A movement of independent digital news publishers are uniting for a week-long crowdfunding initiative, calling on communities across Australia to support the future of public interest journalism.
The Local & Independent News Association (LINA)'s annual Our News, Your Voice campaign will run until Friday May 8, and coincides with World Press Freedom Day.
LINA Executive Director Claire Stuchbery said the 40+ participating newsrooms aim to build on the previous success of the annual campaign, which has brought in over $330k to independent newsrooms in donations over two successive years.
“Public interest journalism creates informed voters, covering governments at all levels, holding power to account, and bringing communities together by sharing and recording our common threads and diverse voices,” Stuchbery said.
“Audiences often expect to access news content for free, but news isn’t free to produce. In fact, the strongest public interest journalism and investigative reporting tends to be the most costly, involving extensive investment of time and resources by news publications.
“Due to the global collapse of traditional business models for newsrooms, publishers can’t shoulder this cost alone. They are essential services and need support from the communities they serve to produce high quality journalism that helps people navigate their lives.”
The Our News, Your Voice campaign comes as major news publishers, including the ABC, Nine, News Corp and Network 10, this week released a joint statement in support of the government's proposed News Bargaining Incentive.
The Incentive is the latest iteration of the world-leading News Media Bargaining Code, introduced in 2021. While the Code has yielded mixed results for industry to date, the intent to correct a power imbalance in the information ecosystem through requiring tech platforms to contribute to the news media industry they have disrupted is commendable.
Local and independent publishers, however, are urging the government to consider the needs of smaller and emerging publishers in the new policy design.
As currently drafted, the policy risks creating barriers to participation for small publishers and volunteer-based community media, further entrenching the status quo in a media landscape that is already one of the most concentrated in the world.
“Responsibility remains with the government to ensure Australians have access to verified information,” Stuchbery said.
“But each of us as individuals should also lend our support to the critical work of our news organisations. If you don’t have capacity to donate to support public interest journalism, then engaging with and subscribing to content from independent newsrooms is also a valuable support.”
Show your support here: Our News, Your Voice
About us:
The Local & Independent News Association (LINA) is a not-for-profit national industry association representing 180 digital, local and independent newsrooms. LINA's mission is to increase the diversity and relevance of news services in communities across Australia by providing new and existing independent digital news services with capacity-building support, expert advice, access to critical third-party services, and more.
For more information about LINA and its initiatives, visit lina.org.au.
Contact details:
Claire Stuchbery
0403 520 765
Nell O’Shea Carré
0468 774 682
