Media laws breakthrough for 21st-century democracy

Australians have never had access to more diverse news sources. Regardless of whether they live in the inner city or the outback, their newspapers, broadcasters, magazines and blogs of choice are accessible at a click, 24 hours a day, from outlets in Australia, the US, Europe, the Middle East, Asia or Africa. Australia’s media laws, however, which were enacted 31 years ago for a different era that pre-dated Google, Facebook, YouTube and Netflix, have not kept pace with technological innovation. As the digital revolution has transformed the sector, the gathering and reporting of local news, the profession of journalism and the viability of Australian media companies have often floundered on an uneven playing field. More than 3200 Australian journalists’ jobs have been lost since the global financial crisis as the Google-Facebook duopoly has swallowed the lion’s share of digital advertising, largely by leveraging content produced by the mainstream media. Those two trends are tightly interconnected.

Ultimately, the big losers have been Australians. Those seeking more detailed reporting about local councils, courts, local events and bureaucracies, and greater scrutiny of public institutions, have been short-changed. As Thomas Jefferson recognised in the late 18th century, the basis of government is the opinion of the people. As he said, “the only security of all is in a free press’’, which cannot be limited without the danger of being lost. As media outlets have been forced to cut costs and limit first-hand reporting, travel and other costs, some of the breadth and depth of information once provided to the public has, out of necessity, been scaled back.

Yesterday’s passage of the Turnbull government’s Broadcasting Reform bill, however, was an important turning point that will help local media companies strengthen their positions in a rapidly evolving sphere. Reform, as The Australian has argued for years, was decades overdue. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield achieved it through exhaustive negotiations with crossbenchers including the Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation. As a result, archaic restrictions that disadvantaged the Australian media in competing with online rivals have been repealed. These include the “two out of three’’ rule, which prevented any owner from simultaneously operating radio, television and newspaper companies, and the 75 per cent rule that prevented a single entity from controlling TV licences that reached more than three-quarters of the Australian audience.

Such restrictions became outmoded from the moment technology enabled online media players to reach 100 per cent of audiences. The legislation also scraps free-to-air broadcasting licence fees, a relic of a bygone age when broadcasters could generate healthy profits through their then-exclusive access to vast audiences. Reforms to the anti-siphoning list will allow a range of media companies greater scope to broadcast high-profile sporting events.

As well as a revitalised media sector, the community dividend from the reforms will include restricting gambling ads during live sports broadcasts until after 8.30pm. A review of local drama and children’s content on TV should encourage more Australian production, which has fallen off in recent years.

In negotiating to secure vital reforms, Senator Nick Xenophon and his team and One Nation showed greater foresight and concern for Australians’ interests than Labor or the Greens, whose understanding of the media sector is mired in the past. In opposing the bill, the opposition offered nothing constructive. South Australian Labor MPs could not resist a cheap political shot, with frontbencher Penny Wong accusing Senator Xenophon of selling out media diversity and regional jobs. To the contrary, as a condition of the NXT’s approval, the legislation includes a $60 million package to support ­small and regional media companies to employ cadets and upgrade equipment. In a nation as large and diverse as ours, a robust regional press is vital. But to be sustainable, no media company — aside from the ABC and SBS — can rely on taxpayer funded assistance; this has a poor track record in other industries. But the viability of regional media would be enhanced if the ABC had to compete without the overly generous taxpayer subsidies it uses to fund its vast, free online content, outside its core function. In doing so it undermines smaller and regional players, and all companies that depend on internet paywalls to survive.

In return for their support, One Nation senators secured an agreement from the government to legislate that the ABC’s news and information services be “fair and balanced”. We would not dispute that proviso, among more extensive reforms. After confronting the challenges of recent years, media companies realise there are no panaceas for the demands of the global digital age. But these reforms will allow the Australian media to pursue business strategies to compete. Their passage is a significant achievement.