REGIONAL newspapers are doing it tougher than ever before, according to a joint parliamentary committee inquiry into their viability.

The foreword to the inquiry, The Future of Regional Newspapers in a Digital World, by Dr Anne Webster MP, acknowledged that revenue for regional newspapers had been declining as more companies moved their employment, real estate, and motor vehicle advertising online, much of which is a primary revenue source.

Government advertising and public notices have also been declining from regional newspapers in favour of online outlets or larger, metropolitan newspapers, further exacerbating the decline in revenue.

In February, the Victorian Government attempted to introduce reforms that would have removed the requirement for state departments and councils to publicise community notices and thus would have removed an important source of revenue for local newspapers.

However, faced with strong opposition from regional newspapers, the Victorian Country Press Association and the opposition, the State Government backed down on its changes and for now, the printing of public notices will remain.

The inquiry revealed that larger publishers, such as Australian Community Media and News Corp Australia, have withdrawn from print publication in regional areas, forcing smaller publishers to go further afield to print their newspapers and driving up costs in a time when viability for many is already under threat.

It also found that during COVID-19 lockdowns, many individuals turned to their local newspaper for credible and up-to-date information, however, due to a decline in business at the same time, local and national businesses alike withdrew their advertisements from local newspapers when it was most needed.

The inquiry stated that as a result, regional newspapers have experienced a significant loss of jobs and important community issues were going unreported, with some communities not covered by a newspaper at all.

The inquiry adopted several recommendations from nonpartisan think tank, Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI), into its final report.

PIJI is calling on both sides of government to act to secure the future of a healthy, sustainable and diverse public interest news sector using a multi-pronged approach to stimulate investment at all levels, including options such as tax rebates and license fee offsets.

The committee has made twelve recommendations following the inquiry, one of which recommends the Australian Government review government advertising expenditure across all departments and agencies with a view to ensuring a minimum of 20 per cent of government print advertising is placed in regional newspapers.

It recommended that this should be part of long-term advertising contracts that provide certainty of income for regional publications.