The following changes were made in the Public Interest Publishers Index (PIPI) between 1 April 2025 – 30 June 2025.

To access the public News Producers interface, please click here.
To access the public Changes interface, please click here.

Please click here for a summary of structural changes to the database made in Q2/25.
Please click here to access the Q2 data sheet.

To access previous quarter data sheets, please click here.

Market changes in Q2

DateOutletStateChange
04/04/25Region CanberraACTName changed
10/04/25Ballina News DailyNSWOutlet opened
17/04/25Jimboomba TodayQLDOutlet closed
01/05/25The Coastal VoiceTASName changed
02/05/25Port Macquarie News of the AreaNSWOutlet opened
13/05/25The Hawkesbury PostNSWOutlet closed
19/06/25Wet Tropic TimesQLDOutlet closed

Changes were observed at seven news outlets in Q2.

Long-standing digital news outlet Riotact, the flagship publication of Region Media, changed its name to Region Canberra in April 2025.1 This change makes its branding consistent with other titles Region Riverina and Region Illawarra.

Ballina News Daily2 is a new digital outlet in the North Coast region of New South Wales. The outlet is operated by Time to Roam Australia Pty Ltd and is the first for that company.

Jimboomba Today was merged into its sister publication Beaudesert Times in April 2025.3 The outlet was first opened by Ipswich Media in in 2023 after the Today News Group acquired most of Australian Community Media’s presence in Queensland.

The Central Coast Voice in Tasmania changed its name to The Coastal Voice in May 2025.

Port Macquarie News of the Area4 is a new print and digital news outlet on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. It is the eighth outlet opened by the News of the Area Media Group. It commenced in May 2025.

The Hawkesbury Post closed in May 2025. In announcing its closure the owners wrote that they have ‘run headfirst into the reality that local journalism doesn’t pay for itself’.5 This is the second closure for the Post: founder Tony Bosworth ended the paper in November 2022 before it was acquired and reopened by current owners Australian Neighbourhood Media in May 2023.

Wet Tropic Times, covering the Cassowary Coast Region in Queensland, published its final edition in June 2025.6

Other data changes

The following are changes that were made to the data but which did not occur during the reporting period. These can be corrections to data, or market changes that occurred during a previous quarter but which were not captured at the time.

DateOutletStateChange
24/04/21Manningham LifeVICOutlet opened
07/09/22The Border TimesSAOutlet closed
30/09/22Merriwa District DiaryNSWOutlet closed
17/01/24Tamar Valley NewsTASChange of ownership
Tamar Valley NewsTASOutlet closed
14/06/24The Wynyard PulseTASOutlet closed
30/06/24The RipVICOutlet closed
13/08/24The Glenferrie TimesVICOutlet closed
26/08/24The TorchNSWOutlet closed
Auburn ReviewNSWOutlet closed
11/09/24The Braidwood BugleNSWOutlet closed
24/11/24New MatildaQLDOutlet inactive
01/12/24The Bridge ConnectionVICOutlet closed
13/12/24The New DailyVICChange of ownership
31/12/24Hobart WeekendTASOutlet closed
The Greater Springfield TimesQLDChange of ownership
The Greater Springfield TimesQLDOutlet closed
MyCity LoganQLDChange of ownership
The Lake NewsQLDChange of ownership
Logan West NewsQLDChange of ownership
30/01/25The Griffith PhoenixNSWOutlet closed
01/02/25Suburban Life The Lake NewsQLDName changed
Suburban Life Logan EastQLDOutlet opened
Suburban Life Logan WestQLDName changed
Traf District NewsVICOutlet closed
28/02/25Wimmera Mail-TimesVICChange of ownership
Horsham TimesVICOutlet closed
Stawell Times-NewsVICChange of ownership
Ararat AdvertiserVICChange of ownership
Ararat AdvertiserVICOutlet closed
01/03/25The Canowindra PhoenixNSWChange of ownership
The Forbes and Parkes PhoenixNSWChange of ownership
13/03/25Australian Property JournalVICNo longer eligible
18/03/25The Hawkesbury PhoenixNSWOutlet closed

Manningham Life7 launched in April 20218 as a community print magazine covering local news and events in eastern Melbourne. It is published bimonthly.

