AAP SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE INQUIRY ON MEDIA DIVERSITY
AAP thanks the Senate for the opportunity to make a submission on the Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australia.
What is a newswire
A newswire is essentially a wholesaler of fact-based news content (text, pictures and video). It reports on politics, business, courts, sport and other news and provides this to other media outlets such as newspapers, radio and TV news. Often the newswire provides the only reporting on a subject and hence its decisions as to what to report play a very important role in informing Australians about matters of public interest. It is essential democratic infrastructure. A newswire often partners with other global newswire agencies to bring international stories to a domestic audience and also to take domestic stories out to a global audience. Newswires provided by news agencies have traditionally served as the backbone of the news supply of their respective countries. Due to their business model they contribute strongly to the diversity of media. In general there is a price for a defined number of circulation – be it printed papers, recipients of TV or radio broadcasters or digital recipients. The bigger the circulation, the higher the price thus making the same newswire accessible for small media with less purchasing power as well as for large media conglomerates with strong financial resources.1
This co-operative business model has been practically accepted world-wide since the founding of the Associated Press (AP) in the USA in the mid-19th century. Newswire agencies are “among the oldest media institutions to survive the evolution of media production from the age of the telegraph to the age of 2 platform technologies”. Historically, sharing the costs of newsgathering was one of the key ideas behind news agencies. A news agency would collect and edit news and then sell to its clients, who would re-edit it 3 and sell it on to their own clients. Recently there have been examples of larger media conglomerates especially, leaving this model for competitive reasons. Putting pressure on the agency by ending their business relation weakens the newswire itself and enhances the pressure on the smaller media because they are depending heavily on the newswire-supply. We can track those effects in all markets with heavy media concentration like Switzerland or Finland. Australia, with its strong media groups leading to far-reaching media concentration, is another striking example.
1 Peter Kropsch, President and CEO of dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur Group, Hamburg, Germany
2 “The Future of National News Agencies in Europe: Executive Summary”, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2019, 3 Ibid. The AAP Newswire
AAP has been an integral part of the Australian media landscape for 85 years, providing the foundation of news content for newspapers, radio news and talkback programs, television news and more recently the digital versions of all of the above, as well as new market entrants.
A 1945 Daily Telegraph showing the front page story carrying an AAP byline of the Nuclear Bombing of Hiroshima, Sydney, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
AAP’s newswire is a 24-hour news service which provides breaking news and sport, coverage of state and federal politics, court reporting, photography and world news and sport through overseas partner agencies. Widely regarded as a last bastion of public information, AAP has built its reputation on providing untainted, reliable, insightful and well-crafted content including extensive coverage of, for example, courts and royal commissions. AAP also has a factcheck unit with a growing profile, due to its involvement in recent domestic and international political elections. The newswire has reporters based in every Australian state and Canberra, plus New Zealand. AAP is the only Australian media organisation with a permanent presence in New Zealand. AAP subscribers are provided with around-the-clock, high-level content which they replicate on digital platforms, in print, or through broadcast channels. Of particular importance to subscribers is AAP’s ‘diary’, which shows upcoming major events, locations, AAP’s coverage plans and when the content will be published. This information is vital to small newsrooms where operators need to know as much detail as soon as possible so they can meet increasingly earlier deadlines.
Former Australian Associated Press (AAP) Editor John 'JC' Coomber (far left) covering the cricket in the Port of Spain in Trinidad in 1978
AAP’s coverage
A snapshot of AAP’s output from 4 August to 4 December shows the significant number of stories and images provided to AAP’s customers over a 4 month period.
AAP Content 4 August 2020 to 4 December 2020
AAP Produced Content 18,328 stories published in total 10,691 stories excluding updates
Total Story count 27,865 total stories (excluding advisories) 17,741 unique stories (excluding updates) These figures include partner content.
AAP Images 45,814
Partner Images 1,553,231
Downloads of Images from AAP Photos site 95,086
Screengrab from AAP’s Newsroom platform
AAP was facing closure in March this year. Its closure would have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of stories and images each year covering all aspects of Australian life. AAP was saved by a small group of philanthropists and, as a result, is now a not-for-profit news organisation, owned by no-one, and dedicated entirely to covering news and sport around Australia and the globe for all Australians. AAP is still what it always has been, independent, trusted, reliable and accurate.
Labor MPs hold up signs in support of Australian Associated Press (AAP) during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
AAP’s news comes in the form of words and images. AAP’s news services are drawn from its own correspondents at home and abroad, as well as from some of the world’s leading news agencies. This ensures a breadth of coverage which would not otherwise be available in Australia.
AAP currently offers more than 150 subscribers over 220 text stories a day across news, politics, finance and sport. AAP also offers over 400 domestic images and more than 10,000 images from international partner agencies each day. Historically, AAP has also produced approximately 20 pieces of news video content each day. All of this content requires a great deal of expensive human and technical resources.
