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ABSTRACT:
This paper provides initial discussion of the ways in which Australian ethnic minority community print media is faring in the light of digitisation of the media environment. Drawing on interviews with publishers/editors of community publications in South Australia, the paper begins with a discussion of the ways in which community print publications negotiate the distinction between two of their roles-disseminating news from countries of origin and providing news related to local members of the diasporic community-before examining the ways in which the publications perceived the impact of digitisation on (a) the capacity of their audiences to source news online directly from countries of origin instead of through the local publication and (b) how publications view their own future in terms of digital distribution and dissemination.
Introduction
For minority migrant groups living in Australia, community print media (also referred to as ethnic media, community news, and minority print media) traditionally serve three explicit purposes: the provision of local community information, the provision of news from 'home', and the provision of news and information from across the diaspora. Many such media forms developed soon after larger-scale migration of groups from similar countries of origin or who share the same language (Georgiou, 2005; Riggins, 1992, p. 4), and have a significant, traditional, and ongoing role in providing resources and services to their community-audiences. In many cases, such publications may be the only media form consumed (Husband, 2005). The advent of digital, networked communication, however, changes the role, function, and viability of many community media publications, particularly as audiences have greater access to sources from elsewhere directly online. This creates new forms of competition for local publications, meaning the potential loss of some of the local community-building functions, if audience time is devoted to other sources rather than using the local publications, thus potentially eradicating the important role of community print media in the maintenance and service of local migrant minority communities.
Communities, be they local or communities of interest, place a significant amount of trust in publications that are usually recognised as having responsibilities toward their communities (Ewart, 2000, p. 2). In other words, such publications are more than just another subcultural institution, but play a central, organising role in the discourses that make the community,...