Kookaburra has been watching with dark humour the gyrations around the News Media Bargaining Code. Much pomp and circumstance surrounded the Federal Government’s announcement of its intention to rush into the fray and to become the St. George to the Google and Facebook dragons, protecting the sacred rights of Australian publishers to be supported in one way or another by … government … in return for … favourable coverage perhaps?
The News Media Bargaining Code followed on from dollops of ‘Covid Crisis’ hand-outs given to mainly large publishers who, for the most part, had seen Covid as an excellent opportunity to do what they had been intending to do for years … close down rural and regional newspapers. These newspaper groups, took the money and … still closed down rural and regional newspapers and printing works … funny that.
Having got the bit between their teeth, the large publishers could see the finishing line ahead, lit by the bright ‘post to me’ tags of Facebook and the search results of Google. Huddling together, they rushed towards the warm embrace of mother government once again, and, mother government, seeing an opportunity too good to be true, returned the embrace with fervour.
Mother government wheeled out the News Media Bargaining Code. News organisations would register with ACMA as Eligible News Businesses which would then guarantee them the right to demand an audience to negotiate a deal with the dragons. Ah yes, the great sword of Damocles would be hanging over the dragons for years, provided, of course, they came within its purview, or, perhaps more accurately, came within the Treasurer’s purview. Because that was what changed wasn’t it? One day on the road to publishing Damascus, the Treasurer, realising that one of the dragons had killed all its hostages (i.e. when Facebook closed down the pages of the small publishers whom the News Media Bargaining Code was promoted as saving) decided that the most honourable course was – capitulation. Capitulation to the dragons and capitulation to the (big) publishers. I mean, little people, there are just so many of them, one cannot talk to them all can one? No, far easier, in the national interest, just to talk to the big publishers. Do a deal. Quickly. Appear to be bringing the dragons to account, but leave it to the Treasurer’s own discretion as to whether the dragons should be subject to the Code, and keep the big publishers happy with free money from people who don’t even vote (i.e. the dragons)! Put Australia at the forefront of … the socialisation of the media. Perfect. There will even be a media opportunity or three. Even fool the media into thinking the government actually cares for them! Hah!
Never too ashamed of crying ‘poor us’ and a degree of hypocrisy, the same large publishers, who some weeks before had been condemning Google and Facebook as the angels of Lucifer, now saw the former dragons as saviours of the press! Even, saviours of the nation! Amazingly, most of all to the government, even those publishers who received nothing were singing songs of praise to the government in the chapels of the press and giving thanks to the miracles wrought by St. Josh.
The standout winner in the free money stakes has to be the once proud Australian Associated Press (AAP). Having been left by its parents, News and Nine, AAP has joined the rush towards mother government’s warm embrace and, yes, mother government has taken homeless AAP into her care. In this year’s federal budget, AAP, whose business plan seems to be based on being supported by others, was provided with a grant of $15 million, on top of a previous grant of $5 million, to do what the rest of us do without government support – run a business. Yes folks, that is $20 million of your money to run what AAP seems to admit itself is a failed business model, i.e a business model which cannot survive without outside support. I note also that the very publication in which you are reading this opinion piece is an ‘independent newswire’, which itself undermines AAP’s claim to be ‘the nation’s only independent newswire‘. It is hard to reconcile the concept of ‘independence‘ with being totally dependent upon the largesse of government for one’s survival. AAP states in the media release announcing its success outsnouting others at the trough of handouts, that ‘AAP provides content to hundreds of newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations, many of which are in regional areas and could not each send a journalist and photographer to cover what happens in the nation’s capital cities, in courtrooms or on sporting fields. AAP operates 24 hours a day, seven days week, delivering articles to a domestic and global audience of millions‘. However, none of this is free. The list of recipients mentioned by AAP all need to pay for the content which AAP provides to them. In the case of AAP, philanthropy appears to be a one way street.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, the Public Interest Journalism Initiative Australian Newsroom Mapping Project shows that during the period January 2019 to May 2021 there have been 198 closures of local newsrooms and 95 openings, leaving a balance of 103 closures, many by the big publishers : https://anmp.piji.com.au/
St. Josh certainly moves in mysterious ways.