AAP’s content is used by over 400 outlets across Australia (see Attachment B). AAP’s stories and images are licensed for publication on hundreds of websites in Australia, including half of the top news sites in the country, it is print ed in major newspapers through metropolitan and regional areas, and it is broadcast across radio news bulletins around the country. AAP has a shared audience of millions of Australians who consume AAP’s news daily in various formats.
The AAP Photo Archive and Image Service The AAP Photo archive started in earnest in the year 2000. The Sydney Olympics formed the foundation for what was to become a trusted and valued asset in the AAP canon - a visual documentation of Australian life and our history, our images help tell the story of Australia.
From humble beginnings (around 10,000 images were filed in 2000) the image archive has grown over the years to contain just under 1.7 million photographs. In 2019 alone, our photographic team filed nearly a quarter of a million images. Often, AAP will be shooting content alone at political announcements or press conferences and, therefore, only AAP will be providing a historical visual record of the event.
AAP has access to both staff photographers and an experienced network of freelancers across ANZ, at one time, AAP was one of the largest employers of photographers in Australia. We pull from this team of dedicated and specialist photojournalists to ensure the best possible coverage for news and sport. AAP has high standards of metadata and caption information to make the content searchable and accessible on public and private Digital Asset Management systems. Our public and private filing systems are proven to facilitate speed, accuracy and quality content for clients.
Our customers range from traditional media companies to corporate, political, charitable and educational establishments, all of whom rely on AAP to capture images to help tell their stories.
As well as our editorial relationships, AAP also delivers assignment photography for a key sporting body in Australia to ensure there is a visual record of their games and associated events.
AAP also uses our images to illustrate our own articles. This powerful combination of our content means that time-poor and smaller publications can rely on AAP to generate a complete story for their publication. The AAP text and image package ensures that a regional newsroom can depend on AAP to cover and deliver a story in a finished format that means they can focus on stories in their own region.
Newswires’ critical role in the creation public interest journalism
Journalists, photographers and staff from Nine's The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review hold signs in support of staff at newswire Australian Associated Press (AAP) outside Nine's offices in Sydney, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
The news and media industry would be adversely impacted by the discontinuance of the Newswire and would be unlikely to replace the lost content and information with expensive original content and journalism.
When AAP was thought to be closing in March, a group of news and media businesses, including the public broadcasters, convened to consider if they could pool resources in the absence of an independent national newswire. Syndicating wholesale news content is critical to the news and media industry and grave concerns were made public if the AAP service was lost. It was quickly determined by this industry group that a large investment would be required which none of the participants were prepared to fund. The loss of the AAP Newswire would disproportionately impact smaller news and media businesses who rely heavily on syndicated content and would make market entry particularly difficult. The Guardian editor, Lenore Taylor, publicly stated that their publication relied heavily on the AAP service to launch.4 The core of AAP’s news gathering operations service regional Australia. The majority of AAP’s customers publish news regionally. AAP content is available to approximately 259 regional news outlets, all of which rely on AAP to deliver national, state and regional news to regional readers and listeners. Approximately 64% of AAP’s content recipients have a regional presence. No other distributor of public interest journalism has such broad regional distribution and underpins the operations of so many media outlets. AAP produces and distributes public interest journalism to regional outlets which enables them to focus on resourcing local reporting. AAP’s editorial staff of about 70, is complemented by a network of freelancers who are used on a regular basis in areas of specialist reporting or by geographical need. Staff are rostered on shifts and are given assignments based on news merit in accordance with AAP’s charter of independence, to ensure the newswire’s proud tradition of objectivity. Every published article goes through a production process, including sub editing and, if necessary, legal scrutiny. The newswire has specialised production teams for court reporting and sport. As a wholesale supplier, the newswire’s content creation and distribution costs are shared across multiple customers for the same core content. AAP is key democratic infrastructure as it is prohibitive for regional news outlets to collect national news without a newswire and they could not afford to establish and fund bureaus and reporters in major cities around Australia to cover the national news cycle. AAP also has an extensive network of freelance journalists who provide coverage of and to regional areas. AAP’s freelance network enables the production of public interest journalism by local journalists which in turn enables the promotion of regional Australian communities to a wider audience. Regional news stories produced by AAP are incorporated into the newswire through AAP’s usual editorial processes and distributed to regional, metropolitan and international subscribers, which includes 259 regional outlets. AAP is also a two-way voice for regional Australia: delivering national news to rural areas, plus sharing valuable content to the rest of the country from post codes that can struggle to find a platform. For example, in May 2019, just a couple of weeks before the federal election, an AAP reporter was the sole journalist at a country NSW RSL club where Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack addressed party members. The article was published more than 150 times online and also appeared in print and broadcast. This is a prime example of nationally- significant, public interest regional news which would not have been published without AAP: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6099329/deputy-pm-stages-revealing-cowra-breakout/ David Astbury is due to line up for Richmond in this year’s AFL grand final, but in May this year amid a COVID-19-ravaged season, the key defender was at his family property 250km west of Melbourne, and AAP was there too: https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/6750058/tigers-astbury-finds-purpose-in-isolation/?cs=11042 By way of reverse example, AAP supplies nationally-significant news to the regions. Every Australia Day, Anzac Day, federal and state budget and election, parliamentary sitting day, major sporting code grand final, RBA rates decision, royal commission findings (to name just a few). AAP provides coverage in text and imagery for print, broadcast and digital publication by scores of subscribers who would otherwise go without.
