The Times Australia
Mirvac Harbourside
The Times World News

.

Australians are not aware news outlets are in financial trouble: new report

  • Written by Caroline Fisher, Co-author of the Digital News Report: Australia 2020, Deputy Director of the News and Media Research Centre, and Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Canberra
Australians are not aware news outlets are in financial trouble: new report

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 150 Australian news outlets have contracted, merged, closed or suspended production[1] due to the financial stress. Just last month, WIN TV News announced[2] it will be cutting more jobs.

Despite the upheaval in the news media caused by loss of advertising, the majority of Australians are unaware of the financial difficulties of commercial news organisations.

The findings are contained in the latest Digital News Report: Australia 2021[3] released by the University of Canberra.

The online survey of 2,034 Australian news consumers finds two-thirds of respondents were unaware commercial news organisations were less profitable than 10 years ago. A small but significant proportion (14%) of respondents thought news companies were doing better than 10 years ago. A further 12% thought their profitability was roughly the same. Moreover, 41% of Australian consumers said they “don’t know” if news media are facing financial hardship.

It is Australians from low socio-economic backgrounds who are the least likely to know about the state of the news industry: 78% of those with low levels of education compared to 58% of people with those with high levels, and 68% of low-income earners compared to 55% of high-income earners. This points to low levels of media literacy in these groups.

Australians are not concerned about the news industry

Only one-third of survey participants said they were “quite” or “very” concerned about the financial difficulties facing the news industry, while 49% were not concerned. Almost one-fifth said they “don’t know”.

Further, many consumers don’t think the government should step in to assist commercial news organisations facing hard times (44%). Given that most Australians are neither aware of the financial state of the commercial news industry nor concerned about it, this is not surprising.

This lack of awareness and concern is important because the report reveals people who are aware of the financial state of news are more likely to pay for it, and those who are concerned about the state of the news industry are more likely to say they will pay for it in the future.

We need more people to pay for news

If you happen to subscribe or donate to online news, you are part of the small 13% of Australians who do. This figure is below the average of 20 countries in the survey (17%). While more Australian consumers pay for online news than in the UK (8%), our contribution is much lower than in Norway (45%).

More troubling is that the vast majority (83%) of Australians who don’t pay for news say it is unlikely they will pay in the future.

Even though regional newspapers have been particularly hit hard before and during the pandemic, regional Australians in the survey were less likely to say they would pay for news in the future (10%) compared to city dwellers (14%).

Read more: Another savage blow to regional media spells disaster for the communities they serve[4]

Given that people who are aware and concerned about the state of the industry are more likely to pay for the news they consume, it behoves us all to educate the public about the financial crisis facing Australian journalism.

The report also finds trust in news increased globally, including Australia, since 2020. However, the “trust bump[5]” experienced in the early months of the pandemic has not been maintained. General trust in news rose (+5) to 43%, which is close to the global average in the survey of 44%. But the peak in trust associated with news reporting about COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic (53%) has not been sustained.

News consumption levels have also fallen from the highs recorded in the first few months of the pandemic last year. In April 2020, 70% of Australians were accessing news more than once a day. In 2021, this has dropped to 51% and is lower than pre-COVID news consumption. Interest in news continues to decline.

The fall in consumption and interest and lack of knowledge about the state of the struggling news industry in Australia point to lower engagement with the news overall and the ongoing need to improve media literacy in this country.

Read more: Alarmist reporting on COVID-19 will only heighten people's anxieties and drive vaccine hesitancy[6]

Other findings include:

  • Australians strongly support impartial, neutral and balanced news. Most news consumers (73%) think news should reflect a range of views so audiences can make up their own minds. Seventy-one percent think all sides of an issue should be given equal time, and 57% say news should always try to be neutral.

  • Women, young people, regional residents and low socio-economic consumers are the most dissatisfied with how they are represented in the news.

  • People who primarily get their news from print (newspaper or magazine) are more likely to say they feel attached to their local community (73%) than those who rely on other news sources.

  • The proportion of Australians aged 75 and over who mainly use social media for news has more than tripled since 2019 (10%, +7).

Digital News Report: Australia is produced by the News & Media Research Centre (N&MRC) at the University of Canberra and is part of a global annual survey of digital news consumption in 46 countries, commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. The survey was conducted by YouGov at the end of January/beginning of February 2021. In Australia, this is the seventh annual survey of its kind produced by the N&MRC.

Read more https://theconversation.com/australians-are-not-aware-news-outlets-are-in-financial-trouble-new-report-162596

Mirvac Harbourside

Times Magazine

YepAI Joins Victoria's AI Trade Mission to Singapore for Big Data & AI World Asia 2025

YepAI, a Melbourne-based leader in enterprise artificial intelligence solutions, announced today...

Building a Strong Online Presence with Katoomba Web Design

Katoomba web design is more than just creating a website that looks good—it’s about building an onli...

September Sunset Polo

International Polo Tour To Bridge Historic Sport, Life-Changing Philanthropy, and Breath-Taking Beau...

5 Ways Microsoft Fabric Simplifies Your Data Analytics Workflow

In today's data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to streamline their data anal...

7 Questions to Ask Before You Sign IT Support Companies in Sydney

Choosing an IT partner can feel like buying an insurance policy you hope you never need. The right c...

Choosing the Right Legal Aid Lawyer in Sutherland Shire: Key Considerations

Legal aid services play an essential role in ensuring access to justice for all. For people in t...

The Times Features

Noticing These 5 Issues? Contact an Emergency Plumber Now

The invisible arteries running through homes, plumbing systems, streamline daily life discreetly...

The Perfect Champagne Day Pairing: Luke Nguyen’s Chargrilled Lemongrass Beef Skewers

Celebrate Champagne Day on October 24th with this delicious recipe and elegant pairing from Luke Ngu...

Bribing kids to eat vegetables might backfire. Here’s what to do instead

It’s a tactic many parents know well: “eat two bites of broccoli, and then you can have desser...

Common Wall Mounting Challenges and How Professionals Solve Them

It is not always as easy as it seems to mount artwork, shelves, or TVs, since some difficulties are ...

Understanding Centrelink Investment Property Valuation: A Guide for Australian Property Owners

Introduction Owning an investment property in Australia can bring financial stability — but it al...

The climate crisis is fuelling extreme fires across the planet

We’ve all seen the alarming images. Smoke belching from the thick forests[1] of the Amazon. Sp...

Applications open for Future Cotton Leaders Program 2026

Applications have opened for the 2026 intake for the Australia Future Cotton Leaders Program (AFCL...

Optimising is just perfectionism in disguise. Here’s why that’s a problem

If you regularly scroll health and wellness content online, you’ve no doubt heard of optimisin...

Macquarie Bank Democratises Agentic AI, Scaling Customer Innovation with Gemini Enterprise

Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services group (Macquarie Bank), in collaboration with Google ...