Saving digital media from digital platforms: The Australian way

Digitalisation has adversely affected the advertisement-driven business model of journalism. While there has been an acknowledgement that steps should be taken to ensure a healthy and plural news media sector — there are not many precedents to help devise the correct policy tool. The illness that afflicts media Digital markets have altered the value chain through which good or services reach consumers. While, by and large, this change has been good for users, the recalibration of incentives between producers and distributors have been a cause of concern for public policy. An example that highlights the inequitable distribution of incentives is from the digital news industry, which is struggling to ensure viability against financial stress. The digitalisation of the news industry implies that most readers surf the Internet for their news stories. This has led to two phenomena: First, most users are switching to online news, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the safety concerns and restricted mobility, the number of unique visitors to digital platforms doubled during the lockdown; and experts believe that 50-60 percent of this impact will be sustainable even when the pandemic subsides. Second, many online users access news stories via digital platforms such as Google,…
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