Risks to newswires
5 Concentration of media ownership is a significant problem for newswires globally . Large media companies and individuals increasingly own or hold controlling shares in a range of media such as newspapers, websites, television and radio. Concentration produces large, monopolistic organisations
4 Lenore Taylor, 2020, ‘We relied on AAP when Guardian Australia launched. Holding power to account just got a whole lot harder’, The Guardian Australia (online), 5 March 2020
5 Ibid which have the resources and capacity to develop in-house operations that replicate news agency functions fundamentally reshaping the markets within which news agencies now operate. The viability of the national newswire is jeopardised which in turn impacts the remaining, often smaller, media outlets.
In a recent study by the London School of Economics, the researchers noted that “[o]ne issue for national news agencies is that they are frequently either taken for granted or the role they play in the news ecosystem is structurally concealed. Lack of awareness at various levels is therefore a key problem. Whilst public service broadcasting has received significant attention in terms of media scholarship and policy-making, news agencies (including national news agencies), have received relatively little attention. National news agencies can and should address the fact that they have not always been entirely successful in informing politicians, policymakers and the public about their importance. The work of compiling news information remains a resource-intensive but socially valuable endeavor. Innovative approaches are needed if national news agencies become unable to successfully perform this social function. If it is not national news agencies who do this work, who will it be?”
Why is a sustainable independent newswire important to Australia?
For 85 years, Australian Associated Press (AAP) was owned by a consortia of media competitors. It was first established so that the country’s newspapers could share the high expense of bringing international news into Australia. AAP is a newswire service - a wholesale supplier of news. Almost democratic country has an independent national newswire like AAP. From Associated Press in the United States, to the Press Association in the United Kingdom to Agence France Presse in France – newswires provide an essential service in the media landscape.
An AAP poster, Sydney, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
With no political axe to grind, nor advertisers to please, AAP was formed to supply news "without any tendency toward or opportunity for the exercise of political partisanship or bias" (AAP Articles, 1935). As Rupert Murdoch himself noted "[a]s an organisation that sits to one side in a fiercely competitive industry, it has a vital role in ensuring an accurate, independent and comprehensive coverage of the daily news events across the country, providing a wide choice of content for the media, no matter what they are or what their market" (On the Wire: The Story of Australian Associated Press, 2010).
Around the clock, 365 days a year, AAP supplies core news to over 400 media outlets across Australia. Every day, AAP publishes over 220 stories and captures over 400 images for use by our customers across their websites, papers and broadcasts.
Parliament House is seen in front of snow-covered hills surrounding the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in Canberra, Sunday, Aug 23, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
A pooled newswire service reduces the cost of general news collection for media companies, public broadcasters and the public at large. AAP is a 24 hour, 365 day operation playing a critical role in reporting areas of high public interest including national and state-level politics and policy, court reporting and breaking news from across the country.
AAP also curates and contextualises world news feeds so that the stories being supplied to its customers are relevant to the Australian audience. One journalist or one photographer from AAP can, quite literally, provide reporting and images from courts, parliaments, press conferences and sporting events to over 400 outlets.
The ownership of the pooled newswire service matters. No private media company has ever before owned, or aspired to own, an Australian newswire service.
The public policy case for supporting AAP as essential democratic infrastructure
The public policy case for supporting AAP, an independently owned pooled media wire service is, in the words of Rod Sims, ACCC Chair, ‘compelling’, yet despite this, AAP receives one of the lowest amounts of recurrent government support for a national newswire anywhere in the world (see Attachment A). Indeed as Peter Kropsch, the Chair of the European Association of Newswire Agencies and the CEO of Deutsche Presse-Agentur Group, the German newswire, stated: “The Australian government purchases AAP´s newswire for around AUD 175 TS per annum (recurrent). Compared to the government businesses of other media owned and independent news agencies this is for sure one of the lowest contract volumes I have learned about yet”. https://7news.com.au/business/media/compelling-case-for-aap-fed-funding-accc-c-1301456
The importance of an independently owned newswire to Australia include:
1. Diversity of voices: AAP provides a unique, unbiased voice to hundreds of independent media operators and has a shared audience in excess of 15 million. AAP is critical to media diversity in Australia. As Minister Fletcher recently stated “AAP is critical to media diversity and has consistently demonstrated its commitment to accurate, fact based and independent journalism over its 85 year history, including a strong contribution to regional news”. News Corp already has a loud voice in the Australian media landscape.
