VIC GOVT PULLS NEWSPRINT ADS

The Victorian government will no longer advertise in the state’s metro and national newspapers, sparking fears of a nationwide pull-out, and damage to the newspaper industry, if other states follow suit.

Industry alarm: No print ads from Vic govt for Herald Sun and other metro and national titles in Victoria

According to the Standard Media Index, state and federal governments spent some $40m on newspaper ads last year, more than any other sector, money that would be sorely missed by the ailing industry if it were to go.

Printed newspapers that will no longer carry any ads from the Victorian government include metro titles the Herald Sun and The Age, and national mastheads The Australian and the Australian Financial Review. Regional and community papers across Victoria will still receive government advertising.

Victoria premier Dan Andrews said the move to pull out of print, which will take place at the end of the month was about “getting value for taxpayers” with a switch into digital because “that’s where the audience is”.

However execs at the Muroch-owned Herald Sun believe the move is retribution for the paper’s lack of support, some say hostility, to the Andrews government. In a LinkedIn post, Michael Miller, executive chairman at News Corp Australia, said, “The Andrew’s government’s move to deny 2.6m Victorian readers of newspapers important information through public notice advertising shows disdain for the needs of the people it is meant to serve.”

Miller said the move was a direct move against freedom of the press to challenge authority and hold it accountable. He said, “The numbers don’t add up. It is hard to see this directive as anything other than an act of spite against those who dare hold it to account”.

Last year the Victoria government spent $15m on print advertising, representing 9.6 per cent of its budget, down by more than half over the decade. Digital advertising doubled over that period to 45 per cent of the budget. Andrews himself has more than one million twitter followers.