NMS statement on ACM redundancies

The MEAA National Media Section committee has passed the following statement:

We are deeply disappointed at Australian Community Media’s (ACM) decision to cut jobs in the print production team.

We stand in solidarity with those highly valuable media professionals, some of whom are the most experienced sub editors and journalists across ACM, and who have dedicated their careers to regional journalism.

We stand in solidarity with regional Australian communities who have been let down by ACM’s continued disregard for quality journalism. These communities deserve better — to be served by regional journalists who know and love working for the people who live in their patch. These journalists play a crucial role in sorting fake news from verified news which matters greatly to these communities.

It’s particularly important in a federal election year to protect and foster quality journalism at all levels.

The Federal Government must take responsibility for the regional media crisis, after the unwinding of media ownership laws has allowed big corporations to buy local mastheads, exploiting journalists by giving them unreasonable workloads with no support, selling assets, cutting jobs and closing papers. It is the local communities who lose out.

We call on the ACM management to:

•  Be transparent about the use of AI in its organisation.
•  Consult in a meaningful way with affected staff and communities.
•  Meet with the union to outline its plan for providing quality news to regional communities that doesn’t involve more jobs cuts.
•  Explain where the $10.46 million in government grants during COVID was spent and how they fulfilled their obligation to provide quality news to regional communities.