ACMA calls for submissions on its news measurement framework
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is seeking feedback on a ‘news measurement framework’ to monitor levels of diversity across Australia’s media landscape.
The proposed framework was initially outlined in an ACMA 2020 research paper, and was developed in collaboration with leading experts. In late 2022, the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, asked the ACMA to proceed with scoping the potential implementation of this work.
The ACMA is now seeking views from relevant stakeholders including media companies, digital news and social media platforms, government bodies, academia and consumers on the suitability of our proposed framework. The consultation will be open for comment until 5pm (AEDT) Friday 17 March 2023.
The ACMA will also be hosting industry and subject-matter expert roundtables during this period to explore these issues in greater detail.
The ‘news measurement framework’ was developed in late 2019 as part of a broader ACMA project on the Australian news market. This self-initiated research project sought to explore whether existing community safeguards were working to deliver Australian news and journalistic content in accordance with community expectations and longstanding public policy objectives.
In January 2020, the ACMA released the first tranche of research which focused on the concepts of impartiality and commercial influence in broadcast news and current affairs content.
This next phase will contribute towards the government’s objective to build a robust evidence base to inform longer term news media policy interventions as part of its News Media Assistance Program (News MAP).
The News MAP will establish a principle-based and evidence-informed policy framework to guide future implementation of news media support measures in a systematic manner. The development process will examine ways to improve the scope and integration of current data relating to news availability and diversity, and evaluation of the impact of government interventions. The ACMA’s work on the news
measurement framework is expected to inform development of the News MAP throughout 2023.
This program of work is being led by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA), which will consult on the News MAP framework in early 2023.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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Would be good to hear updates on how this progresses, both the News MAP and the news measurement framework in general.
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