2. Price competition: As an independent newswire, AAP has a vested interest in growth and diversity of the Australian media landscape. It is in AAP’s interests to set a price that is affordable for its customers.
3. Product differentiation: Many of AAP’s customers would be reluctant to buy a newswire service from a competitor.
4. Facilitates new entrants: It is in AAP’s interests to facilitate new entrants to the media market. As Lenore Taylor, Guardian Editor, recently stated ‘[t]he Guardian wouldn’t have been possible without the AAP newswire’. As a wholesale supplier, newswires traditionally thrive in a growing and competitive news market. AAP is uniquely positioned to assist new entrants. The content creation and distribution costs are shared across multiple customers for the same core content. New market entrants present an opportunity for AAP to either increase its coverage (through increased revenue from new customers) or to reduce the cost of its service to all its customers (through the impact of aggregating the cost of the service across a higher number of customers). AAP is aware of significant community efforts to re-establish regional publications and broadcasters in ‘news deserts’, which are areas identified to be no longer serviced by a local newspaper. AAP is in discussion with many of these new regional publishing entrants and is the best positioned media organisation in Australia to be able to offer low cost service to enable them to launch in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.
5. Cost efficiency for current customers: The costs of news gathering are high - especially for courts, sports and politics. As a wholesale supplier of news, those costs are shared across multiple customers for the same core content. This is particularly important for AAP's regional customers who could not afford to establish and fund Bureaus and reporters in major cities around Australia to cover the national news cycle.
6. Digital disruption: News Corp have made clear their intention to open a range of new regional mastheads. AAP currently provides content to the regional papers that News Corp’s new mastheads would compete with.
7. Reach: The cross media ownership regime in Australia never anticipated that a major retailer of print news would also become the wholesale provider of newswire services to hundreds of radio stations.
8. Training of future journalists for the industry: AAP’s cadet program has always been a highly-regarded scheme seen as an important training ground for the next generation of journalists. AAP’s program produces highly skilled journalists who will continue to cover courts, politics, economics and sports for decades to come. Former AAP cadets have gone on to assume senior roles across a number of media outlets. The continuation of AAP’s cadet program is particularly important to the national media sector, especially given recent news that the national broadcaster will not proceed with its cadet program this year.
It is hard to imagine a more efficient way to support media diversity in Australia than supporting the AAP newswire which in turn provides a critical service to hundreds of regional news outlets. AAP is essential democratic infrastructure.
European Experience
The European Parliament recently acknowledged that ongoing investment of the publishing industry was essential to “ensure the sustainability of the publishing industry and thereby foster the availability of reliable information” (Recital 55 to the DSM Directive). The Publishers Right was designed to protect the publishers’ investment and facilitate licensing and enforcement against Digital Platforms. Most importantly, the Publishers Right benefits not just news publishers but also newswire agencies in EU member states.
Recital 55 expressly referred to news agencies noting that “…the concept of publisher of press publications should be understood as covering service providers, such as news publishers or news agencies, when they publish press publications within the meaning of this Directive.” The rig ht is described as a “neighbouring right” or an “ancillary right” in respect of works by other rights holders (such as journalists) that are incorporated in press publications.
France implemented Article 15 via the Neighbouring Rights Act which took effect on 24 October 2019. This was the first implementation of a part of the Copyright Directive into a Member State’s national laws. The French law includes a new Chapter VIII titled “‘Press publishers’ and news agencies rights’. Article L.218-1.II defines a "news agency" as any company mentioned in Article 1 of Ordinance No. 45-2646 of 2 November 1945 regulating press agencies, whose main activity is the collection, processing and formatting, under its own responsibility, of journalistic contents”.
The express inclusion of news agencies (newswires) under Article 15 of the DSM Directive in the EU is clear evidence of their critical importance to the news landscape in Europe.
