In recent years the number of press releases (often published almost verbatim with source unattributed) masquerading as news articles has been steadily growing in Australian mainstream media generally and in Northern Rivers media in particular.
With little or no critical evaluation of the contents of these releases finding its way into print and journalistic opinion frequently being substituted for investigation; sometimes by the time one reaches page five of any newspaper it almost feels as if the proprietor should be paying readers and not the other way round.
APN News & Media, which has an established presence in regional New South Wales, saw its shares hit a new low that immediately wiped an estimated $33 million off its market value after declaring its publishing revenue down 10 per cent in the second half of this year on 13 December.
With another $25 million in cost cutting scheduled for 2013, it is hard to see how regional newspapers like The Daily Examiner and The Northern Star will be able to resist the temptation to pad their daily issues even further with the viewpoint of political and industry interests churned out in cost-free publishable form by people paid to further party or corporate agendas.
It’s becoming harder and harder to believe that print media has a legitimate future as it begins a slow devolution in the direction of 17th Century propaganda sheets.
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