Why we need to level the internet playing field
In the current maelstrom of the Australian media industry, striking the balance between the needs of the consumer, the advertiser, and the publisher can feel impossible at times – but achieving that goal has never been more important, as James Bayes, vice president ANZ at The Trade Desk, explains.
When I think about my job, three main stakeholders come to mind – the consumer, the advertiser, and the publisher. I can only personally identify as one, the consumer, but after 20 years working across the buy and sell side of the industry I’d like to think I know advertisers and publishers pretty well.
In the current maelstrom of the Australian media industry, striking the balance between the needs of all three stakeholders can feel impossible at times but achieving that goal has never been more important.
Meta’s threatened withdrawal from Australian news content in recent months has ignited discussion around the delicate financial state of local journalism. We have just recently seen this firsthand with our neighbours in New Zealand, as the closure of Newshub (NZ) and job slashes at TVNZ threatened to leave a country of five million people without access to a non-government funded nightly news service as the local industry fights for survival.
This spurred debate around the merit of the News Media Bargaining Code and the role of Government in protecting an industry that some argue needs to move faster to reinvent itself to remain relevant and compete.
