The axing of more experienced journalists by Australian Community Media (ACM) is another blow to communities who rely on local papers for critical and relevant information.
Last week the company told employees and the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) that as many as nine staff from the print production team will be made redundant. The union is also concerned about the future of several mastheads as daily printed newspapers amid concerns they could be reduced to Saturday-only printed editions.
The union is extremely concerned these print producers could be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, given there is evidence that ACM is already using AI tools in the business.
MEAA acting Chief Executive Adam Portelli called on ACM to consult with its editorial staff about the implications of using AI and its impact on the quality of news and the workforce.
"AI in Australia is still unregulated, and given Australians want strong laws to manage AI risks, any move by ACM to do this would be out of touch with community expectations," Mr Portelli said.
The new cuts come just three months after ACM axed 35 jobs across 11 newsrooms, and stopped printing eight newspapers. And in August 2024 the company ceased printing a swag of country News South Wales papers such as the Moree Champion and the Tenterfield Star, and photographers and journalists at these publications were made redundant.
The union understands about one third of the small, but important ACM print production team will be gutted under ACM's latest restructure.
The team includes some of the longest standing and most experienced sub editors and journalists in the company.
Their role includes quality control and tasks such as creating international and national pages for many ACM papers, which hundreds of thousands of Australians read and rely on.
MEAA's National Media Section have passed a motion condemning ACM's actions.
MEAA is campaigning for laws governing the use of AI on behalf of the communities who deserve strong local stories produced by journalists whose experience and skills are being sacrificed for untested and potentially dangerous AI tools.