ATTACHMENT A
R=Regional, M=Metro, RP=Regional Presence
Australian Capital Territory
AAP news outlets in ACT Type Area
Valley FM 89.5 Radio RP
2 Double X Radio RP
1WAY FM Radio RP
The Canberra Times (Canberra) Print RP
New South Wales
AAP news outlets in NSW Type Area
Central Western Daily (Orange) Print and Digital RP
Daily Liberal (Dubbo) Print and Digital RP
Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong) Print and Digital RP
The Newcastle Herald (Newcastle) Print and Digital M
The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga) Print and Digital RP
The Northern Daily Leader (Tamworth) Print and Digital RP
Western Advocate (Bathurst) Print and Digital RP
Braidwood Times Print and Digital R
Crookwell Gazette Print and Digital R Goulburn Post Print and Digital R
Highlands Post (Bowral) Print and Digital R
Southern Highland News (Bowral) Print and Digital R
The Chronicle (Canberra) Print and Digital RP
The Post Weekly (Goulburn) Print and Digital R
The Queanbeyan Age Print and Digital R
Yass Tribune Print and Digital R
Bay Post (Batemans Bay) and Moruya Examiner Print and Digital R
Bega District News Print and Digital R
Bombala Times Print and Digital R
Eurobodalla Shire Independent Print and Digital R
Kiama Independent Print and Digital RP
Magnet (Eden) Print and Digital R
Merimbula News Weekly Print and Digital R
Milton Ulladulla Times Print and Digital R
Narooma News Print and Digital R
Shoalhaven & Nowra News Print and Digital R
South Coast Register (Nowra) Print and Digital R
The Advertiser (incorporating Lake Times) Print and Digital R
Glen Innes Examiner Print and Digital R The Courier Print and Digital R
Moree Champion Print and Digital R
Namoi Valley Independent (Gunnedah) Print and Digital R
Tenterfield Star Print and Digital R
The Armidale Express Print and Digital R
Armidale Express Extra Print and Digital R
The Guyra Argus Print and Digital R
The Inverell Times Print and Digital R
The Tamworth Times (including The Tamworth Independent) Print and Digital R
Walcha News Print and Digital R
Dungog Chronicle Print and Digital R
Hunter Valley News Print and Digital R
Lakes Mail Print and Digital R
Maitland & Lower Hunter Star Print and Digital R
Muswellbrook Chronicle Print and Digital R
Newcastle & Lake Macquarie Star Print and Digital RP
Port Stephens Examiner Print and Digital RP
The Advertiser (Cessnock) Print and Digital R
Maitland Mercury Print and Digital R
The Scone Advocate Print and Digital R The Singleton Argus Print and Digital R
Camden Haven Courier Print and Digital R
Express (Port Macquarie) Print and Digital RP
Gloucester Advocate Print and Digital R
Great Lakes Advocate Print and Digital R
Guardian News (Nambucca) Print and Digital R
Habiscus Happynings Print and Digital R
Macleay Valley Happynings Print and Digital R
Manning Great Lakes Extra Print and Digital R
Manning River Times Print and Digital R
Mid-Coast Observer (Macksville) Print and Digital R
Port Macquarie News Print and Digital RP
The Bellingen Shire Courier-Sun Print and Digital R
The Macleay Argus Print and Digital R
Wauchope Gazette Print and Digital R
Wingham Chronicle Print and Digital R
Cootamundra Herald Print and Digital R
Eastern Riverina Chronicle Print and Digital R
Harden Murrumburrah Express Print and Digital R
Southern Cross (Junee) Print and Digital R The Area News (Griffith) Print and Digital R
The Irrigator (Leeton) Print and Digital R
The Leader (Wagga Wagga) Print and Digital R
Southern Riverina News (Finley) Print and Digital R
The Corowa Free Press Print and Digital R
Deniliquin Pastoral Times Print and Digital R
The Observer (Darlington Point / Coleambally) Print and Digital R
Blue Mountains Gazette Print and Digital R
Fairfield City Champion Print and Digital R
Hawkesbury Courier Print and Digital R
Hawkesbury Gazette Print and Digital R
Liverpool City Champion Print and Digital R
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader Print and Digital R
The Advertiser (Campbelltown/Camden-Narellan/Wollondilly) Print and Digital R
Blayney Chronicle Print and Digital R
Boorowa News Print and Digital R
Canowindra News Print and Digital R
Cowra Guardian Print and Digital R
Dubbo Mailbox Shopper Print and Digital R
Forbes Advocate Print and Digital R Lithgow Mercury Print and Digital R
Midstate Observer (Orange) Print and Digital R
Mudgee Guardian and Gulgong Advertiser Print R
