Transforming local, regional and small news publishers into digital businesses
I have a new job — I just completed my first week at Google. There’s free cereal in the kitchen and we have an office dog*
I’m the Google News Lab Publishing Fellow, Australia and New Zealand — a first-of-its-kind role in the region and the world. I’ll spend the next 12 months working on the business-side of local and regional publishers, helping them transform their operations into digital businesses. This role could not come at a more important time.
The position also includes support for small publishers — a vital area that I can’t wait to assist. I’ll also be a sessional lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney — teaching first year students Narrative Multimedia Journalism. I’ll continue to do a few guest lectures, too.
The Public Interest Journalism Initiative tracks the health of Australia’s news industry. The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project counted 157 newsrooms that have closed temporarily or for good since January 2019 — that’s 157 newsrooms gone in just over a year.
Covid has accelerated the decline, with 100 additional local and regional publications set to close or shift to digital-only in the coming weeks. The ABC also flagged cuts last week.
These tectonic shifts have affected the media’s ability to conduct public interest journalism, particularly in suburban, regional and rural Australia. This reduces accountability, and makes it harder for people to be informed.
I got my first experience in journalism at my local newspaper, The Lithgow Mercury aged 15, and the first two years of my career were spent serving local communities as a reporter. I can’t wait to help at this critical moment.
Do you know a local newsroom that needs help? Tag them in this post or drop me a line at neilvarcoe@google.com
* I’m working from home, so the cereal is technically mine. The dog is mine, too, but he’s a free spirit. He would tell you that he’s very much his own