When the Glen Innes Examiner ceased printing in September 2024, our community lost more than a physical newspaper.
We lost a familiar and trusted part of local life: something people could buy, hold, read at the kitchen table, discuss over coffee and pass on to a neighbour. For generations, the Examiner recorded the decisions, achievements, disagreements, celebrations and challenges that shaped Glen Innes and the surrounding district.
Its loss highlighted a difficult reality confronting regional communities across Australia. The traditional business model for local journalism is under significant pressure, while global social media platforms and AI-generated content are reaching ever deeper into our lives.
In that environment, strong local journalism is not a luxury. It is part of the civic infrastructure of a healthy community.
The end of the printed Examiner created both an opportunity and a risk.
The opportunity was that members of our community stepped forward to help fill the gap. Community-led publications can celebrate local people, promote events, support volunteers and provide a platform for stories that may otherwise go untold. That contribution should be recognised and valued.
However, the risk emerges when community publications move beyond community news and into political reporting, commentary or public accountability without the professional standards that established journalism requires.
Volunteer writers may be passionate, committed and well-intentioned, but they are not necessarily trained journalists. That distinction becomes especially important when reporting on council decisions, political disputes, public expenditure or allegations involving individuals and institutions.
Professional journalism is underpinned by disciplines such as verifying information, seeking comment from all relevant parties, separating fact from opinion, correcting errors, identifying conflicts of interest and providing sufficient context for readers to reach an informed view.
Without those safeguards, political reporting can become selective, incomplete or overly influenced by personal perspectives. Sometimes the problem is not what is published, but what is omitted.
That can damage reputations, distort public debate and reduce trust at a time when trust in institutions and information is already fragile.
Community publications have an important role, but they should not be expected to carry the full responsibility of independent public-interest journalism. Nor should enthusiasm alone be confused with editorial accountability.
Local democracy depends on residents having access to accurate, balanced and contextual information.
Council decisions are rarely simple. They are shaped by legislation, funding constraints, long-term strategies, engineering advice, community feedback, competing priorities and the financial capacity of the organisation. Reporting only the final decision, the loudest objection or one side of a debate rarely gives the community the full picture.
A professional local journalist can attend meetings, ask difficult questions, examine documents, test claims and explain why decisions have been made. That scrutiny is valuable for elected representatives, public institutions and the wider community.
Good journalism does not mean reporting only positive stories, and it does not mean avoiding criticism. It means criticism is evidence-based, fair and informed.
Local news also does much more than hold decision-makers to account.
It strengthens community pride by celebrating local achievements. It supports social cohesion by helping residents understand one another. It promotes local businesses, community organisations, sporting clubs, schools, cultural events and volunteers.
During emergencies, local reporting can be essential in communicating road closures, fires, floods, service disruptions and recovery information. It provides a trusted connection between institutions and the people they serve.
It also helps preserve local identity. Regional communities should not be reduced to occasional stories written from metropolitan newsrooms when something dramatic happens. Our communities deserve journalists who understand our history, geography, industries, strategic plans, personalities and aspirations.
The future of regional news must also account for the people who are not fully served by a digital-only model.
Glen Innes Severn has an ageing population, and many residents still prefer to buy and read a printed newspaper. Some do not use social media. Others have limited digital confidence, unreliable internet access or simply value the experience of reading a physical publication.
Digital innovation is essential, but innovation should not become a convenient justification for leaving part of the community behind.
The goal should be to expand access, not narrow it.
Regional journalism therefore needs sustainable models that combine professional reporting with modern technology, digital platforms, shared newsroom capability and printed products.
Artificial intelligence may assist journalists by transcribing interviews, analysing documents, organising information or improving production efficiency. But AI cannot replace the relationships, judgement, local knowledge and accountability of a journalist embedded in a community.
AI-generated content can also accelerate the spread of inaccurate or misleading information. It can create convincing material at enormous scale, often without readers knowing its source or whether it has been properly checked.
The answer is not to reject technology. It is to strengthen the professional standards, transparency and human oversight that allow technology to be used responsibly.
Regional communities need a sustainable local media ecosystem in which professional journalists, community publications, radio, digital platforms and local institutions each understand their role.
There is room for community storytelling and professional journalism, but they are not interchangeable.
The loss of the printed Glen Innes Examiner demonstrated how quickly a long-standing community institution can disappear. It should also prompt a broader conversation about what we expect local journalism to deliver and what is required to sustain it.
A strong local newspaper does not merely report on a community. It helps a community understand itself.
It connects people, records our history, supports local enterprise, strengthens democracy and ensures that regional voices are not lost in an increasingly crowded and automated information environment.
That is worth protecting, investing in and evolving for the future.
This opinion piece was commissioned by ACM and is being republished here at Mayor Davis’ request.
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