Australia Launches LINA & Partners With VettNews Cx

At Vett Inc., we are always glad to hear of local news organizations sprouting up in the U.S. and abroad. So we were especially glad to hear from Claire Stuchbery in Melbourne, Australia, about the new organization she and others launched in Australia called the Local & Independent News Association (LINA). And we are super glad to be partnering with Claire to offer discounts on VettNews Cx to LINA’s members so they can better manage correction requests and reader feedback. Vett Inc. co-founder and CEO Paul Glader asked Claire a few questions about the new organization.

Glader: Tell us why LINA is launching and what problems it is solving in Australia? 

Stuchbery: Australia is one of the most concentrated media ownership landscapes in the democratic world. Like many  nations, we’ve seen the closure of local newsrooms across the country as legacy media has struggled to transition to new, sustainable business models. However, over the last couple of years we’ve noticed a proliferation of digital newsrooms and hyperlocal publishers filling some of the spaces larger publications have left. We see those publishers as the green shoots of the news industry and want to nurture their growth and connect them with each other to form a collaborative network of support. LINA's job is to help news publishers increase the diversity and relevance of news services in communities across Australia. 

Hyperlocal and independent news publishers in Australia have not had representation in policy forums or any organized mechanism for collaboration prior to the launch of LINA in 2022. Consultation with the industry lead to the formation of an Advisory Group, then a Board and the industry association began accepting members in September 2022. LINA is proud to be bringing new entrants to the news space and experienced publishers who have been working in professional isolation in their communities together and to raise awareness of their work.

Glader: How are the media ecology trends (both problems and solutions) in Australia different in any notable ways from the United States local media ecology?  

Stuchbery: The scope and scale of population in Australia is significantly different to the US. We are a vast nation of comparatively small population when compared to most of America. Therefore, the sustainability of local news services in many cases can’t rely as heavily on individual contributors as they might in more populated areas. However, this brings with it a lack of clutter in most regional markets and high market share engagement  for our members. 

One significant difference in the legislation is a lack of tax deductibility status for news publishers in Australia. Our regulations require not-for-profit services to register as ‘education’ providers, which isn’t a neat fit for news services. There is an industry-wide call for changes to the charity rules in Australia to facilitate donor gift recipient applications from community-based newsrooms, which would significantly increase donation appeal. 

Glader: Can you tell us more about your background and what led you to join LINA? And who is joining your team in this organization? 

Stuchbery: My background is predominantly in community media, particularly radio, although I started my career in street press, music journalism. I worked in media sales for a community radio station, which turned into an aggregated sales agency bringing additional revenue to 186 community radio stations across Australia for a few years. From there I jumped across to the Community Broadcasting Foundation, the funding body supporting the community broadcasting sector, and most recently, worked for First Nations Media Australia, the national peak body for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communications sector in policy, stakeholder engagement and interim CEO roles. So I bring experience from a few different industry bodies to LINA and an interest in policy development. In my spare time, I’m on the Board of a music-focused community radio station in Melbourne called PBS FM where I have been a volunteer broadcaster since 2000. I’m really into grassroots media and ensuring independent voices have an avenue to be heard, or read. 

We have recently added Claire Albrecht to the LINA team as our Program Manager. Besides being an award-winning poet with a PhD in Creative Writing, Claire works as a Business Advisor to Arts Online Consulting. Her most recent position prior to joining LINA was Managing Editor of The Suburban Review and she has previously worked as the Acting General Manager for the Print Council of Australia as well as Project Officer and research assistant positions at the University of Newcastle. When she’s not busy with LINA, Claire recently completed a residency at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, New Mexico. 

Glader: How many members do you expect to have in coming years and what are characteristics of your members? 

Stuchbery: LINA has attracted 55 members in its first six-months and continues to grow. LINA members are locally owned and controlled news publishers, creating news content by and for a defined community. The hallmarks of their activities are:

Publishing high quality news content that meets the LINA Editorial Standards; While publishers might also have a print publication and/or other distribution platforms, LINA members are digital native; Independent ownership within the community they serve; Engaging journalists and contributors who are based within the location/community; and Producing content that is community focused, delivering public interest news and information on a broad range of topics and responsive to the needs and priorities of their community, 

Glader: Of course we are glad to have your members able to subscribe to VettNews Cx as a LINA member perk and a way for them to manage reader feedback and corrections requests. How did this become an interest for you and your members? 

Stuchbery: One of LINA’s Board members, Alan Sunderland is also involved in ONA and heard about VettNews Cx through that network. We thought it would be a great way to streamline and keep track of any correction requests and to build audience trust. Saving time and money is a huge priority to LINA members who are often 2-5 person teams, so anything that makes things a little easier for them to manage is welcomed!

Glader: Many think tanks that wrestle with declining news trust point to corrections and reader feedback as a key zone to regain trust and to develop more media literate citizens. Are corrections even more important to readers in Australia for legal or other reasons? 

Stuchbery: Australian readers have a slightly higher level of trust in news than our US counterparts, but we are also comparatively light news consumers. According to the University of Canberra’s Digital News Report: Australia 2022, around 41% of Australians say they trust news, compared to 26% of Americans. But 41% still leaves a lot of room to grow in terms of trust. Happily, levels of trust are generally stronger in local news sources and LINA wants to support its members to keep it that way.

Glader: What do you see as a healthier media ecology 12 years from now (2035)? What does it look like in Australia? 

Stuchbery: Multiple local news source options for Australian communities, reduced news deserts across the country, sustainable news businesses providing accurate and trustworthy news, an informed population participating in a strong democracy. That’s the aim!