More Aussies willing to pay for online news serves as ‘beacon of hope’ for publishers says Reuters report
The number of Australians willing to pay for online news has increased again this year, providing some respite to the current economic environment, according to this year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
Kieran McGuinness of the University of Canberra, who prepared the Australian section of the report, said the 5 percentage point increase to 18% of Aussies paying for online news from the 2022 report was “not a fluke”, with this year seeing another bump to 22%.
“After years of cuts, contractions, and closures, Australian news businesses received millions in financial relief through commercial deals struck with Google and Meta in response to Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code. However, it hasn’t been a cure-all,” McGuinness said.
“The advertising market has cooled, and News Corp Australia plans to lay off hundreds of staff. In uncertain times, the continued rise in paying for online news provides a beacon of hope.”
The report also highlighted the decline of TV and print use in Australia, with ABC, Ten and Seven losing six, five and three percentage points in the share of viewers. Print newspapers’ weekly usage has also halved since 2016.
Trust in news remains at 43%, which the report said was the same at pre-pandemic levels, and is also in the mid-range of the 46 countries the report observed (14th).
The report also found that trust in individual brands has risen, with Guardian Australia seeing the biggest bump of 6 percentage points to 52%, and other mainstream brands seeing small increases.
The most trusted sources of news remain public broadcasters and regional/local newspapers, while tabloid metropolitan newspapers are the least trusted.
McGuinness highlighted the financial windfall the Bargaining Code has brought to some Australian publications, with Nine and News Corp posting improved revenues in June 2022 and Guardian Australia adding 50 new journalists since the code was introduced in 2021.
“But it is clear the benefits of the Code have been unevenly felt. Small and independent players in the industry, particularly in the regions, have struggled to negotiate deals with Meta and Google,” he added.
“There are also concerns that, once the first round of agreements expire, Meta and Google may be reluctant to keep the money flowing.”
University of Canberra News & Media Research Centre postdoctoral research fellow Kieran McGuinness
McGuinness cited the impacts felt by Meta, Google and News Corp amid falling ad revenue and rising interest rates, with all three having to cut their staff numbers in recent months.
A change of government in 2022 meanwhile saw increases to the ABC’s funding and new grants aimed to support public interest journalism in regional areas. Citing data from the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, McGuinness pointed to the 50 regional news outlets that have closed, merged, or reduced their services in 2022, which were only partly offset by the opening of 26 new outlets and ten new ABC rural newsrooms.
“Consumers are continuing to drift away from traditional media such as TV, print, and radio, and towards streaming video-on-demand services, online news subscriptions, and social media,” he said.
“Major players such as Foxtel have been able to offset losses from their broadcast products with steady growth in subscription revenue from streaming services like Kayo and Binge. Nine Entertainment Co.’s streaming service Stan also controls a sizable segment of the market now.
“Despite posting heavy losses, News Corp Australia reported more than 1 million subscribers to online news in 2022.”
McGuinness also mentioned the voluntary Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation, a framework aimed to help combat false and misleading information online.
"A review of the Code in late 2022 made significant changes, including changing the ‘harm’ threshold related to dis- and misinformation from ‘serious and imminent’ to ‘serious and credible’," he said.
"But even with the Code, the government is set to grant the Australian Communications and Media Authority new powers to compel platforms to assist it. This may include an additional mandatory and enforceable industry code of conduct.
"Trust may yet be the key to holding onto news subscribers, but in such unstable times organisations will need to move fast to capitalise on their gains in 2023."
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topics
Kieran McGuinness
News Media Bargaining Code
Reuters Institute Digital News Report
University of Canberra
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