What happens to journalists when their jobs are made redundant in regional Australia? And what is the impact of mass redundancies on the communities that they serve?
These questions will be the focus of a panel discussion to be held at La Trobe University’s Wodonga campus on Friday April 22 at 1:30 pm as part of La Trobe’s “Beyond City Limits” forum that will launch the university’s Centre for the Study of the Inland.
Last year, around half of the 45 newsroom roles at the Border Mail were axed, while 39 editorial roles were also cut from other Fairfax Media regional Victorian newspapers.
As well as discussing the findings of the New Beats team’s recent regional journalist survey, the panel will explore how the news needs of regional communities are being met in the wake of these changes, and the potential impact of proposed media reforms on the regional media landscape.
The panel will be moderated by A/Prof Andrew Dodd from the New Beats team and will include:
Di Thomas – former Border Mail editor, now editor of The Shepparton News
Brad Worrall – former Border Mail journalist, now a journalist with North East Media
Cathy McGowan, MP, Federal Member for Indi
A/Prof Lawrie Zion – Lead Chief Investigator of the New Beats team.
The event will be held at La Trobe University – Albury-Wodonga Campus, 133 McKoy Street, West Wodonga VIC 3690. Attendance is free, and bookings can be made here.
The discussion will be recorded by ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas program for broadcast at a later date.
If you’re a journalist from regional Australia whose position was made redundant at any time since 2012, we invite you to participate in our survey.