Narromine News and Trangie Advocate Print R
Nyngan Observer Print R
Oberon Review Print R
Parkes Champion-Post Print R
The Grenfell Record and Bland Advertiser Print R
The Young Witness Print R
Wellington Times Print R
Western Times (Bathurst) Print R
Country Leader Print R
Hunter Valley and North Coast Town & Country Print R
North West Magazine Print R
The Rural Print R
The Border News Print R
Town and Country Magazine Print R
Western Magazine Print R
QBN FM Radio R
2AIR FM Radio R Armidale Community Radio - 2ARM FM92.1 Radio R
Bay & Basin 92.7FM Radio R
2BACR Radio R
2BBB FM Radio R
RBM FM - 89.1 Radio Blue Mountains Radio R
2BOB Radio Radio R
2CBD Radio R
Casino's Own Wireless Association Radio R
2DRY FM Radio R
Eurobodalla Radio 107.5 Radio R
EZY-FM 90.5 Radio R
Bucketts Radio Radio R
RAMFM 103.3 Radio R
Triple H 100.1 FM Radio R
KRR 98.7 Radio R
2MCE Radio R
2MNO Monaro FM Radio R
MTM FM 91.9 Radio R
River FM - 92.9 Radio R
Northside Radio Radio R Nambucca Valley Radio Radio R
2RDJ FM Radio R
2RRR Radio R
2SSR 99.7 FM Radio R
Three Rivers Radio - Dunedoo Radio R
TUNE! FM 106.9 Radio R
VOX FM Radio R
WAR FM Radio R
2WCR FM 99.5 Radio R
TANK FM Radio R
WOW FM 100.7 Radio R
Wilcannia River Radio Radio R
Yass FM Radio R
Radio NAG 91.3 FM Radio R
Binjang Community Radio Inc Radio R
UCFM Radio R
2YYY Young Radio R
KIIS 1065 Radio M
WS FM101.7 Radio M
The Edge 96.One Radio M La Fiamma Print and Digital RP
96.5 Wave FM Digital RP
Radio 2NM Digital R
Radio 2ST Digital R
Power FM Digital R
Radio 2GN Digital R
Radio 2EC Digital R
Eagle FM Digital R
Magic 100.3FM Radio R
Life FM Wagga Wagga Radio R
Living Sound Broadcasters Radio R
Rhema FM Central Coast Radio R
Rhema FM Dubbo Radio R
Rhema FM Manning Great Lakes Radio R
Rhema FM Mid North Coast NSW Radio R
Rhema FM Tamworth Radio R
Barrier Daily Truth Print R
Australian New Express Print RP
Newcastle University 2NURFM Radio M
Sydney Educational Broadcasting Radio M
Queensland and Northern Territory
AAP news outlets in QLD & NT Type Area
Beaudesert Times Print and Digital R
Goondiwindi Argus Print and Digital R
Jimboomba Times Print and Digital R
Redland City Bulletin Print and Digital R
The North West Star (Mount Isa) Print and Digital R
Queensland Country Life Print and Digital R
North Queensland Register Print and Digital R
My Weekly Preview Print RP
Coral Coast Community Radio 94.7 FM Radio R
Burnett River Radio Radio R
Cairns FM 89.1 Radio RP
102.7FM Radio RP
Western Downs Region Radio Radio R
Noosa Community Radio 101.3 FM Radio RP
101.5FM Moreton Bay's Own Radio R
Radio 4RPH Radio M
Encore FM 96.3 Radio RP Gin Gin's Own 104.9FM Radio R
Radio 4YOU Radio R
97.3FM Radio M
4KQ 693 Radio M
InQLD Digital RP kixcountry.com.au Digital R
River94.9 FM Digital RP
Hot 91.1FM Digital R
ZInc96.1FM Digital R
Hot Tomato102.9FM Digital RP
Hitz93.9 FM Digital R
Radio 4BU Digital R
Radio 4CC Digital R
Radio 4RO Digital R
Classic Hits 4MK Digital RP
Star 101.9 Digital RP
Star1063 Digital RP
Classic Hits 4CA Digital RP
Star 102.7 Digital RP
Coastal Broadcasters Pty Ltd (Kik FM) Digital RP Cooloola Christian Broadcasters Radio RP
Live FM Radio RP
Rhema FM Gladstone Radio R
Rhema FM Wide Bay Radio R
Brisbane Indigenous Media Association 98.9FM Radio M
The Katherine Times (NT) Print R
8CCC FM Community Radio 102.1FM (NT) Radio R
Hot 100 FM (NT) Digital R
Mix 104.9FM (NT) Digital R
Rhema FM Darwin (NT) Radio RP
South Australia
AAP news outlets in SA Type Area
Barossa and Light Herald Print and Digital R
Border Chronicle Print and Digital R
Coastal Leader Print and Digital R
Eyre Peninsula Tribune Print and Digital R
Northern Argus Print and Digital R
The Times (Victor Harbor) Print and Digital R
On the Coast Print and Digital R Port Lincoln Times Print and Digital R
The Flinders News Print and Digital R
The Islander (Kangaroo Island) Print and Digital R
The Murray Valley Standard Print and Digital R
The Naracoorte Herald Print and Digital R
The Recorder Print and Digital R
The Transcontinental (Port Augusta) Print and Digital R
West Coast Sentinel Print and Digital R
Whyalla News Print and Digital R
90.1 Happy FM Radio R
5GTR Radio R
5THE FM Radio R
Mix 102.3 Radio R
Cruise 1323 Radio R
InDaily Digital RP
Magic 89.9FM Digital RP
Radio 5MU Digital RP
Radio 5CC Digital R
Radio 5CS Digital R
Radio 5RM Digital R Radio 5AU Digital R
Magic 105.9 Digital R
Magic 93.1FM Digital R
Flow FM Radio R
Radio Adelaide Radio M
Tasmania
