ABC-Australia to Restructure Newsroom Division

Due to some financial constraints, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s is restructuring its News Division and will launch a new national newsroom later this year.

The tied funding was cut from $20 million pa to approximately $13.5 million pa, and was invested in enhanced newsgathering activities and content creation, including the National Reporting Team, ABC Fact Check, the state-based digital teams, the Interactive Digital Storytelling Team and extra resources for regional and suburban newsgathering.

In a statement to staff, Gaven Morris, Director ABC News, said “In the process of renewing the funding for a further three years we prioritised local and regional coverage and state digital services. Consequently, under our proposal, the state digital teams, suburban bureaus and regional reporting and operational resources would not be affected.”

He added that “The News budget will remain under pressure as we continue to ensure the coverage and journalism we do is sustainable, and that we’re able to invest in our digital future and support our commitment to original and investigative journalism and local and regional newsgathering.”