Regional news media: state of play

In 2019, the CMT delved into what news looks like when you’re not in one of our big cities but in the regions. We asked four vital questions about regional media:

  • Is regional news media really in crisis? 
  • How are news consumption habits changing? 
  • Are consumers willing to pay for news? 
  • And how are regional editors and publishers feeling about the challenges ahead?

The result was our report - Regional News - State of Play which you can find here:

Since this report, the CMT has received a major grant to produce another three annual Regional News Media reports. This grant from the Vincent Family Fairfax Foundation allows us to collaborate with Guardian Australia, which will build a regional reporting network across NSW and Queensland, employing five UTS journalism students or graduates in regional locations to be Guardian reporters for one year. The first UTS graduate has already been appointed and is in situ in Gilgandra, NSW. You can read some Natasha May’s reports here. 

Monica Attard, Gary Dickson and Ayesha Jehangir, ably assisted by UTS journalism student intern Travis Radford, are examining the challenges faced by metropolitan outlets reporting on rural and regional news. They’ll be looking at what kinds of business models might support an outward flow of news from Australia’s remoter areas into metropolitan media, to better hear our regions in the big policy debates. You’ll be able to read the first report in September 2022.

The CMT’s most recent report gets out of the cities and looks at the state of play in regional news media.

If you're interested to read more of our research on regional and local news media, click below:

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.