The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society has released its second interim report with a focus on digital platforms and the traditional news media. The Committee’s Terms of Reference are broad and this interim report covers the changing media landscape in Australia and the News Media Bargaining Code.
LINA has been involved in consultation throughout the inquiry, and thanks the Committee for prioritising these matters in light of recent changes from Meta to abandon deals under the Code and the urgency of actions required to support a healthy democracy in countering mis and disinformation.
LINA Executive Director Claire Hastings meets with social media inquiry Committee member Zoe Daniel MP, August 2024.
The report outlines a suite of useful recommendations. Among them, LINA particularly commends recommendations to:
- Explore alternate revenue mechanisms to supplement the Code, acknowledging its limitations and the need to redesign the Code to remove barriers to registration for small, independent or digital only publishers;
- Develop mechanisms to guide the transparent distribution of revenue arising from any new revenue models;
- Establish a short-term transition fund to help news media businesses to diversify and strengthen alternate income streams and news product offerings;
- Establish a Digital Media Competency Fund to assist both young Australians and other groups at risk of being taken in by mis and disinformation; and
- Require digital platforms to provide notice of changes to algorithms and the rationale for those changes.
“LINA pointed to the expansion of digital newsrooms in the wake of these contractions and closures and suggested that its member businesses represented the ‘green shoots’ of the industry. LINA emphasised the role these publishers play ‘in representing diverse and regional voices, providing public interest news services in areas where access to information has been significantly impacted by newsroom closures and the syndication of services’.”
— Quote from the social media inquiry’s ‘Second interim report: digital platforms and the traditional news media’
LINA thanks the Committee for including a focus on supporting small, independent and digital publishers, as well as those operating in underserved communities and rural, regional and remote areas and for listening carefully to industry feedback on the many challenges facing news media businesses.
LINA encourages the government to act on these recommendations as well as others that will support the sustainability and diversity of Australian news media. These include supporting the development of a not-for-profit news market in Australia through tax incentives, and LINA’s suggestion that government allocate a proportion of its advertising spend to local and independent publishers, as quoted in the inquiry’s interim report.
News Media Relief Program
In more industry news this week, Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland on Monday announced $15 million in funding through the News Media Relief Program.
A grant round will open in November, offering support to retain journalists who produce news content in the public interest of their communities at a rate of $13,000 per journalist FTE with further details to be announced when the grant round is published.
The need for investment in news content is urgent and LINA welcomes any relief for news publishers, particularly noting the focus on the online distribution of news outlined in this grant opportunity.
LINA thanks the government for taking this first step toward the implementation of the News Media Assistance Program and will work with its members to support applications when the grant round opens. More to come.