Public Interest Journalism Initiative

The Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) is an independent Australian research and public policy institute, established in Melbourne in 2018. It is a registered not-for-profit charitable organisation[1] that is focussed on research into sustainability in the news media sector. It was founded by a group of university academics, including members of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation, and news media industry figures. It was established with philanthropic funding from the Susan McKinnon Foundation,[2] Australian Communities Foundation[3] and Hecht Trust.

Research

PIJI research focusses on three main areas: assessing media diversity; measuring public support and value of journalism; and evaluating mechanisms for financial support.

In April 2020 PIJI launched the Australian Newsroom Mapping Project, an ongoing research project to track changes to the production and availability of news media.[4][5] The project has attracted significant media attention as a source of independent information about Australian journalism.[6][7][8][9][10]

Other research projects have proposed a public interest journalism rebate scheme[11][12] and investigated philanthropic funding for news companies.[13][14]

PIJI also contributed to the development of the News Media Bargaining Code.[15][16][17][18]

Governance

PIJI's Board of Directors is chaired by Professor Allan Fels. Its Board includes Eric Beecher, Professor Glyn Davis, Richard Eccles, Leslie Falkiner-Rose, Dr Sophie Oh, Mette Schepers and Professor Marilyn Warren.[19] Past members of the Board include Adam Ferrier, Karen Mahlab, Grant Rule and Dr Margaret Simons.

Its research programme is overseen by a panel of academic experts including Professor Derek Wilding (Chair), Associate Professor Jason Bosland, Professor Axel Bruns, Associate Professor Andrea Carson, Associate Professor Andrew Dodd, Associate Professor Kristy Hess, Professor Sora Park, Dr Margaret Simons, Professor Julian Thomas and Professor Glenn Withers.

PIJI has a partnership agreement with the University of Melbourne.[20] It has previously been partnered with the newDemocracy Foundation.[21]

References
  1. "PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM INITIATIVE LTD". www.acnc.gov.au. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. "Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI)". Susan McKinnon Foundation. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  3. "Strengthening Democracy - Australian Communities Foundation". communityfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  4. Dickson, Gary (2020-04-01). "The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project". anmp.piji.com.au. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  5. Granger, Jacob (2021-12-22). "Ideas for innovating public interest news: The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project". Journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  6. Birch, Laura (2020-05-20). "'That's where we find out our news': Communities are mourning the loss of regional papers". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  7. Fleet, Nadja (2021-05-27). "The Sunshine Coast will find it harder to be heard as yet another news bulletin gets axed". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  8. Meade, Amanda (2021-04-28). "News Corp Australia merges more than 20 regional newspapers with capital city mastheads". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  9. Harris, Lauren (2021-03-31). "The journalism crisis across the world". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  10. O’Shea, Lizzie (2021-02-25). "Opinion | Can Australia Save Journalism From the Internet?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  11. Mason, Max (2019-11-20). "Fels calls for tax incentives to back public interest journalism". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  12. Mason, Max (2020-09-20). "Tax rebates for journalism could unlock $700m in benefits". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  13. Doherty, Linda (2021-09-15). "Philanthropic support for public interest journalism: what are the roadblocks?". Croakey Health Media. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  14. Michael, Luke (2021-09-13). "Philanthropy has a role to play in funding NFP journalism". Pro Bono Australia. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  15. Mason, Max (2020-11-22). "Media bosses urge government to act on code amid intense lobbying". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  16. Chambers, Geoff (2020-08-01). "Google and Facebook told to pay for news content". The Australian. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  17. Meade, Amanda (2020-08-30). "Google and Facebook should pay to use ABC and SBS content, ACCC told". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  18. Groch, Sherryn (2021-02-18). "Why has Facebook banned news and what does it mean for you?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  19. "Board". Public Interest Journalism Initiative. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  20. "Industry links, School of Culture and Communication".
  21. "Auspiced Independent Project: Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI)". newDemocracy Foundation. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2021-11-16.

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