Thursday, 21 November 2024

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism's annual report reveals that in Australia TV and print news consumption continue to decline, while online and social media are becoming more significant. In line with this trend, Australians are increasingly accessing news across digital devices.

 

How Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 sees Australia, based in large part on a YouGov survey using an online questionnaire at the end of January beginning of February 2024.


Click on these four images to enlarge









AUSTRALIA

Population 26m

Internet penetration 90%


The past year has been marked by persistent inflation, a rising cost of living, and severe flooding in many parts of Australia. Late in 2023, following a divisive campaign laden with misinformation, Australians voted against an amendment to the constitution to establish an Australian Indigenous Voice to Parliament.


It is a critical time when audiences are in need of quality news yet the news ecosystem continues to shrink. Australia now has 29 local government areas with no local news publishers, TV, or radio servicing the local community. Print media have been hit hard due to the decline in advertising revenue and rising print costs. Government departments are cutting back print advertising and instead rolling out campaigns on social media. In 2023, the Victorian government announced they would cease all metropolitan print newspaper advertising. For regional news outlets the reduction in government advertising spend is worrying and they are lobbying for a more consistent policy. Currently the local, state, and federal governments spend about 1% of their advertising budget on regional news.


Streaming services continue to grow, and their weekly reach (58%) has surpassed that of free-to-air TV (54%). However, the cost-of-living crisis has been forcing audiences to cut back on their digital subscriptions. One in three subscribers say they have reduced their subscriptions. The major streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, and Binge have reduced their spending on local content by 11% (A$46m). The government has promised to introduce a quota system for streaming services in 2024. The media industry is advocating for a 20% local content quota while streaming platforms are lobbying for 2%.


In March 2024, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, shocked the sector by declaring they were pulling back from news, closing their Australian news partnerships team, and not entering new commercial deals with news organisations. Their current deals with major companies are reported to be worth A$70m annually. This follows the Australian government’s introduction of the News Media Bargaining Code in 2021. Under the Code, Google and Meta are together paying news publishers roughly A$200m a year on voluntary content agreements. This has helped sustain the news industry, but most agreements expire this year. There are now calls to ‘designate’ Meta under the Code, which would force the company to negotiate with publishers or face fines of 10% of its annual Australian revenue. Google and Meta’s combined advertising revenue in Australia was A$8.3bn in 2023. This is more than half of all digital ad revenues (A$14.2bn).


In late 2023, Communications Minister In late 2023, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced A$10.5m in funding through the News Media Assistance Program to promote a diverse and sustainable media sector. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has received the funding to implement the Media Diversity Measurement Framework, which was developed through a public consultation.


Public broadcaster ABC continued its transition into a digital-first media organisation in 2023, announcing a series of proposals to further shift investment into digital services. The ABC Five-Year Plan (2023-2028) forecasts that by 2028 most of its audience engagement will come through its digital services. Newly appointed Chair, Kim Williams, said his priorities included securing better funding for the ABC and upholding its Charter responsibilities, including the requirement for impartiality.


Misinformation was abundant during the divisive Voice referendum campaignwhere Australians voted to reject a proposal to set up a formal body for Indigenous people to give advice on laws. There were widespread claims that the plan might lead to tax increases or that the Australian Electoral Commission would tamper with votes, revealing a deep distrust with the government.

The ‘no’ campaign’s main strategy was to instil fear and doubt, suggesting that the proposal didn’t carry enough details. Seven in ten Australians subsequently expressed concern about the lies and misinformation on social media during the campaign.


The media landscape is undergoing a significant shift as AI increasingly permeates newsrooms, prompting traditional outlets to reconsider their approach to the technology as the industry grapples with how to use it effectively and safely. News Corp Australia is producing 3,000 articles a week using artificial intelligence. The rise of AI use has led to widespread public concern. According to a report from media monitoring organisation Streem,117 over half (57%) believe AI creates more problems than it solves. These concerns indicate a need for policy frameworks that balance the benefits of AI with the public interest.


Sora Park

News and Media Research Centre, University

of Canberra [my yellow highlighting throughout this post]


NOTE:

Excerpt from Biography at https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/persons/sora-park


Dr Sora Park is Professor of Communication and Professorial Research Fellow at the News & Media Research Centre, Faculty of Arts & Design, University of Canberra. She is internationally recognised as an expert in digital media users and media policy, with a special focus on news consumers and digital inclusion.


