Striking deal with tech giants will deliver for media and democracy

In Australia we are seeing the birth of a new — and, I would hope, more positive — relationship between the platforms and local media. Picture: AFP

No one should be in any doubt — Australia’s new bargaining code for digital platforms represents one of the most momentous developments for media in this country.

Those so swift to criticise the code as a victory for big business and pandering by government to old media forces are wrong and missing the point.

Last Friday’s announcement that Facebook has signed letters of intent for commercial agreements with three small, independent publishers — Private Media, Schwartz Media and Solstice Media – demonstrates starkly that we are witnessing a welcomed turning point.

This is particularly further highlighted by the fact these independent publishers already have commercial arrangements to be part of Google News Showcase, its new service to provide editorially curated journalism to digital ­audiences.

These agreements are ­needed encouragement for our local industry, which has been so fragile and challenged. Such agreements would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

It is important for Australia to have a vibrant, sustainable media — it’s one of the fundamental hallmarks for our democracy and free speech. 

In Australia we are seeing the birth of a new — and, I would hope, more positive — relationship between the platforms and local media. As the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has said: “The whole point of the code is to promote journalism.”

My belief is that this can lead to a richer and growing number of media and journalism voices that serve and inform Australia’s many local communities, be they in rural or regional areas or cities, and over time this will make our society only stronger.

The positive ramifications of this development, which places Australia as a world leader for how platforms can commercially partner with publishers for their journalism, are immense: Australia has shown globally significant leadership in securing the role of local and independent journalism in progressive democracies.

David Chavern, the US News Media Alliance president, says: “It is a real turning point in building a sustainable future for digital journalism.” 

Similarly, Maribel Perez Wads­worth, publisher of USA Today, the flagship title of Gannett, the largest US newspaper chain, agrees: “There is finally a much greater appreciation of the value of credible journalism.”

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is particularly keen for Canada to follow Australia’s lead. Says Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister for Cultural Policy: “We need to find a solution that is sustainable for news publishers, small and large, digital platforms, and for the health of our democracy.”

Australia’s code — passed by federal parliament last week — is already achieving its objective in providing, in part, a solution to levelling out the market power imbalance held by Google and Facebook, and to act as a genuine enticement for these companies to negotiate meaningful commercial agreements and partnerships with publishers. 

This is why it is so heartening that such deals are being struck with small publishers and I encourage publishers of all sizes to seize this opportunity. 

Publishers earning $150,000 a year in revenue are able to now negotiate with the platforms for payment and groups of publishers can negotiate collectively if they choose. 

What the code provides is a way forward for a thriving professional news media in the digital marketplace — one that delivers more voices and new styles of coverage and nurtures journalism of public interest.

From the beginning, I also strongly supported the ABC and SBS being included in the code ­because to be fair, all creators of news content, regardless of their business or funding model, were adding value to the platforms and they should be paid for that.

As someone who grew up in ­regional Australia, I know the vital role the ABC plays in smaller communities and it’s important to look at news creation and consumption through a broad, not narrow, lens.

There is no doubt that communities are best served when the ABC and commercial news ­organisations are operating in the same patch — competing for the best stories, but also championing local communities and supporting them through times of crisis.

For Google and Facebook, they now also have a significant opportunity to genuinely help and support not just digital communities but physical communities that are enriched by local news produced with real standards and accountabilities.

Consequently, this can form part of a global discussion around securing a better relationship between the tech giants and the billions of people who use their products every day.

We have all benefited from the information and connections they have empowered, but we have also all felt the unintended harms. The code will be important for addressing one of those harms — the loss of trusted, professionally produced news — while allowing Australians to still enjoy the benefits the platforms bring.

We should never understate the significance of this for society as a whole: we have so much to gain from a digital environment that is healthier, not only for democracy at a grassroots level, but also for all Australians and the media industry itself.

Michael Miller is the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia