Nation's Capital Deserves Metro News Status - Greens

2018-12-03

The Greens today called on Nine to ensure the Canberra Times is not downgraded as part of the merger with Fairfax, following news that the intention is to make the paper part of the Australian Community Media division rather than the metro division.

Greens Candidate for Canberra, Tim Hollo, said "A flourishing democracy needs a flourishing and well-resourced media. Our national capital needs a city newspaper. The Canberra Times absolutely should not be downgraded.

"The Greens have consistently argued that big corporate mergers in the media are not in the public interest and the Nine takeover of Fairfax should never have been allowed.

"We support the journalists and other staff at the Canberra Times, feel for those worried about even more redundancies, and will always support better media ownership laws to protect diverse and independent journalism."