The advent of the Internet and of new Internet-based platforms and social networks has profoundly changed the competitive landscape for traditional publishers of “public interest journalism” or, more generally, quality journalism. Consumers now have access to virtually unlimited online content, of which quality journalism is one of many options. But despite clear gains for consumers, there has been widespread concern about the long run impacts of the changes now underway on the future of the medium, and of journalism more broadly. In this article, we investigate how recent trends towards digitalization have affected the provision of public interest journalism in Australia, how they might play out in the future and the scope for public policy responses.