Full Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 at

https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/RISJ_DNR_2024_Digital_v10%20lr.pdf


Wednesday, 20 November 2024

The 12-person parliamentary joint committee charged with oversight of Australia's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will hold its first public hearing on Friday 22 November 2024

 

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission was appointed by resolutions of the House of Representatives on 8 February 2023 and of the Senate on 9 February 2023.


The Resolution of appointment can be found at:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Anti-Corruption_Commission/Powers_and_proceedings


The committee is responsible for:

considering the appointments of the proposed Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Inspectors nominated by the Minister;

overseeing the Commissioner, the operation of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Inspector to ensure they are accountable to Parliament; and 

reviewing the budget and finances of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. To support its oversight role, the committee's functions include reviewing, examining and inquiring into the performance of the functions of the Commissioner and Inspector.


Membership of this joint committee comprises 12 members of the Australian Parliament:


CHAIR

Senator Karen Grogan, Australian Labor Party, SA, appointed 2021

DEPUTY CHAIR

Dr Helen Haines MP, Independent, Indi VIC, first elected 2019

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Senator Slade Brockman, Liberal Party of Australia, WA, appointed 2017
Mr Josh Burns MP, Australian Labor Party, Macnamara VIC, first elected 2022

Senator Varun Ghosh, Australian Labor Party, WA, appointed 2024

Mr Jerome Laxale MP, Australian Labor Party, Bennelong NSW, first elected 2022

Senator the Hon James McGrath, Liberal National Party of Queensland, QLD, first elected 2013

Mr Llew O'Brien MP, Liberal National Party of Queensland, Wide Bay QLD, first elected 2016

Senator David Shoebridge, Australian Greens, NSW, first elected 2022

Senator Glenn Sterle, Australian Labor Party, WA, first elected 2004

Mr Keith Wolahan MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Menzies VIC, first elected 2022

Mr Tony Zappia MP, Australian Labor Party, Makin SA, first elected 2007.


The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission will hold its first public hearing on Friday 22 November 2024 from 12:30pm to 2pm.


The joint committee is required to examine each annual report on the National Anti-Corruption Commission of which there are currently two:


One under the signature of the NACC Commissioner at

https://www.nacc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2024-11/annual_report_2023-24.pdf;


The other under the signature of the NACC Inspector at

https://www.naccinspector.gov.au/system/files/2024-11/inspector-national-anti-corruption-commission_annual-report-2023-24.pdf.


Six witnesses will give evidence with regard to the Commission's Annual Report 2022-23, commencing with NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton.











Click on image to enlarge


Tuesday, 19 November 2024

The mills of the gods grind slowly but they grind small....


Queensland born, former school teacher, football coach, sports administrator, political speech writer, author, commentator, media 'personality' and, current member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Australian Media Hall of Fame inductee, Order of Australia recipient and climate change sceptic, made the news yesterday.


NSW Police News, Monday, 18 November 2024 03:02:31 PM


Child Abuse Squad detectives charge man over alleged historic indecent assault and sexual touching offences



Child Abuse Squad detectives have charged a man following an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.


In March 2024, State Crime Command’s Child Abuse Squad established Strike Force Bonnefin to investigate a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.


Following extensive inquiries, about 7.45am today (Monday 18 November 2024), strike force detectives executed a search warrant at a unit in Circular Quay where they arrested an 83-year-old man.


The man was taken to Day Street Police Station, where he was charged with a total of 24 offences against eight victims, including 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault- victim under authority of offender, nine counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touch another person without consent and two counts of common assault.


He was granted conditional bail, to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday 18 December 2024.


Monday, 18 November 2024

Clarence Valley State of Play: as the first day of Summer draws closer memories of past summers surface

 

Right now the Clarence River flow at Newbold Crossing is registering in the >80% stream flow percentile, the Shannon Creek side dam is at 99% capacity and soil moisture is for the most part within acceptable limits across the Clarence Valley which is classified 100% non-drought.


However, the Australian Summer officially begins on 1 December 2024 and air temperatures and water evaporation rates are bound to rise.


So how is the New South Wales Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) Map likely to look come December?


