Grants from a new Australian government fund to support public interest journalism will be limited to regional or suburban publishers with turnover under $30 million.

Funds will also be available to media that predominantly serves First Nations and multicultural communities, producing core news content.

Communications minister Michelle Rowland (pictured) said on Monday the $15 million News Media Relief Program would provide urgent funding for regional and community news.

Content must be distributed online, but can also be distributed in other formats.

“This funding will provide the urgent assistance local news outlets need as we continue our work on the news media assistance programme (NewsMAP) – an ongoing programme that will enable us to deliver effective support to the Australian news sector into the future,” she said.

“Local and community news outlets play a huge role in supporting a diverse and inclusive news media sector that is so vital to the healthy functioning of Australian society and democracy.

“We want to see more local journalists and publishers reporting on the issues that matter to their communities.”

The NMRP forms part of the Government’s broader efforts to safeguard Australia’s media diversity and promote public interest journalism, through the News Media Assistance Program (NewsMAP).

She says the government has completed consultation on NewsMAP, designed to provide “a principles-based policy framework for future interventions to inform next steps on measures to ensure the news sector remains robust and strong, and continues to serve communities across Australia”.

Earlier this month at the Senate environment and communications legislation (misinformation and disinformation) committee, PIJI’s Anna Draffin and Simon Harari stressed the bill provided only a partial solution to the larger problem. “A strong counter narrative prevents misinformation and disinformation from taking root in the first place, which requires deliberate investment in public interest journalism,” they said. 

The funding also follows publication of a first interim report from the inquiry into the Impact of Social Media on Australian Society on October 21.

More details are at GrantConnect, and through the department.