Building a diverse and rich local media ecosystem

Today Abigail contributed to debate on the value of regional community-run media - in fostering community identity, and in telling stories metropolitan and mainstream outlets can't. 

Abigail said:

I am pleased to contribute to debate on this motion, and I thank the member for bringing it. It is no secret that the media ecosystem is in a precarious state in Australia. Recent years have seen a steady drumbeat of masthead closures, reductions and moves online. This trend has only accelerated following the pandemic. Research conducted by the Public Interest Journalism Initiative makes for sobering reading. It found that 161 news outlets have closed in just over five years between January 2019 and March 2024, which was a sharp acceleration from previous Australian Competition and Consumer Commission data that showed 106 news outlet closures in the 10 years to 2018. Even where news outlets remained operational, there was significant overall contraction in news production and availability. Regional areas, already underserved relative to metropolitan areas, have been hardest hit by these closures and contractions. While 90 new outlets opened in regional Australia between 2019 and 2024, that benefit was outweighed by the 109 regional outlets that closed, representing two‑thirds of total closures nationally. Of the outlets across the country that experienced a contraction in services, 91 per cent were in regional areas.

Since these figures were released, regional communities have been dealt a further blow, with Australian Community Media announcing it will be cutting 35 jobs across 11 newsrooms, following its decision to discontinue printing eight newspapers. These figures should concern us all. Regional newspapers were once the beating hearts of their communities, creating jobs and fostering community. They have told stories that metropolitan and mainstream outlets cannot or will not provide. Local media serves as a vital space for the construction and negotiation of shared identity, belonging and collective memory. In an increasingly fractured and dislocated time for our society, these institutions are more important than ever. They remind us we are not isolated individuals but members of living, breathing, messy, joyous and complicated communities with a shared fate. This recognition promotes active citizenship and collective problem‑solving—reflexes and skills that are in desperate need of cultivation.

It is worth acknowledging the complexities of the power of local media and the ways in which the narratives it constructs can also reinforce existing power structures and potentially marginalise certain voices. It is for this reason that we need a diverse and rich local media ecosystem and must resist consolidation and centralisation. The media plays a vital role in the functioning of our democracy. It acts as a crucial conduit of news, analysis and diverse perspectives on important issues. A well‑functioning media acts as a watchdog, holding those in power accountable and reporting on their actions, helping to prevent corruption and abuse of power. I thank the Hon Sarah Mitchell for bringing this motion. Our media ecosystem has been declining for too long, and the Government needs to step up to halt and reverse that slide. Access to news, information and community‑building should be recognised as the essential service it truly is and supported as such. This is an issue requiring greater attention and resources, and I look forward to working with the member towards that aim.

 

Read the full debate in Hansard here.

 

16 October 2024

Join 50,958 other supporters in taking action