‘At breaking point’: Regional media pushes for regulatory reform in new campaign

Mariam Cheik-Hussein
By Mariam Cheik-Hussein | 12 October 2020
 

Regional media owners, including Australian Community Media (ACM) and Prime Media Group, are launching a marketing campaign to push for urgent reform around media ownership and control laws, which they argue are obsolete in the digital era and harming their chances of survival.

ACM and Prime Media Group are joined by Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and WIN Network in the roll out of the Save Our Voice campaign fronted by veteran journalist Ray Martin.

In the campaign, which rolls out today across TV, radio and print, Martin interviews politicians and community figures on the importance of regional media to their local communities and the need for regulatory changes.

The group of media owners claim their businesses are at “breaking point” and their key demand is that the government remove the voice test and allow media owners in regional Australia to merge. The voice test requires a minimum of four media voices in regional markets, and five in metro markets.

“To keep the voices of regional Australia strong and to keep our trusted local news services viable, regional media needs to be able to make commercially sensible decisions that allow us to stay profitable, sustainable and self- sufficient,” Catalano says.

“Regional media outlets that have been part of their communities for decades - and in the case of a number of ACM’s newspapers more than 150 years - need the freedom to structure our businesses efficiently so we can achieve the scale necessary to compete with the unregulated digital services of metropolitan media and global internet giants."

Regional media has been particularly hit by the coronavirus pandemic which dried up advertising revenue. In response, the government rolled out various relief measures, including a $50 million journalism fund and tax relief for TV and radio broadcasters.

“Media ownership laws blocking regional media companies from operating efficiently are outdated and from the pre-internet era,” WIN Network CEO Andrew Lancaster says.

“To continue to provide essential news, information and support services to regional Australia, our industry needs modern regulations that reflect the dramatic increase in competition facilitated by the NBN.”

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