To our digital subscribers, loyal newspaper readers and long-time advertising partners: thank you.

Your continuing support for this masthead and its local news coverage is not just a commercial transaction - it is a vital investment in the civic strength of the community and the bedrock of trusted, independent journalism that serves regional, rural and suburban Australia.

It is precisely because you value public interest reporting that holds decision-makers accountable and keeps the community connected that we are able to continue fighting for the future of local news.

Now that fight has taken an ambitious step forward. The ACM network, publisher of this masthead, has formally applied for grant funding through the federal government's News Innovation Fund to launch Smart Newsrooms - a groundbreaking initiative designed to secure a sustainable future for local journalism in regional Australia and combat the rising tide of unverified digital misinformation and AI-generated content.

As a news consumer who actively supports our public interest reporting, your voice - and your choice to back this masthead and contribute to an informed and connected community - carries weight.

You are also a taxpayer, so we want you to know what we are proposing to the government, how we think it will help and why it matters.

Creating a sustainable model for regional journalism 

If funded, the Smart Newsrooms project will reactivate 22 news websites serving areas where we have previously had to stop printing the local newspaper and will put 15 new multimedia journalists back on the ground in communities where traditional newsrooms have become commercially unviable.

The initiative directly addresses the severe structural pressures facing local news in the regions.

The challenge facing regional journalism is not that communities no longer value local news - they do.

The challenge is finding a sustainable model of news gathering, production and distribution in areas where traditional publishing economics no longer work.

When local........

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