TV network WIN blames commercial viability as it closes Mildura and Mackay newsrooms
The WIN Network has announced the closure of two regional newsrooms in Victoria and Queensland, with the network suggesting it was not commercially viable to continue operating them.
Staff in the Mildura (Victoria) and Mackay (Queensland) regional newsrooms were told of the closure yesterday and have been assured WIN will “work to redeploy them within the network”.
It is unclear how many staff are employed within the two newsrooms.
Shame on the Fairfax empire / WIN TV / Nine network for this abomination of desertion. What is to become of these local communities whose only tie to local news & sport information on television is lost to them. Sporting groups & local associations / tourism etc relied on these services to get their information out to the general public in their best interest. Local football, cricket, bowls, golf & more competitions information now lost to the general population because a/v media cannot be bothered for want of a bottom line. Tourism information for local community organisations will now go unpublished as most cannot afford advertising & segments on local news broadcast no longer aired will not reach the desired targeted population. Important local news relating to their region no longer known until someone deems it important enough to broadcast at a national level. The Fairfax media empire is taking away local news to dumb everyone down to a city level of thinking, no more community matters because to them it no longer matters.
I’m not sure what Fairfax has to do with WIN TV, a privately owned television broadcaster…
@Mark Deakin”Tourism information for local community organisations will now go unpublished”. You’re talking “old media”. The “new media” of the internet (which is already two decades old) is already taking its place. There are plenty of opportunities for organisations to get their message out, all they need to do is look.
CJ you clearly have no idea what it’s like for some communities especially In rural Australia being able to get radio & even Internet is still a major issue, Emergency Information is another key area that TV stations need to become Involved with I had to evacuate my home In 2014 due to bushfires 12kms from my town. I was watching TV when I got the call to leave there was no warning on the station absolutely nothing & If metro stations get their hands on regional then It will be the final nail In the coffin for regional TV.
@Casper Wrong! I spent half my career in regional and remote communities and know exactly what it’s like. As far as emergency information is concerned, that’s what the ABC is for, don’t expect commercial enterprise to duplicate it. In the past regional communities were exactly that “communities” that contributed to their own communications rather than today’s expecting someone else (in this case commercial television) to do the heavy lifting for them. And while it’s sad, the reality is that the final nail in the coffin of genuinely local TV came years ago.
If only community television was available In regional areas then maybe they could step up & provide some local content which could at least fill the gap but I can’t see that happening anytime soon.
Media outlets are no different to any other business. If locals do not support the business through advertising, the business becomes unviable. Media company’s are not charities as most people seem to think. Yes they provide local information to communities, but the communities have no right to think these businesses can run at a loss. Simple.
‘It’s unclear how many people are employed?’…you were able to pay them every week they were employed, same number of people still involved, you clowns!
Ray, you clown, it’s not a cut and paste of a press release, it’s actually an article with excerpts from a memo!
Another reason for this move by WIN, of course, is not really to serve or please its viewers but rather its shareholders. The message from investors seems to be that there should be just 3 national commercial TV network companies for the whole of Australia and it is no surprise that the Federal Government is now considering relaxing/scrapping the current ownership and audience quota restrictions (and even the current restrictions on access to the commercial channels on the VAST satellite platform) in order to allow this to happen. WIN’s “lean-and-mean” approach, which has also seen the closure of their South Australian news bulletin, appears to be a nod in this direction. But what about the viewers? Who is really taking notice of their interests and opinions? Don’t THEY count?
WIN does not have shareholders. It is a private company run and owned by Bruce Gordon
Television mentality is what is left, after nearly all vestige of good will, honest intent, and considered programming has been killed off, or allowed to starve into oblivion.
Television mentality, is the notion that lots and lots advertising dollars are the main focus, service is a bargaining word to be used to advantage, but a phenomenon to be avoided, either as much as may be practicable, or to an extent that may be generally undetectable.
In any organisation that truly serves the public, there are many alternatives to closing the doors at the first sign of advertising dollars diminishing. There are always better ways of working, alternative ways of achieving goals, or even trimming budgets.
The move discussed in the above article, is a typical “Shoot the Donkey” approach, all too often taken by sycophantic suits.
@Steven Wood “But what about the viewers?” In the mid-80s in the lead-up to what became “aggregation”, the Department of Communications conducted a large survey in regional areas asking viewers whether they wanted to have the (then) three network signals available to them rather than the alternative of two locally-originated signals. 93% voted for the three network signals. So that’s “really taking notice of their interests and opinions”. Be careful what you ask for, you may get it!