Sydney | The Australian government on Friday announced AUS $ 5 million ($ 4.68 million) to the national news agency Australian Associated Press (AAP) to help it overcome financial difficulties.
The Australian Associated Press faces an uncertain future since the withdrawal in March of its major shareholders News Corp from Rupert Murdoch and the news group Nine Entertainment.
The government has decided to intervene to save Australia’s only news agency because “journalism is in the public interest,” Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said.
He spoke of the essential role played by this agency, which was created 85 years ago, in terms of the diversity of the media landscape, in a country where most of the media are in the hands of a handful of press groups.
He also underlined its importance in the coverage of the news in the regions of this immense island-continent.
A few months ago, the AAP became a non-profit entity and half of its staff were laid off.
However, it is facing significant financial difficulties experienced by the media sector due in particular to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
A few days ago, the APP launched a crowdfunding intended to allow its survival.
The COVID-19 crisis has “created unprecedented hardship” for Australian media, Fletcher said, “with a sharp decline in advertising revenue threatening the viability of many news outlets.”