The State of the News Print Media

The Council's Executive Secretary, Jack R Herman, looks at a new Council publication.

The Press Council usually deals with complaints about accuracy, balance or fairness in newspapers and with advocacy for the public's right to know. In October it released a report, The State of the News Print Media in Australia, resulting from a year-long study by a combined group of journalism academics, industry figures and Council staff, convened by the Council's Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon.

The report is available in printed form from the Press Council for $6 (GST inclusive) and has been posted to the Internet: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/snpma_index.html.

Why did the Council produce such a report? Partly because earlier American studies of the news media intrigued us, partly to see what information is available, and to assess trends, in Australia, and partly to instigate some original research into the Australian print media.

The report draws together much existing information, and has some original research, especially a ground-breaking content analysis of daily, Sunday and regional newspapers. Other chapters cast new light on the development of on-line editions of newspapers, on blogging, on journalist education and training, and on the impact on a free press of developments that might restrict the availability of information.

And the report turned up some interesting trends.

Undoubtedly there is turmoil and change in the newspaper industry world-wide. It was a pleasant surprise to find less cause for concern here than in the UK and USA. After a period that saw the loss of a number of titles, and some declines in circulation, Australian daily newspaper numbers, circulation and readership have stabilised over the past few years.

National readership figures are still impressive: some 54.6 per cent of the 16.4 million people over fifteen read weekday papers, rising to 65.5 per cent for Sunday newspapers. Taking into account hard copies and unique newspaper web-site visits, the total readership of Australian metropolitan newspapers appears to be increasing. In addition there are over six hundred community, suburban and rural newspapers whose readership of over 13 million is flourishing.

Ownership in Australia has been, and will remain, highly concentrated. News Ltd owns close to 70 per cent of the metropolitan newspaper market, and has interests in regional and community newspapers as well. A fair proportion of the remainder of the newspaper market is in the hands of four companies, Fairfax Media, Rural Press, APN News & Media and West Australian Newspapers. Hopes of any increased diversity of opinion in the bush through the recent legislative changes to cross-media ownership appear to be at odds with the economic realities of the electronic age.

The report demonstrates that the challenge to newspaper owners of the Internet is major. But, in the face of that challenge, Australian companies are responding robustly and vigorously. They are adapting rapidly. They are changing their newsrooms to meet constant deadlines, immediately reporting breaking news rather than waiting for the next morning's edition. They are becoming de facto multi-media companies, with supplementary pictures and video in reports and blogging by columnists.

So far the trends suggest that the skills developed in newsrooms in collecting, organising and presenting news, and commentary on that news, will continue to be in prime demand, both for attracting readers for newspapers and for bringing users (and advertisers) to newspaper Internet sites. The skilled staff of newspapers are in the best position to provide time-poor citizens with organised news coverage that presents a coherent picture of world events, the diversity within the national society and the possibilities for tackling problems of the day. The report shows that, as a result, the news websites of established media companies are overwhelmingly the ones used for local and international news.

The need for newspaper companies to offer incisive, balanced, authoritative journalism is at odds with current cost-saving campaigns. And media companies are buying up and integrating real estate, jobs and car trading websites into their businesses in order to maximise the all-important combined print and web advertisement revenue. Nobody knows where advertising trends will ultimately lead, but companies see no option but to charge ahead with takeovers.

Nevertheless it does seem that continuous enhancement of the 'brand', the company's reputation for high quality, accurate and balanced reporting will be crucial to the attraction and retention of readers.

While Australia is among the most liberal societies in the world with a strong tradition of press freedom, a chapter in the report on the impact on the press of legislative and judicial developments shows that traditional freedoms - especially the capacity of the press to keep the public informed on matters of public interest - are progressively being whittled away.

The raft of federal legislation dealing with the threat of terrorism and with national security has drastically curtailed the ability of the press to report freely on matters of public concern. Excessive government secrecy, the use of 'media management' techniques (spin and leaks) and the emasculation of freedom of information laws have all contributed to the trend. Even the courts are restricting the right of the public to be informed, especially in the lower courts through excessive use of suppression orders and restrictions on access to court documents.

The media can itself be complicit in restrictions, sometimes seeking to buy exclusive reporting rights on events or stories, short-sightedly allowing commercial interests to outweigh a commitment to press freedom.

The trend towards restriction on the availability of information is insidious and sustained.

The report also looks at trends in the changing role of journalists and journalism training; at the regulatory and self-regulatory environment of newspapers; and at newspaper credibility. A major chapter is devoted to the content analysis research undertaken for this study. It suggests that Australian newspapers write shorter news reports, with fewer sources, than American newspapers, over 80 per cent of news stories being reported in fewer than 500 words, and usually based on just one source. The comparison raises the reasonable question of whether press releases and handouts, including obvious spin, are too often published unquestioned. Newsrooms need the resources (and time) for proper investigative reporting.

The State of the News Print Media in Australia, which has been posted to the Internet (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/snpma_index.html) and is available in printed form from the Press Council for $6 (GST inclusive), does not take a position or intentionally start an argument. It seeks to give the Australian public as accurate a picture of energetic Australian newspapers in rapidly changing circumstances as imperfect data allow.

JACK R HERMAN

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