‘We can’t do it alone’: ABC stresses importance of regional papers as future of ACM titles remains unclear
In the same week as it internally announced the necessity of between 200 and 250 redundancies, the ABC’s director of news, Gaven Morris, warned that the public broadcaster is not a replacement for regional newspapers.
“The ABC’s obviously very privileged to have the support of public funding. And so it makes our model… notwithstanding what we’re about to go through with 200, 250 roles that need to go from the ABC. It does make our model obviously a little bit more stable,” Morris said, speaking on a virtual panel last week that focused on journalism in the context of COVID-19.
“But what I hope we don’t end up with is a world where we just argue that all of the media has to be demeaned and cut and reduced because one part of it is challenged in business models. I think very much about ACM’s [Australian Community Media] role in regional Australia. And I’ve heard this argument many times, that ‘Oh well, if all the newspapers go in regional Australia, there’s still an ABC.’
Pyrrhic victory for FB and Google
For as long as the demise of newspapers has been a topic, the one issue that could turn it all around never gets discussed. Find a way to provide news products for FREE. The ABC does, as do we with our two products and we’re not going away anytime soon. Paywalls, cover prices breed diminishing audiences, diminishing audiences drive advertisers away and so the downward cycle goes. Free products will bring back audiences, will bring back advertisers and so this upward cycle goes. Simples!
The ABC is public funded and its services (and staff) are being reduced due to budget cuts. Offering a free product is a short-term goal, especially when facing the likes of Facebook and especially Google, but longer term, financial sustainability is what’s needed.
Just let it be… I dont understand why anyone is complaining. Let the ABC tell the country the news. They will get more educated, become informed, vote against the nationals… The LNP will crumble and we’ll have great leadership.