Where we are going?


NSW Dept. of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Climate Branch, Drought Forecasting, 17 November 2022:









NOTE: The DPIRD drought forecast for NSW presents the ‘Most Likely’ Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) category for the forecast period. The Most Likely CDI category is determined by identifying the 'mode' of the CDI. The mode is the category that appears most frequently across all possible forecast outcomes in the ensemble run. It is the most common prediction for drought conditions in the forecast period based on the model's simulations.


Where have we been along the Clarence Valley drought history continuum, 20 November 2019 to 9 October 2024?

Click on graphs to enlarge


Fine Flower & environs




Heifer Station & environs




Grafton & environs




Maclean & environs




Yamba


*All maps & graphs were created on 17.11.24 using interactive tools created by NSW Dept. of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Climate Branch





Combined Drought Indicators


The NSW Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) includes four indicators for rainfall, soil moisture, plant growth and drought direction which, used together, can indicate the five phases of drought.


Rainfall Index (RI)

The RI is the percentile rank of rainfall aggregated over 12 months. The ranking is made using a 30 year (1980-2010) baseline which captures recent big shifts in climate variability, and factors in climate change. This provides an index between 0 and 100 where values approaching 0 are close to driest, and those approaching 100 close to the wettest, for any given region. Percentile-based indices like the RI have a uniform distribution regardless of their climatic setting, which is an attractive feature in NSW given the presence of rangeland, temperate and sub-tropical climates which have skewed, normal and log-normal rainfall distributions.


Soil Water Index (SWI)

The SI is calculated using the same procedure as the RI, but uses a soil moisture field derived from the DPI AgriModTM soil water balance. Plant available soil water from layer one (0-10cm) and layer two (11-45 cm), the assumed maximum rooting zone, are aggregated and used to calculate the SWI. Similar to the RI, the SWI is an index between 0 and 100. In most districts of NSW a value of 0 means there is no plant available water held in the profile. The SWI is a hydrological index, but its configuration means that it is more useful as an indicator of conditions for dryland than irrigated agriculture.


Plant Growth Index (PGI)

The PGI is calculated using the same general procedure as the RI, using the output from DPI’s crop and pasture models. Crop stress and pasture growth data are taken from DPI AgriModTM, and the percentile rank calculated for each day. If the predominant land use in a given area is cropping, the PGI uses the crop-derived data, otherwise it uses the pasture growth indicator. The PGI is an agronomic drought index which is not only sensitive to moisture but also temperature variation and seasonal events such as frost. It is important to note that the PGI tracks the influence of climate on production potential across broad areas only. This provides a regional indicator of conditions. In the paddock, management decisions like fertiliser application and timing, sowing times and stocking rates drive outcomes on the ground, and in-field conditions can be above or below the regional indicator reported by EDIS.


BACKGROUND


The main water supply (other than the village systems of Wooli and Minnie Water) in the Clarence Valley is sourced from the Nymboida River, flowing through a section of the wider Clarence River catchment area.


At this time of year the Clarence Valley urban water supply is drawing around 14.26ML/per day from the river weir.


The Nymboida River also gravity feeds water to Shannon Creek Dam when required and, if the Nymboida river flow is too low (less than 225 Megalitres a day) or turbid post-flood, the Clarence Valley's principal urban areas receive water sourced from the off-stream storage at Shannon Creek.


Overall, Shannon Creek Dam is used to supply the Clarence Valley’s water about 5% of the time. Right now this dam is at 99% capacity.


This scenario is complicated by the fact that historically the Clarence Valley also supplies water out of the catchment to Coffs Harbour City local government area and this draw on catchment water is constant and always exceeding an optimal sustainability level for average daily drawn down.


Sunday, 17 November 2024

Cluster of ram raids involving robbery & arson in Northern Rivers region sees NSW Police establishing Strike Force Albany to investigate the incidents.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udQ2FnU1pfE 


ECHO, 15 November 2024:


Financial Crime Squad detectives have released CCTV as they appeal for information following the ram raid and arson of two tobacconists at Tweed and Ballina.....


There was also a fire at the Ocean Shores [Byron Shire] tobacconist at about 12.45am on Tuesday, 6 August though police have not claimed any link between the Ballina and Tweed ram raids and fire and the one at Ocean Shores.


