Media Release

KENNEDY MP, Bob Katter said today was a sad day for regional journalism and democracy with the end of printed editions of many regional newspapers including the Northern Miner, Herbert RIver Express, Atherton Tablelander, and Innisfail Advocate in his electorate.

“We feel for every one of the journalists, editors, salespeople and staff who have received this difficult news today,” he said.

“I ran a little newspaper in Cloncurry, and I have always believed that having news printed on a piece of paper is infinitely more valuable than having it on a computer screen.

“What you watch on the TV news in the evening, it will have come from the paper that you read in the morning – such is the great influence of a newspaper.”

Mr Katter said there was now an opportunity for newspapers to be resurrected on an owner-operator basis, and the State and Federal Governments should move immediately to provide finance for owner-operators.

“I doubt they’d be able to run on the scale that they did before, but there is still a market out there,” he said.

“If the State Government move on this, the power will go back to the local communities and I’d think that’d be a wonderful thing.

“A decentralisation of newspaper ownership is a positive and the opportunity arises now.”

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