The Mercury needs your support to bring news to you

At the Mercury, we are passionate about providing the best, up-to-date, accurate information to our community. We need your support to help us do that.

News isn’t free.

It never has been.

In the world of free-to-air television and radio, journalists, news readers and cameramen are financed through advertising revenue. In the case of Sky News, there is a subscription model that helps pay the wage bill.

Free community newspapers, usually published weekly or biweekly, are paid for by advertising.

Daily newspapers, such as the Mercury, are funded by advertising and audience revenue. Those who say the ABC provides content for free are wrong. We, the taxpayer, pay for the national broadcaster.

While the funding models may be different, one fact remains true: news gathering cannot be done for free.

Mercury Editor Jenna Cairney. Picture: CADE MOONEY

For some years now, media organisations have been buckling under the pressure of new market forces, such as Google and Facebook, that can steal content produced by our local journalists.

Last week we reported that France became the first country in the world to force Google to start paying news publishers for their work – a move that should be followed in Australia.

Sadly, the coronavirus crisis has hit so many Australian businesses hard and it could sound the death knell for already struggling news outlets.

And when there is any sort of shrinking of the industry, regional areas are often the first to feel the impact.

Regional broadcasters have begged the Federal Government for financial assistance as their advertising revenue is wiped out.

News Corp and Australian Community Media, along with a string of independent publications, have halted printing of their free community publications and stood down journalists as they cannot afford to run their presses in this economic climate. That’s local jobs gone and in some areas will mean no journalists on the ground.

Holly Smith, of Montagu Bay, Jessica Healy, of Sandy Bay, and Victoria McDougall, of Geilston Bay, enjoy reading the Mercury newspaper. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

At the Mercury, we are passionate about ensuring accurate information is disseminated throughout our community. That’s why at the start of this crisis, we published, for free, public safety information relating to coronavirus on our website.

It’s why News Corp Australia for the last two weeks offered readers the opportunity to access all our digital content free for 28 days.

The Mercury will continue to provide public health information, including daily livestreams from Tasmanian authorities for free daily on our website.

However, for us to continue this service, we also need the community to support us by either buying a paper, subscribing to our content digitally – or doing both with home delivery now available for as little as a dollar a day.

The Mercury has been a part of Tasmanians’ lives since 1854. We’re doing our best to balance serving our community by providing the best, up-to-date, accurate information with ensuring we have a sustainable business model that will see us thrive into the future.

We just need your support to help us do that.

To support your Mercury visit www.themercury.com.au or phone [phone].