‘The more we collaborate, the better’: LINA welcomes ABC news sharing expansion
The ABC is going to start sharing digital news content regionally in 2026
The Local and Independent News Association (LINA) has welcomed an ABC proposal to expand its regional content sharing program, saying it would be a good use of public resource that need not conflict with commercial operators.
The ABC is currently building a system where it will share major event coverage with regional publishers. Newsrooms in the partnership will be able to run ABC News digital content on “significant events”, which include weather crises, accidents, protests and other emergencies.
The system is due to go live next year.
In a Senate Estimates committee last week, ABC managing director Hugh Marks said he would like to expand the remit of the system to include general local content.
“What I would hope to do is extend beyond that and also make some of our local content available to local rural and regional operators around the country,” he told the committee.
LINA executive director Claire Stuchbery told Mumbrella in a written response that she would welcome the expansion.
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“There is no news network that covers all of Australia, so the more we can collaborate and then tailor relevant content to local audiences the better,” she said.
“With a shared objective of keeping communities informed, content sharing makes sense so long as it’s relevant to the community any given newsroom is serving.”
Stuchbery said she didn’t think the proposal was overly controversial, or that a program that sought to expand access to publicly funded content “should incur criticism by default”.
“In a news ecosystem that is mitigating misinformation, news avoidance and the de-platforming of factual reporting, the more the industry can work together to make strong journalism available to our communities, the better, provided it doesn’t constrain media diversity in local regions.”
LINA represents around 170 newsrooms, with around 100 publisher members. It says stories written by its members reach over 10 million people each month.
After Marks made his Senate statement, Mumbrella sought comment from interested parties, including: Australian Community Media (no comment), News Corporation (no comment because no firm proposal), and AAP (no response as yet).
The ABC’s move to share content among a network of approved publishers has international precedents. In New Zealand, Radio New Zealand has operated a similar scheme for several years.
LINA’s Stuchbery said the organisation has had a partnership in place with the ABC for the past two years to assist regional journalism.
“ABC has been generous in sharing knowledge with small publishers on audience engagement and other matters, so this reciprocal exchange is valuable to LINA members to enhance content available to the public in regional areas and also in metropolitan areas with limited local coverage.”
“Content sharing, where it complements local reporting, is valuable, as demonstrated by AAP. The expansion of content sharing doesn’t equal the replacement of local journalism, but increased collaboration in a sector with stretched resources is welcome provided every publisher retains editorial control of the content they publish.”
