Calls for WIN TV to return public journalism funding

There are calls for WIN TV to hand back government funding of $4.5m it received in Public Interest News Gathering grants after it later shed up to 20 staff and axed nine local TV news bulletins.

Guardian Australia reports the PING grants were given on the condition that applicants maintain “existing levels of journalism production and distribution during the grant period”.

The grant period for WIN TV concludes at the end of this week but last month WIN dropped nine local TV bulletins when its new affiliation deal began with Nine.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said if media companies were not going to use monies to fund public interest journalism, they should give it back.

“The PING funding has been incredibly important in this health pandemic to ensure news gets to our rural and regional communities and that news cameras and printing presses can keep rolling,” she said.

She challenged Minister Paul Fletcher to ask WIN to return the funding it had received.

In June, a spokesperson for WIN said it was too early to say how many job losses were coming but she expected the conditions of the grant would be met.

“The PING funding agreement is due for completion on 14 August 2021,” she said. “The WIN network has no intention of breaking any conditions under that agreement.”

Regional broadcasters Prime Media Group, WIN Network and Southern Cross Austereo recently joined with newspaper publisher Australia Community Media under the banner “Save Our Voices”, claiming the 1992 Broadcasting Services Act prevents regional outlets from competing fairly with the metropolitan media and global platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.