Australian News Data Report - Monthly issue

In this project we analyse samples of news coverage in a given month against two benchmarks: • the amount of public interest journalism produced, and • the relative localism of the stories to the audience. [...] A major issue across the month concerning the City of Coffs Harbour and the New South Wales government was the dispute over the ownership of the Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshores. [...] An outlet will satisfy this test if it is subject to the rules of the is subject to the rules of one of: • The Australian Press Council or the Independent Media Council • The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice • The Commercial Radio Code of Practice • The Subscription Broadcast Television Codes of Practice or, • Is publicly committed to substantially equivalent editorial standards rel. [...] The data also flattens the complexity of what is being gained and lost by not having any assessment of the output, institutional characteristics or content of the news companies: the closure of a newspaper with ten working journalists would be presented as equivalent to the opening of a website of one. [...] A news media ecosystem in which many news entrepreneurs had the confidence and the capital to establish organisations and outlets, the majority of which might fail, could be a healthy environment of public interest journalism production and competition but might appear in our data like a failing system due to the high number of closures.