Join the fight to help regional newspapers

As we reported this week, our publisher ACM has painted a stark picture of the crisis facing local newspapers serving the 36 per cent of Australians who live outside the major metropolitan cities.

Our submission says the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would have forced the business to stop trading if not for the emergency support of the Morrison government's JobKeeper and Public Interest News Gathering programs.

While The Canberra Times was one of the ACM newspapers to continue producing a printed edition over the past two challenging years, dozens of our network's other titles serving regional, rural and suburban communities have suspended printing, changed publishing frequency or switched to digital news coverage.

A number of small mastheads are unlikely to ever return to print, with ACM telling the inquiry pandemic-related advertising revenue declines have put the viability of 20-30 per cent of the group's remaining 140 titles at risk.

The Lower House committee chaired by Victorian Nationals MP Dr Anne Webster and made up of Liberal, Labor and Nationals MPs also heard a massive increase in newsprint prices expected this year poses "perhaps the single biggest threat to the viability of our publishing business after COVID and its economic effects".

Whether you're reading this article on newsprint or on your phone, the fact that you are reading at all suggests you care about where your local news comes from. For that, we thank you.

It also suggests you might care enough to read our full (and frank) 5000-word submission. It's sobering stuff, for sure, but it notes ACM's continuing investment in training and new apps and websites, and includes a series of practical recommendations such as tax rebates for regional businesses that advertise in local newspapers, ongoing tax concessions to offset newsprint costs and guaranteed levels of annual federal government advertising in regional papers.

Reform of Australia's outdated ownership laws is essential. Current legislation prevents regional media businesses from growing in the same way that metropolitan TV, radio and publishing companies have been allowed to evolve to compete in the age of Netflix.

ACM tells the inquiry it's "the only company in the country that is trying to build a 21st century media business to serve regional Australia, but we are doing it with one arm tied behind our back".

Proud to be part of Australia's largest independently owned publishing business, we urge you to ask your local federal MP what they are doing to help companies like ACM sustain regional journalism and trusted newspapers like The Canberra Times.

With the support of our loyal audiences and advertising partners, we are facing up to the challenges. But the regional newspaper industry needs urgent government attention and assistance.

You will find the ACM submission on our website, where you can also sign up as a The Canberra Times subscriber. If you're already a subscriber, thank you for supporting the local news you trust to keep you connected.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: