As digital media becomes increasingly mainstream, how will it affect the production and consumption of public interest journalism? What measures should be taken to preserve this key pillar of democracy and civil discourse? Hear from an industry insider about his experience in this rapidly changing landscape. (Image: Jack Trehearne)
By Jack Trehearne | @JackTrehearne
The distribution of fair, credible news is key to a functioning democracy, as well as civil discourse. Compared with the rest of the world, Australia has always had one of the more honest and contextual media apparatuses. This is attributable to wanting to produce a product that consumers can trust, but also to well-known unions and organisations that act to safeguard against the proliferation of false or misleading information. These include the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), along with the Australian Press Council.
Having said that, a 2020 discussion paper on research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) warned that an increasingly shrinking revenue pool may reduce incentive for publications to continue to invest in public interest journalism. This is, in large part, due to advertising revenue moving to digital platforms like Google and Facebook. Additionally, this research found that, coinciding with this shrinking revenue pool, consumer trust in news is decreasing; many consumers stated concerns over integrity and credibility in the news.
Related research conducted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that, over the last 20 years, “the number of people working in journalism-related occupations has fallen, many local and regional news sources have closed, and the coverage of public interest news topics by major newspapers has decreased”.
Scott Murphy, a journalist at The Courier and former UniSA student, says the issue of advertising revenue is especially salient when comparing advertising costs between digital and print.
“There is truth to the statement that newsrooms are struggling with the concept of digital media … The big issue with print, for example, is that its advertising costs can’t compete with the digital advertising costs … because a company can reach 50,000 people for $20, while, if they went into a newspaper to advertise, it would cost significantly more,” Murphy says.
However, while Murphy confirms a decrease in the number of journalism-related occupations is technically correct, he says the figures are somewhat misleading. This is because most businesses now do their own communications instead of going through a journalist to amplify news.
“30 years ago, small businesses would not have had a communications or PR person. While nowadays, almost every organisation has someone who does part-time social media, communications or marketing,” Murphy says.
“So, while our industry doesn’t have as many of those traditional roles [concentrated in singular newsrooms] anymore, they are just spread out differently.”
With respect to reasons consumers are turning away from the journalism of local publications and toward digital media, Murphy says that there are many reasons for the shift, namely the accessibility of on-demand news and how it has affected the visibility and searchability of local stories.
“I don’t think there is one contributing factor to the state of media at the moment. There is this issue of opinion pieces and news … and the way that we perceived news in the ’70s as opposed to now is completely different,” Murphy says.
“There isn’t as much trust in journalism as there was back then. So, I don’t think it is just digital media that has impacted the industry, I just don’t think people are reading the news as much, or even watching it on TV. Broadcast media and print media are all getting hurt by on-demand services.
“It comes down to the fact that we target local, regional communities. And if you have a look at a regional town — they’re not going to search for local stories [on the internet], but if they read that story in print where it’s in front of them, they have a completely different experience. But it’s not something you would look up. It’s not something you would search for.
“So, I don’t think the searchability of regional media has allowed it to thrive since we’ve had on-demand news.”
Regarding the importance of preserving public interest journalism in today’s age, there have been various ideas floated by industry leaders. For example, the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI), continuing original research by the ACCC, has proposed a tax rebate scheme for producers of public interest journalism.
The proposal works as follows: any organisation, big or small, could claim tax deductions on the money spent producing news they believe qualifies as “core news content”, which means “of importance to democracy and community cohesion”. The Australian Tax Office would then administer these requests and grant tax deductions accordingly, thus, saving publications money and allowing them to keep producing high-quality journalism.
With that said, when questioned on such a scheme, Murphy was less than enthusiastic about its long-term viability in fixing the key issues contributing to the decreasing production of public interest journalism.
“From a personal perspective, I do believe there should be a separation from the government and the fourth estate … so, having grant incentives? I don’t think that is a great idea,” Murphy says.
“I think that local journalism should be supported by the people in those communities that you’re reporting on. If they support the news, then they support it with advertising. They support the people who advertise with those publications. They support the local journalists who are getting those stories.
“The more we support the local media, the more the media can do public interest pieces. Unfortunately, because of a lot of factors, including digital journalism, support for local media has died down. But going to the government and asking for a handout or a tax incentive to continue to do something is not the solution.
“The solution is to promote trust in the community and gain that support back in a rapid way.”
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