Australian and Tasmanian media has taken a battering in the past month.
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Merger talks between Fairfax Media and the Nine Network were this week followed by the news that WIN’s weeknightly Tasmanian news bulletins will now be presented out of the network’s Wollongong office. Some Tasmanian journalists for the station are expected to lose their jobs.
By nature, journalists are competitive. But we’re also fiercely loyal.
So it’s never great to hear that a colleague in the field might have their job in jeopardy. We value each others work, not just because they keep us on our toes, but because they’re a kindred spirit.
It’s not the first time we’ve felt seismic shifts in our industry. It’s been happening for years, and will continue to happen.
What we need, is support. From you. Our audiences. Across all platforms.
The importance of the media, and independent media, can be underestimated and underplayed. But we matter.
The Examiner through the Reverend John West, was integral in stopping transportation in Tasmania.
Since then, the masthead has campaigned on, fought for, and won so many battles that have changed the landscape of the state.
Replicate these results across every news outlet in Australia and you have a force to be reckoned with.
The independence and diversity of media is so important to society's fabric, and one could argue even more so to the fabric of regional communities.
It is easy to point the finger at the internet, the social media giants, and say they are the murderers of the media industry. Pointing blame and hindsight will not help us now. If we sit on our hands with our bottom lips in our laps, whinging that there’s nothing we can do, we have already lost.
The consumers have played a part in creating a homogenised mass of media that is not helpful to anyone.
We value what we do, because we know the impact that it has on our communities. Journalists strive to create change, that is a core principle that we all hold true.
We need our audiences’ support to continue to help us make that change, for the better, the changes we have been making since March 12, 1842.
