HELP US TO HELP THIS CITY

THE Gold Coast Bulletin is justly proud of its role in fighting for this city.

Federal funding for the extension of the light rail line to Helensvale, rapidly nearing completion, came after sustained pressure from this newspaper.

So too did an agreement between State and Federal governments to fund the badly-needed upgrade to the M1 – an issue highlighted repeatedly by the Bulletin throughout last year’s Federal election campaign.

This city has to fight for every infrastructure dollar it gets from politicians whose horizons so rarely seem to stretch beyond Sydney and Melbourne.

The Bulletin helps turn their gazes north – and it’s a role we take seriously.

But it’s not just infrastructure projects we must be concerned with. Many things happen in the nation’s capital that have a massive impact here. Often, the repercussions are overlooked.

A case in point is the debate over media law reform. It has focused on whether moves by the Turnbull Government to redo the rules – last seriously tinkered with before the internet became all powerful – will just make the rich get richer, and reduce diversity.

The point not made often enough is that mainstream media are struggling, and when they do, the regions suffer the most.

If people like our owners, News Corp, can’t properly compete with the social media channels hoovering up our content and advertising dollars, the news, literally, will be dire in the regions.

This newsroom has downsized in the last 12 months. Thankfully, the effects on frontline journalist numbers have been minimised. But how long can that continue?

It is no secret the numbers of community newspapers has diminished as the advertising squeeze has gone on. Unless media companies can offer the same scale and reach as global tech giants, the range of products we offer will come under further scrutiny.

We live to tell the stories of Gold Coasters. And anything that could impact that should be fought, tooth and nail.

Standing still on media reform cannot be an option, for the good of this city