AAP news outlets in Tasmania Type Area
The Advocate (Burnie) Print and Digital RP
The Examiner (Launceston) Print and Digital RP
City Park Radio 103.7 Radio RP
97.1FM The Voice of the Midlands Radio RP
TYGA FM Radio RP
Gove FM Radio RP
CAAMA Radio Radio RP
PAW Radio Radio RP
101.7 7HOFM Digital RP
LAFM.com.au Digital RP chillifm.com.au Digital RP
7AD FM Digital RP 107.7SeaFM Digital RP
7BU Digital RP
101.7 SeaFM Digital RP
7SD Digital RP
7XS Digital RP
WAY FM Radio RP
Victoria
AAP news outlets in VIC Type Area
3BBR-FM Radio R
Radio Eastern FM 98.1 Radio R
Life FM Gippsland Radio R
Gippsland FM Radio R
3HCR - High Country Radio Radio R
Triple H 96.5 FM Radio R
HOT FM Radio R
96.5 Inner FM Radio R
3MGB Radio R
OCR FM Radio R
Phoenix FM Radio R 94.7 The Pulse Radio RP
REG-FM Radio R
RPP FM Radio R
Smart FM 99.1 Radio R
UGFM - Radio Murrindindi Radio R
Alpine Radio Radio R
OAK FM Radio R
KIIS 101.1 Radio M
Gold 104.3 Radio M
Il Globo Print and Digital RP
95.5 KROCK Digital RP
Bay939 Digital RP
Radio 3BA Digital R
Gold Central Victoria Digital R
River1467 Digital R
Life FM Bendigo Radio RP
Rhema FM Geelong Radio RP
Rhema FM Orange Radio RP
Shepparton News Print and Digital R
Melbourne Chinese Post Print and Digital RP JOY FM Radio M
Pacific Star Network Limited Radio M
Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo) Print RP
The Border Mail (Albury/Wodonga) Print RP
The Courier (Ballarat) Print RP
The Standard (Warrnambool) Print R
Latrobe Valley Express Print R
The Advocate (Daylesford) Print R
The Ararat Advertiser Print R
The Moyne Gazette Print R
The Stawell Times-News Print R
The Wimmera Mail-Times Print R
Sunraysia Daily Print R
Swan Hill Guardian Print R
Gannawarra Times Print R
Sunraysia Life Print R
Surf Coast Times Print and Digital R
Geelong Times Print and Digital RP
Bellarine Times Print and Digital RP
Armstrong Creek Times Print and Digital RP Golden Plains Times Print and Digital RP
Ballarat Times Print and Digital RP
Wangaratta Chronicle Print RP
1116 SEN Radio M
1377 SEN+ Radio M
SEN 2 and 3 Digital Radio Radio M
Golden Days Radio Radio M
Western Australia
AAP news outlets in WA Type Area
Augusta Margaret River Mail Print and Digital R
Bunbury Mail Print and Digital R
Busselton-Dunsborough Mail Print and Digital R
Collie Mail Print and Digital R
Donnybrook-Bridgetown-Manjimup Mail Print and Digital R
Mandurah Mail Print and Digital R
The Avon Valley and Wheatbelt Advocate Print and Digital R
The Esperance Express Print and Digital R
Albany Community Radio Radio R
Capital Community Radio 101.7FM Radio RP Collie Community Radio Radio R
96FM Radio M
The West Australian Print and Digital M thewest.com.au Digital RP perthnow.com.au Digital RP
The Weekend West Newspaper Print and Digital M
Kalgoorlie Miner Print and Digital R
Countryman Newspaper Print and Digital R
Albany Advertiser Print and Digital R
Albany Extra Print and Digital R
Augusta Margaret River Times Print and Digital R
Broome Advertiser Print and Digital R
Bunbury Herald Print and Digital R
Bunbury South Western Times Print and Digital R
Busselton Dunsborough Times Print and Digital R
Geraldton Guardian Print and Digital R
Great Southern Herald Print and Digital R
Harvey-Waroona Reporter Print and Digital R
Majimup-Bridgetown Times Print and Digital R
Midwest Times Print and Digital R Narrogin Observer Print and Digital R
North West Telegraph Print and Digital R
Pilbara News Print and Digital R
Regional Lifestyle Print and Digital R
Sunday Times Print and Digital M
Kimberley Echo Print and Digital R
Western Suburbs Weekly Print and Digital RP
Stirling Times Print and Digital RP
Eastern Reporter Print and Digital RP
Hills Avon Valley Gazette Print and Digital R
Midland Kalamunda Reporter Print and Digital R
The Advocate Print and Digital R
Joondalup Times Print and Digital R
Wanneroo Times Print and Digital R
North Coast Times Print and Digital R
Canning Gazette Print and Digital R
Cockburn Gazette Print and Digital R
Comment News Print and Digital R
Fremantle Gazette Print and Digital RP
Melville Gazette Print and Digital R Southern Gazette Print and Digital R
Mandurah Coastal Times Print and Digital R
Weekend Kwinana Courier Print and Digital R
West Australian Business News Digital M
National
National AAP news outlets Type Area
Koori Mail Print and Digital RP
The Land Print R
Farm Weekly Print R
Stock & Land Print R
Stock Journal Print R
