Don't let our story end: Why Facebook's decision matters to Hay
By Krista Schade
A decision by a large, faceless US based company miles away in their corporate offices may not seem to have much impact here, out in Hay, or in Balranald or Ivanhoe. Our local newspaper – YOUR newspaper – surely feels no impact from Facebook or Instagram. Or does it?
The Riverine Grazier has always been owned locally and still is, and employs people from this community to tell our community’s stories.
We're not some faceless corporation. We're your neighbours, telling your stories, recording your history – from the weekly "Blast from the Past" to connecting those who've moved away and keeping even the most remote properties informed, even when the internet fails.
As one of the 230 members of Country Press Australia, The Riverine Grazier has been eligible for Meta funding to support local journalism, thanks to the agreement CPA struck up with Meta. For the last two years we have been able to invest that funding back into our staff and equipment. It allowed us to shop local and order new camera equipment from Betta Electrical. It has allowed us to add a few more hours each week for our staff – your family and friends - and most importantly it has kept the cover price stable.
The funding has allowed us to send reporters to Balranald and Ivanhoe to capture the stories of those underserved communities. It has meant we can afford to offer not-for-profit organisations free Magic Ads, so the benefits are spread across our community. It means we can offer advertising discounts and run special pricing almost weekly.
The decision by Meta to stop paying for the news it allows to be shared across Facebook and Instagram will have a direct impact on our newspaper and the support we can offer our readers and communities. And it is the same for every small country newspaper across Australia.
It may not seem such a big deal that the news tab on Facebook will disappear, but what if they decide to block all news services, like Meta has done in Canada? Is it OK that a massive US company can hold Australian governments and businesses to ransom like this?
This decision should be a warning to all small businesses and organisations that use Facebook or Instagram as their only digital platform – what happens if Meta next randomly decides to charge hairdressers for business pages, or block community Pride events?
Not paying fairly for news, and then threatening to block access to media on their platforms is blackmail.
This isn't just a squabble between giants; it's about the survival of small newspapers. It’s about the sustainability of publications that give rural and regional people a voice and record the history of the towns on this side of the Blue Mountains.
This isn't just about us; it's about fair compensation for the news we produce.
Don't let our story end. Stand with us, stand with your local paper.
Ironically, Betta Electrical’s Neil Headon delivered the new photography kit as this story was being prepared. Image: The Riverine Grazier / Krista Schade.
