Is Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code a Model for Saving Journalism?

Implemented in 2021, Australia's world-first news media bargaining code prompted payments of almost AU\$250m annually to flow from Meta and Google to Australian news media businesses. It also prompted international jurisdictions to work toward implementing similar schemes. In June 2024, however, Australia's largest news businesses announced widespread job cuts, blaming Meta's decision not to renew its deals under the code, worth an estimated AU\$70m annually. In this paper, we outline the code before summarizing findings from interviews with senior media representatives who negotiated deals on behalf of roughly 200 news businesses. These interviews address the code's success, its lack of transparency, its contribution to the public interest, and the prospect of Meta not renewing its deals. We then analyze five myths about the code: it is a link tax that will break the internet; it is all about Google News Showcase and Facebook News Tab; it does not support public interest journalism; it favors only big news companies; and it is the only viable option. Drawing on these findings and analysis, we argue that the code is a step toward a sustainable future, but it ought to do more to foster the public interest. This could be achieved by tying the code more closely to public interest journalism and by mandating some transparency. In December 2024, the government affirmed its commitment to the code by announcing a "news bargaining incentive". Instead, we ask whether the code’s aims could be better achieved by replacing it with a public interest journalism levy and must-carry obligations for news content.