More than 1.5 million people live in regional Victoria, with more people migrating to the state’sregional cities and communities every year.
“Whether it’s a bushfire, a flood emergency or a global pandemic, time and time again we have seen regional newspapers step up and serve their communities in incredibly important ways,” Mr Andrews said.
“Labor is doing what matters — backing regional media outlets with guaranteed advertising revenue so they can keep supporting their local communities.”
Regional newspapers are the lifeblood of country communities, giving a voice to important local issues and delivering news that is dedicated to serving local communities.
But with growing costs of paper and production, it’s becoming harder and harder for news outlets to keep up.
A re-elected Labor government will guarantee one full page of state government advertising in every regional newspaper per week.
This guarantee builds on the unprecedented level of support delivered for regional media throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, the Labor Government spent more than $20 million to support regional media outlets through advertising, supporting jobs and protecting local news.