Full article at https://www.echo.net.au/2024/11/appeal-over-arson-and-ram-raid-of-tobacconists-at-tweed-and-ballina/


9 News, 15 November 2024:

Police have set their sights on the booming illegal tobacco trade after recent attacks on tobacconists prompted fears violent turf wars are spilling into NSW.....


9 News, 7 November 2024:

There have been more than 1000 offences recorded in Goondiwindi [Qld] in the past year alone.

Its location on the edge of NSW makes it a tough one for police to track down perpetrators.

Taskforce Guardian – which has seen NSW and Queensland police join forces – stepped in to tackle the spike in robberies and break-ins in a three-day cross-border crackdown.

"I will say to these offenders, if you target these locations we will identify you and we will use our intelligence skills and we will use our counterparts in Queensland to arrest you," NSW Police's Andrew Holland told 9News.

9News was invited to see inside the task force, which involved Queensland and NSW police officers teaming up to hunt down the alleged criminals.....


NSW Police News, 15 November 2024:


Detectives release CCTV appeal following ram raids and arsons of Northern NSW tobacconists


Financial Crime Squad detectives have released CCTV as they appeal for information following the ram raid and arson of two tobacconists in Northern NSW.


About 4.30am on Sunday 22 September 2024, police were called to a tobacconist on Minjungbal Drive, Tweed Heads South, following reports of a crash.


Officers attached to Tweed/Byron Police District arrived to find a Toyota Corolla sedan, believed to have been stolen from Queensland, driven into a tobacconist, before two unknown males entered the business destroying several displays and stealing large amounts of cigarettes.


A crime scene was established, and police commenced an investigation into the incident.


A month later, about 2.40am on Tuesday 22 October, police were called to the same tobacconist, following reports a car had driven into a neighbouring business.


Police arrived to find a MG SUV had driven into the store – as bollards had been placed in front of the tobacconist – before two unknown men poured fuel inside the business and fled without setting it alight.


A crime scene was established, and police commenced an investigation into the incident.


About 3.30am the next day (Wednesday 23 October 2024), emergency services were called to River Street in Ballina, following reports of a building fire.


On arrival, officers attached to Richmond Police District located a silver Mercedes sedan inside the shopfront of a tobacconist, well alight.


Police were told the sedan drove into the business before the vehicle caught fire, with the occupants of the vehicle leaving the scene prior to police arrival.


Fire and Rescue NSW attended and extinguished the blaze; however, the building was extensively damaged.


Surrounding units were evacuated and two other vehicles were damaged by the blaze.


No injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.


A crime scene has been established and an investigation into the incident has commenced.


Following initial investigations linking all three incidents, detectives attached to State Crime Command’s Financial Crime Squad’s Arson Unit commenced Strike Force Albany to investigate the incidents.


As part of investigations, strike force detectives have released CCTV of the two ram raids at the Tweed Heads South tobacconist.


Detectives are also hoping to speak to the driver and passengers of a dark coloured sedan seen leaving the scene of the second ram raid.


Anyone with information about any of the incidents are urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.


Anyone with information that may assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.



According to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) over the last financial year ending June 2024 the incidence rate per 100,000 population of robbery using a weapon other than a firearm in the Tweed and Ballina local government areas was 10.2 and 4.3 respectively. Compared to a state incidence rate of 9.3.

While the incidence rate of arson generally was 43.9 in Tweed, 44.8 in Ballina and 43.8 in Byron shires. Compared to a state incidence rate of 56.1.


Saturday, 16 November 2024

Cartoon for the times in which we live

 

On 14 November 2024 The Guardian announced it will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X from its official accounts.

Stating the X social media platform’s coverage of US election crystallised longstanding concerns about its content


This was the cartoon setting out the future as imagined by First Dog.....


Leaving Twitter? Here are some alternatives to checking an online Nazi bot sewer every 20 minutes

First Dog on the Moon

Social media

Fri 15 Nov 2024 17.11 AEDT




Illustration: First Dog on the Moon/The Guardian

Click on images to enlarge



Wednesday, 13 November 2024

North Coast Voices won't be posting again until Saturday 16 November 2025


Apologies to regular readers and browsers.

Need to give my eyes a rest away from digital 

screens for a few days.