News from Australia’s Public Interest Journalism Initiative in August is mostly bad.
In its monthly report, PIJI noted the ‘loss of service’ of five of Australian Community Media’s mastheads, three of which lost their daily print editions in August, and two a print edition at all.
It also records the folding of Chinchilla, Queensland, local news website Country Caller in April 2024, and says the now web publisher of southwest Queensland’s Warrego Watchman James Clark has “stepped away” from publication since its last article in May, “but may return to digital publishing soon”.
Clark’s production woes – printing on an elderly German web-offset press prior to a marriage-saving move to contract production in Toowoomba and Yandina – were recorded in an ABC documentary.
On the positive side, the National Indigenous Times is launching bimonthly news magazine the Indigenous Business Review as an insert to News Corp national daily The Australian and Seven West Media’s West Australian.
PIJI also sampled media in Goulburn, NSW, and surrounding districts and found “very high levels of public interest journalism at all outlets, with a strong focus on ‘community’ stories – led by local newspapers – followed by ‘government’ stories, led by the ABC newsrooms”.
Under review were ACM’s print weekly the Goulburn Post, and now-digital Crookwell Gazette, as well as independent weekly the Yass Valley Times and Hall (ACT) based bimonthly The Rural Fringe.
Pictured: The local newspaper in rural Crookwell, NSW is now digital only; GXpress can warrant to limited mobile coverage there