The Merriwa District Diary was one of three titles operated by Outback Press in the western Hunter Valley. No new issue of the Diary has been uploaded to the website since September 2022,9 and two emails to the publisher were not returned. It has been listed as closed.

In January 2024 the Tamar Valley News was acquired from longtime operator Hyperlocal News by a new entity, Tamar Media.10 With that acquisition the title appears to have closed: the Facebook page and website have only been updated once in the past 18 months. An email to the site’s contact address bounced. Both the ownership change and the closure have been listed at the date of the announcement.

The Rip was a monthly magazine in Queenscliff, Victoria. The print edition finished in June 2023, stories were published on the website infrequently into the following year. This activity has now also ceased and the outlet’s closure has been dated to July 2024, the last time it was assessed as active by the Public Interest Journalism Initiative.11

The Glenferrie Times, a local newspaper in inner eastern Melbourne, published its final edition in August 2024, following the death of owner Leon Pezzimenti.12

The Canterbury-Bankstown Torch and Auburn Review, two local newspapers in Sydney, closed in August 2024. In a post the publisher blamed the ‘current climate’ and the lingering effects of COVID-19 for continued difficulty running the business, which had been in operation since 1920.13

The Braidwood Bugle, a digital newspaper in Braidwood, New South Wales, closed in September 2024. Editor Alex Rea launched the outlet in April 2020 after the suspension of Australian Community Media’s Braidwood Times. In announcing the closure, Rea confirmed that her other title, the Moruya Mail, will continue to operate.14

After six months of no new articles being published, New Matilda has been listed as ‘inactive’. If it remains inactive for Q3/25, it will be listed as closed. This is a longer timeframe than I would usually apply due to the fact that the site has returned from similar periods of inactivity in the past, it publishes fewer but deeper investigations rather than daily news, and owner Chris Graham has been open about his health problems impacting the operation of the outlet.15

The New Daily and its operating entity The New Daily Pty Ltd were sold by Industry Super Holdings in December 2024, becoming part of the Solstice Media network which includes InDaily and CityMag.16

The Bunyip, a newspaper covering Gawler, South Australia, was purchased by SA Today in December 2024.17

The Bridge Connection was a community newspaper covering Redesdale, south of Bendigo, VIC. Its final digital edition was published in December 2024.18 In February 2025 editor Regina Bennett posted to Facebook that the committee had decided to stop publication of the title, due to higher costs and a lack of contributions.19

Two titles published by the Huon Newspaper Company closed in 2024. The Wynyard Pulse, a local newspaper in northwest Tasmania, finished in June. In a Facebook post20 the publisher blamed the closure of the Launceston Print Centre and said that they were trying to make alternative arrangements, however, no further editions were published. Hobart Weekend, which launched as Hobart Weekly News in January 2023,21 closed at the end of 2024, the publisher confirmed in an email.

A number of changes occurred in South East Queensland as the result of a merger between two media businesses. Managing Director Simon Holt confirmed the following:

  • MyCity Media Pty Ltd22 was formed in November 2024 out of the merger of two existing publishers: Bendy Enterprises, publisher of The Lake News, Logan West News and the Greater Springfield Times, and the family partnership S Holt and S.J Holt, publisher of MyCity Logan. All of the existing titles have transferred to the new entity.
  • MyCity Logan continues as a weekly newspaper.
  • The Greater Springfield Times suspended publishing at the end of 2024.
  • The Lake News and Logan West News have both been rebranded and are now Suburban Life The Lake News and Suburban Life Logan West, respectively, reflecting their place within a stable of monthly news magazines.
  • A new title, Suburban Life Logan East, was launched in February 2025.

All of these changes are reflected in the database.

Greater Springfield Today was merged into its sister publication Ipswich News Today in February 2025.23 The latter publication was renamed Ipswich West Moreton Today as a result of the change.

