Mumbrellacast: Indie publishers unfriend Meta, plus Henry Innis and Matt Farrugia

The Public Interest Journalism Initiative define public interest journalism as:

“Journalism with the primary purpose of recording, investigating and explaining issues of public significance in order to engage citizens in public debate and inform democratic decision making at all levels of government”.

The likes of Broadsheet, Concrete Playground, Brag Media, Time Out, and others, are clearly not providing public interest journalism on a consistent and frequent basis. Honestly, it shouldn’t be any disagreement about this? Are they consistently and frequently reporting on “issues of public significance”? No! Are they “engaging citizens in public debate and democratic decision making at all levels of government”? No!

On Wikipedia, Broadsheet is described as “Broadsheet is an Australian mostly online city guide and culture magazine, founded by Nick Shelton in October 2009 and as of 2021 still run by him. The website covers news related to food and drink, fashion, art and design, entertainment, and health and fitness. It also has an extensive directory of cafes, restaurants, bars and shops which contains imagery and short descriptions of each venue”.

On Broadsheet’s own website it refers to its business as “Through breaking news, features, event guides and insight from industry experts, Broadsheet is the authority on the cultural life of your city…..” and “On Broadsheet you’ll find daily coverage of the most talked-about openings and big-ticket events alongside the emerging, the lesser-known, and the people, businesses and movements that may have been overlooked, but are no less worthy of your attention. We’ll keep you across the simple must-haves, too – what’s worth seeing in the galleries, or where’s the best place in town to buy a tailored suit. We’re excited about the cities we cover. New shops, bars and restaurants continue to open, festivals pop-up every other week and decision-makers take our culture seriously.” This is not public interest journalism as Public Interest Journalism Initiative defines it. Sure, the public is interested in this type of journalism, but it is not public-interest-journalism.

I don’t like Google and Meta getting stronger and/or independent publishers missing out on opportunities, but what’s the point of this fight if you don’t even understand the meaning of the key definition. It’s almost a bit embarrassing even. So despite claiming it’s not, it seems to me that this is a money-grabbing exercise that is a waste of time. I say drop the case guys!

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