SYDNEY – Australia’s struggling national newswire was promised a A$5 million (RM15.3 million) government bailout yesterday, just days after launching a crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to guarantee its survival.
The Australian Associated Press had been facing an uncertain future since being abandoned by major shareholders – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and broadcasting and newspaper group Nine Entertainment – in March.
The government’s decision to step in to save the 85-year-old newswire was made because “public interest journalism is important now, more than ever”, communications minister Paul Fletcher said.
He cited the outlet’s critical role in safeguarding media diversity – in a country where most media is owned by a handful of companies – and its importance in covering regional news.
AAP relaunched earlier this year as a non-profit with roughly half the staff, but had struggled as challenges in the media sector were compounded by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Covid-19 crisis had “triggered unprecedented challenges” for Australia’s media, Fletcher said, “with severe declines in advertising revenue threatening the sustainability of many news outlets”. – AFP, September 19, 2020
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