AgTrader Print R
Alfa Lotfeeding Print R
Australian Cotton & Grains Outlook Print R
Good Fruit & Vegetables Print R
Horse Deals Print R
The Australian Dairy Farmer Print R
The Senior Print R
Focus Print R ABC ONLINE Digital RP
SBS TV, radio and Digital RP
SBS News TV, radio and Digital RP
SBS Current Affairs TV, radio and Digital RP
The World Game TV, radio and Digital RP
SBS Radio/ Audio Language Content Radio RP
SBS World News TV RP
The Feed TV RP
Dateline TV RP
Insight TV RP
NITV TV RP
Living Black TV RP
Awaken TV RP
The Point TV RP
Epoch Times Print RP
Australian Chinese Daily Print RP
The New Daily Digital RP
Yahoo! News Digital RP
The Daily Mail Digital RP
The Guardian Digital RP Microsoft News Digital RP
Seven News Digital Digital RP
ATTACHMENT B
Government Support For Newswires Globally
Almost every newswire agency in the world receives significant amounts from the government either on a commercial basis or a funded arrangement. Many wire services would be unsustainable without government revenue. The commercial and/or funding arrangements are in place because newswire services and their critical role in enabling media diversity are considered important to the functioning of society and therefore appropriately paid for or funded from public resources.
Country Service Recurrent Amount P/A
Australia - AAP provides: AU$177k Australian · one Federal department with a wire service; Associated Press Limited · one small authority with a monitoring alert ($5 million PING funding (AAP) service; non-recurrent)
· one commission with a monitoring alert service; and
· Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet with an image subscription.
United During WWII, Reuters (owned by the Press Not known Kingdom - Association, the UK national newswire) was facing Reuters financial challenge. Churchill and Atlee determined that in order to ensure its ongoing viability, the Government would become “super subscribers” to the Reuters service and would provide the service to key Government departments such as Defence and Finance.
Austria - APA provides the government with: Confidential but significant Austria Presse · A super subscription to the newswire for the Agentur (APA) lead government department (akin to our Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet);
· Smaller subscriptions to all the different ministries; and
· Distribution of all government announcements and press releases across the APA newswire. France - AFP provides the government with: In 2018 AFP received 131.5 Agence France million euros, of which 111.8 · A service of general interest (covering Presse million euros consisted of culturally significant events in France etc); and funding for services of general · Subscriptions sold on a commercial basis to interest and 19.7 million Euros more than 1,100 government departments. was funding for subscriptions. (sourced from Juntunen, L. & Nieminen, H. (2019). The future of national news agencies in Europe - Case study 3: The changing relation between news agencies and the state. The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK)
United The PA provides a number of their services to the UK Several million pounds Kingdom - Government on a commercial basis. Press Association (PA)
Germany - DPA provides a number of their services to the Several million euros Deutsche German Government on a commercial basis. Presse-Agentu r (DPA)
Switzerland – Tamedia, the biggest media group in Switzerland, The Swiss parliament passed Keystone-SDA withdrew from the national newswire leaving it in a an unprecedented resolution to (SDA) perilous position. SDA became an NFP. SDA protect the plurality of media in provides its services to Swiss media on a commercial Switzerland. Under the basis which is then funded to the Government. arrangement, the Government pays the subscription fees for the operation of the agency on behalf of SDA’s customers. The amount paid by the Government is CHF4 million (around AUD$6.1 million).
Canada - The Not known. In 2019, the Canadian Canadian government launched a large Press federal program to support written media - $600 million over 5 years in the form of tax credits on journalism labour. CP expects to benefit from the program. Additionally the government has opened the door to non-profit journalism operations to accept donations, offer tax-deductible receipts and become exempt from income tax.