They won’t be paying any government mandated fee, and the threat to withdraw news from Facebook Australia could indicate I think that Facebook commissioning news videos for Watch might be come to an end, so no more money for 7, 9 and 10?
This is what I dont get about the complaint that Facebook is killing the industry
Thomson told the AFR:
“That’s not a decision that was taken lightly. It’s an unfortunate action, it’s a necessary action. That action was taken cognisant of the consequences, being respectful of the traditions of those newspapers, but also being very aware it’s all well and good to have a tradition, but it’s our job to fashion the future,” Mr Thomson said.
“That’s why that, frankly, dramatic action was taken. That changes the cost base fundamentally, it still gives us digital reach which is important, but frankly with a lower price tag.”
Excuses, excuses, path of easiest cost savings.
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The Canberra Weekly and rival City News free glossy magazines have continued publishing throughout the COVID-19 crisis. They have gotten thinner, but they still have stories and ads, and people are still picking them up from the stands in the shopping centres across the ACT. They didn’t give up, and neither have some other independent publishers such as the Bankstown Torch, Auburn Review and Penrith Western Weekender as already mentioned in this thread.
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There’s also the Bungendore-based Regional Independent (formerly Bungendore Weekly), which is distributed throughout the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council area. It fills the void of the ACM-owned Queanbeyan Age & Braidwood Times, which its print editions are currently suspended from publication.
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Its easy to have a crack (especially from the cheap seats) at this, and it doesnt help that its News Corp - but this is potentially the only way to really ram home that there are serious issues with regional media and it may be beyond fixing. Don’t get me wrong, this move sucks - but we have to be realistic about the situation.
I dont think anyone is under the illusion that ACM arent going to do the same thing, perhaps not to the same scale - the Coronavirus has offered some of the best timing in a generation to really take out the trash. We’ve seen SCA drop their TV news (which we assume is temporary, but the longer it continues the more you wonder whether its setting up for a widescale change) and a level of windback from other regional broadcasters and publishers in an already depressed market.
There is already great pressure on the Federal Government to do more, but thats not practical or sensible in the long term - these companies need to be able to stand on their own two feet.
Moving online (and especially behind the paywall) is clearly not as successful in the regions as it may be in the major cities - ACM have basically moved completely behind the wall in the last 3 weeks, I’m not against paying for content, but I struggle to justify buying a subscription to my local paper (it doesnt help that I can only buy a subscription to a single newspaper, whereas the Ninefax/News allow access to more papers for a larger investment per month). Many people dont understand or fully appreciate why papers are doing this and in some respects its probably a move too little, too late
Its a difficult situation - these outlets are important to local communities, but their treatment of the communities that they are important doesnt seem to treat them that way (not just now, but in the past too).
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I think News and ACM have forgotten about the needs of people and businesses in regional areas. In the future, businesses will bounce back, and as more people relocate into these areas, new businesses will be set up, thus the need for advertising in newspapers will increase.
Another change at the media section of The Australian.
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I’m not so sure about this - readership of physical papers is dropping and there are often better ad buys on television and radio, not to mention online.
Some of the markets that News have shuttered papers in arent exactly small either - in fact the opposite, they are some of the largest regional markets in NSW and Queensland - if these markets are incapable of supporting a daily print newspaper, its hard to see how anything smaller can realistically survive long term (let alone thrive)
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The Australian claims today it has emerged as the most trusted name brand in the country, according to the Digital News Report (DNR): Australia 2020, released by the News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC) at the University of Canberra last week.
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Has it? The graphic suggests ABC News is.
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So The Australian should only be the most trusted newspaper brand, not the overall news brand.
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As posted here ABC is the most trusted brand while regional and local newspapers are the most trusted newspapers. 
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If it was a poll by the IPA and the Liberal Party I would’ve believed you 
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What a joke, The Oz is only good for confirmation bias.
It preaches to the converted and is delusion it is the national voice of the rest.
When press sales are further eroded, commercial realities will hit and it’ll go online in coming years.
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Good. Merritt’s column today implying that the High Court of Australia’s inquiry into Dyson Heydon was unfair was an appalling piece of journalism.
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Tell 'em they’re dreaming… 
I’d trust Froot Loops before I trusted The Australian
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In other news, people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people. 
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Herald Sun had a minor facelift for today’s edition. The top line (page number and date) now has the same look as Sunday Herald Sun, while the byline font is the same as The Daily Telegraph.
Before:
After:
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