ABC web presence unwelcome

May 25 2009, 7:53pm

The Australian’s media section today examined the issue of taxpayers subsidising development of the ABC’s regional websites. I had missed the budget announcement of $15.3 million being allocated to the ABC to “create virtual town squares for communities” in regional and rural Australia. APN and Fairfax have expressed concerns. The Australian quotes APN Online chief executive Warren Lee saying that while regional internet revenues are still developing, advertisers are attracted to regional websites because their audiences often ignore national portals. “You’re not dealing with markets that are massive or that have millions of dollars,” he said. “The danger is that it sucks the oxygen out of the marketplace for private investors.”

In the Mount Gambier market, The Border Watch is the sole newspaper (one of the few large independents remaining in regional Australia) and only began publishing online in the past nine months. At this stage the ABC is the main competitor for audience share, although a private operator has also entered the market. Given there are plenty of online news and opinion providers in most regional centres I find it strange the Federal Government and the ABC consider it necessary to be active this space. The regional market is already well served in most cases by commercial content producers, bloggers, niche sites for sporting clubs and commununity organisations, etc. Part of the ABC charter says the corporation shall take account of the broadcasting services provided by the commercial and public sectors of the Australian broadcasting system. That doesn’t seem to be the case with online publishing. It has to be asked why are taxpayers subsidising this service, which may not be wanted and is potentially hindering the growth of commercial operators who need a sustainable advertising model to be successful? The strength of the ABC in regional Australia came about before satellites and before the web existed. The ABC plays an ongoing important role in regional radio, especially as most commercial stations slashed or centralised their news services. However, there is no void in the regional web market crying out to be filled.

The views expressed here are those of the author (Michael Gorey) and not necessarily The Border Watch.