FACEBOOK AND NEWS CONTENT

Our online readers may have noticed our facebook page was suspended as we got caught up in the News Media Bargaining Code argument between the Government and Facebook. At the time of writing, we are still SƿMRI FYX [I LSTI XS FI FEGO WSSR 8S HMZIVWMX] SYV RI[W VITSVXMRK [I are now available on instagram and twitter if you want to follow us there, or via our website.

We also have no idea at the moment how the News Media & Digital Platforms Bargaining Code will affect our local community news business. Clearly the major media players are able to obtain very large sums of money because Google and Facebook have taken their major source of income (ie business advertising). Whether smaller publishers like ourselves will get anything is debatable.

2S[ ƼREPP] [LEX W XLI TSMRX SJ XLMW GSHI XLI +SZIVRQIRX WE]W MXW XS protect public interest journalism, but as put by SMH journalist Samanth Floreani.

"Here’s the thing: if we’re worried about the state of journalism in Australia, then we should be funding it properly. If we are concerned about Big Tech making too much money, then we should be taxing it properly. And if we [ERX XS HIEP [MXL XLI MQTPMGEXMSRW SJ E HEXE I\XVEGXMZI IGSRSQ] WTIGMƼGEPP] then we need strong regulations around privacy. The code does not do any of these things, and does not solve any of these problems"

So one does wonder what the point of the code is. Big Media companies are happy as they get the money, but there is no stipulation in the code as to what they spend that money on.