Page 12 - Print21 May-June 2020
P. 12

Leading Article
    Stopping the presses
The pandemic has taken its toll on many parts of society but few have been hit as hard as community newspapers. More than 200 have closed their print editions in the past month. It’s a crisis for many regional centres that are left at the mercy of the online media outlets and the techno giants. At a time when it’s impossible to be ‘at large,’ Patrick Howard is following the painful news online.
Local newspapers are the beating heart of communities. They provide a forum for debate, a check on small-town bad behaviour, while
providing and embellishing community identity. They are a most essential service. Now the news on the local newspaper front is all bad, with a tsunami of titles closing, as publishers shutter print editions in every part of the country. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of journalists, advertising staff, admin, printers, and make-up employees are either out of a job, or wondering when and if the titles will ever reopen. News Limited has suspended 60 newspapers across the eastern states, giving its country readers a 28-day digital subscription to the metro titles– the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser. Gee thanks!
Antony Catalano, owner and publisher of Australian Community Media, has shuttered newspaper printing plants at Canberra, Murray Bridge, Wodonga and Tamworth, at least until June. The old Rural Press stable has 160 regional newspapers, most of which will no longer appear in print. The company bills itself as the Voice of Real Australia, but at present the silence is deafening.
Other regional newspapers closing
include the Mildura-based Elliot Newspaper Group’s 100-year-old Sunraysia Daily, along with its Sunraysia Life, Swan Hill Guardian, Gannawarra Times and Loddon Times. According to the ABC, the 145-year-old Yarram Standard, along with the 130-year- old Great Southern Star in Gippsland have also closed with owner/publisher Helen Bowering lamenting that “advertising revenue has ground to a halt”.
That’s the stark reality; the lockdown
has forced the businesses that provide the advertising for small newspapers to stop trading. The butcher, the baker, and the local hotel have all cancelled their adverts. Town councils can step up and many have, but their development notices, which are no longer required to be published in print,
are not sufficient to keep a newspaper going.
Newspapers are commercial enterprises and when the revenue dries up, there is no option other than to close down. Many are owned and published by individuals
in the local community who are unable
to carry losses. It’s all very well to call for government support, and the Morrison initiative to channel $5m to support regional publishing won’t go far. Most small newspapers no longer have their own presses either. They have to pay for print to
larger regional printers, many of whom are closing the plants. It’s a perfect storm.
While there are worthy calls for pro
bono support of what’s been described
as ‘public interest journalism’, the independence of a newspaper rests on the support of its readers and advertisers. If that’s not sufficient to keep it afloat then small country, and even larger suburban, newspapers are destined to go the way of the horse and buggy.
Maybe it’s not the end, and perhaps the doughty publishers will revive their printed newspapers when the plague recedes and advertising revives. Many say they will, but if they don’t we’ll all be a lot poorer. Without a good local newspaper to cover the council meetings, local courts and agricultural show there is palpably less of a community. 21
STOP PRESS
The Victorian government has just undertaken to spend $4.7m buying a page of print advertising, along with digital ads, in 100 regional newspapers in the state. It may not be much, but it’s a step in the right direction to keep newspapers alive.
    Patrick Howard
— Editor-at-large
    EDITOR:
Wayne Robinson waynerobinson@yaffa.com.au
DEPUTY EDITOR:
Ian Ackerman ianackerman@yaffa.com.au
EDITOR-AT-LARGE:
Patrick Howard phoward@print21.com.au
ADVERTISING:
Toni Chapman tonichapman@yaffa.com.au
PUBLISHER:
Lindy Hughson lindyhughson@yaffa.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS: Wal Abramowicz, Laurel Brunner, Ruth Cobb,
David Galbraith, Steve Gamble,
Isidore Leiser, Andrew Macaulay, Kellie Northwood, Richard Rasmussen, Gary Wilmot,
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION:
John Viskovich (02) 9213 8215 johnviskovich@yaffa.com.au
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR:
Matthew Gunn
ART DIRECTOR:
Ana Heraud
STUDIO MANAGER:
Lauren Esdaile
GRAPHIC DESIGNER:
Maria Alegro
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
www.greatmagazines.com.au
Call: 1800 807 760
Subscription Rates: 1 year $99.00
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES:
Phone (02) 9213 8267, or (02) 9213 8211.
EDITORIAL INQUIRIES:
Phone (02) 9213 8213
ADDRESS: Yaffa Media, 17-21 Bellevue St, Surry Hills NSW 2010.
WEB: www.print21.com.au Print21 is a Yaffa Media publication,
Copyright 2020. Print21 is the official publication of the Print & Visual Communication Association.
The magazine is published
six times a year for
professionals in the
printing and graphic arts industries in Australia and New Zealand. Overseas subscriptions available on request.
Sign on at https://print21.com.au/subscribe.
PRINT & VISUAL COMMUNICATION ASSOC: National Office, 3/9 Help Street, Chatswood, NSW. Phone: 1800 227 425
PRINTED BY: Hero Print,
122 Euston Road, Alexandria, NSW.
Phone: 1800 240 205
MAILED BY: Webstar,
81 Derby Street, Silverwater NSW. Phone: 02 9748 0020
                                    12   Print21 MAY/JUNE 2020






























   10   11   12   13   14