ACM's announcement today that it would cut 35 jobs across 11 newsrooms, which follows its decision to discontinue printing eight newspapers, is a blow to quality local journalism.
To be attributed to Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance acting Media Director Michelle Rae:
"While ACM promotes itself as a "trusted voice" in the regional communities in which it operates, continued cost-cutting and redundancies only undermine its mission.
"For decades, regional newspapers have been the heartbeat of their communities, providing local news that big national and metropolitan outlets can't or won't provide. They have also provided quality local jobs for thousands of journalists, photographers, production staff, designers, and more.
"This trend, which started with the relaxation of media ownership laws and has been accelerated by the actions of social media giant Meta, seriously threatens the important role that journalism plays in a democracy: keeping the public informed and holding powerful institutions accountable.
"It's clear that previous federal government efforts to support regional journalism have been insufficient or poorly targeted and, as a result, newsroom closures and job losses have continued unabated. The government must take action to support the further erosion of regional media, including providing funding that will directly support the employment of local journalists to provide genuinely local news to serve their communities."
ACM MEAA National House Committee statement:
At a time when trust in governments and institutions is at a historic low, and local and particularly regional voices feel forgotten, Australian communities depend upon the news reported by local journalists, and that those same reporters will voice their concerns.
The loss of up to 35 jobs from ACM's regional newsrooms will inevitably leave communities less informed on issues that affect them every day.
In real terms, that means fewer stories about issues that inform our readers' decisions at the ballot box, fewer stories celebrating local wins and commemorating local losses, fewer stories that stand up and defend the concerns of residents outside the big cities, and fewer hands to hold the powerful and the corrupt to account.
While the challenges of our industry are not lost on any of the journalists affected by ACM's decision today - the loss of revenues met with rising costs, the disruptions of monopoly social media networks, and the encroachment of artificial intelligence - local communities need and deserve to be able to trust that the news they read and watch will speak to their concerns, give voice to the issues that affect them and their future, and defend their right to know.
In a fractured and increasingly polarised political, social, and economic landscape, our readers deserve to know that their local reporters have their backs and, in turn, have the resources and workforce to undertake that important work. Another series of cuts, even as we have seen more regional and local papers stop printing in recent weeks, is a devastating blow to that confidence and trust. Our communities deserve better.
