You may have heard that the government is proposing a new levy on tech giants like Google and Facebook to help fund Australian journalism. Before you look away, thinking ‘what has this got to do with me?’ – a quick question. What do you like about the website or newspaper you’re currently reading?
Maybe it publishes stories and issues that other news outlets would never cover. Maybe it represents your culture and platforms voices that too often go unheard. Or perhaps it tells you what’s on in the community and contributes to making the place you live feel like home.
All those things matter – a lot. Which is why we are fighting for the funds raised from the new levy on tech giants to make their way to local and independent newsrooms.
Because the concerning thing is, under the government’s current plan, they probably won’t.
To back up a little, what the government is essentially trying to do is ensure Australians still have access to quality news and information.
As advertisers have increasingly moved towards digital platforms, newsrooms – whose work is often read or watched on those same digital platforms – have lost revenue despite still providing a valuable service to the public.
To use a sweet little metaphor, you could say newsrooms are making chocolate, but because the ads are printed on the wrapper, only the wrapper manufacturers are making money.
As a result, many Australian newsrooms have closed, laid off journalists or simply have not had the resources to dive deeply into the stories that matter.
So the government’s on the right track, broadly-speaking, because protecting news from our own backyard is crucial. But it’s a question of which backyard.
Quality journalism is key to a well-functioning democracy, and democracy doesn’t just happen in Canberra. Or Sydney or Melbourne or any other capital for that matter.
Democracy happens all around us, every day. In the decisions of councils, the actions of local MPs, and the experiences of everyday people. But in news deserts, democracy fights for air.
Australia already has one of the most concentrated media markets in the democratic world. Our democracy has strong foundations in many other ways – think compulsory and preferential voting – but the lack of diversity in media ownership and voices takes us down a rung on the democratic health ladder.
The government’s proposed legislation risks further entrenching this if it doesn’t create a clear path for local, independent and emerging newsrooms to benefit from the levy on tech companies.
A percentage of funds raised through the levy should go to growing diversity in the news media industry, bringing new voices into the public dialogue and addressing news deserts.
The good news is we already have a policy framework in place outlining where government intervention is appropriate and needed through the News Media Assistance Program Policy Framework. Government merely needs to apply its own policy objectives to the estimated $250 million per year the proposed levy would raise for Australian journalism.
Basing eligibility around revenue thresholds, as the current proposal does, will only entrench the status quo, further harm small publishers and volunteer-based community media, and benefit the big players (who have an important role to play, but not the only role). It creates further barriers to entry in a field that is already difficult but is so needed to help us know what’s going on around us.
In Australia we have long known there are some extremely valuable public services that cannot be funded by the user alone – think healthcare, education or roads. News and information is no different.
The government’s proposed levy on tech giants is a rare chance to move the needle on media diversity and public interest journalism without dipping into its own pocket.
The trick now is to make sure the benefits flow to strengthen publications like this one right here.
Claire Stuchbery is Executive Director of the Local and Independent News Association (LINA), a not-for-profit representing more than 170 digital, local and independent newsrooms around Australia.
