 publishers will participate in the campaign, promoting it across their digital channels.
Australia has one of the 10 most consolidated media landscapes in the world, with the campaign working to help diversify media ownership.
Recent statistics from the Public Interest Journalism Initiative show there have been 157 outlet or newsroom closures between December 2019 and December 2023.
With approximately 133 new mastheads, stations or websites launched since 2019, new players are entering the market with the goal of meeting the demand for local news. However, 35% of these titles have less than two staff members and 16% are purely volunteer-run.
LINA’s nationwide fundraising drive aims to ensure the survival of local community news, the organisation said.
“We’ve just wrapped the 2024 LINA Summit in Port Douglas, where the energy of our members in working to drive change in their communities was incredible to see,” said LINA’s executive director, Claire Stuchbery.
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“These publications are ‘green shoots’ emerging in a difficult transition period for media in Australia. It’s critical that discussions around important events and issues in the public discourse are nuanced with as many different perspectives as possible.
“Independent and local media outlets produce this type of coverage for their communities. It’s therefore vital that these media organisations are supported to be sustainable and continue to thrive as an essential, functional part of our democratic society.”