The Wimmera Mail-Times was acquired from Australian Community Media by publisher Wimmera Mallee News in February 2025. The Horsham Times, an existing publication operated by Wimmera Mallee News, was subsequently merged into the Mail-Times.24

The Ararat Advertiser and Stawell Times-News were acquired from Australian Community Media by publisher West Vic News in February 2025. The Advertiser was subsequently merged into the company’s existing Ararat Advocate.25 The Stawell Times-News continues to be published by the new owner.

Traf District News, in Trafalgar, VIC, appears to have closed. The Facebook page has not been updated since December 202426 and the last edition uploaded to the website was in February 2025.27 Two emails and a message to the publisher were not returned.

Australian Property Journal was acquired by British property publisher Green Street in March 2025,28 at which time the title stopped the housing sector policy and regulatory news that was the basis of its eligibility for this project. As a consequence it has been removed from the data at the date of the acquisition.

Multiple changes were recorded among the Phoenix brand of newspapers in the New South Wales Central West and South-West Slopes regions. The titles have historically been operated by two companies with common interests, Roundbox Media and Word & Pixel Perfection.

  • In January 2025 the Griffith Phoenix published what appears to be its final article.29 Two emails and a message to the editor were not returned and this title has been listed as closed.
  • In March 2025 Roundbox acquired the Canowindra, Parkes and Forbes business names from Word & Pixel Perfection,30 adding to its existing registrations for Hilltops, Hawkesbury, Yass, Griffith and Goulburn. Word & Pixel Perfection retains the Cowra business name,31 while the Mudgee and Blue Mountains names have been allowed to expire.32
  • Also in March 2025 the Hawkesbury Phoenix published what appears to be its final article.33 Two emails and a message to the editor were not returned and this title has been listed as closed.

Across the Phoenix brand, the Canowindra,34 Forbes-Parkes,35 Hilltops36 and Cowra37 titles are all active, while the Yass,38 Goulburn,39 Mudgee,40 Blue Mountains,41 and now Hawkesbury42 and Griffith43 are all closed.

Two Hunter Valley digital news sites have been removed from the database. scone.com.au and singleton.net.au, serving the towns of Scone and Singleton, were added to the data in 2022 but on review were found to be operated by an Upper Hunter Shire councillor. This project requires that outlets be editorially independent from political figures and, as such, these are not eligible and should not have been in the data.

CommunityLocalMetroStateNationalTotal
Print744447112538
Digital81495126189
Total8259312238727
Number of public interest publishers recorded in PIPI, 30 June 2025.

Footnotes

  1. Treasure K. 2025. Riotact turns 25 and celebrates with a new name – say hell to Region Canberra! Region Canberra. 4 April. https://region.com.au/riotact-turns-25-and-celebrates-with-a-new-name-say-hello-to-region-canberra/853539/ ↩︎
  2. Ballina News Daily. https://ballinanewsdaily.com.au/ ↩︎
  3. Jimboomba Today. 2025. Big news for local readers! Facebook post. 8 April. https://jimboombatoday.com.au/all-digital-editions/jimboomba-today-10th-april-2025/ ↩︎
  4. Port Macquarie News of the Area. https://portmacquarie.newsofthearea.com.au/ ↩︎
  5. The Hawkesbury Post. 2025. The Hawkesbury Post is closing. 13 May. https://hawkesburyapp.com.au/NewsStory/the-hawkesbury-post-is-closing/682289b929fbc3002ed38cfd#top ↩︎
  6. Russo S. 2025. A personal goodbye – and a new beginning. Wet Tropic Times. 19 June. https://www.wettropictimes.com.au/ ↩︎
  7. Manningham Life. https://www.manninghamlife.com.au/ ↩︎
  8. Manningham Life. 2021. Facebook post. 24 April. https://www.facebook.com/ManninghamLife/posts/pfbid0QJQ7UW1SUPuLsGAqBUGX5Tszt8pKkv2cu4CKcVsjBNbqd6ApJSxyF3fJ9gKRXWDFl ↩︎
  9. Merriwa District Diary. 2022. https://www.outbackpress.com.au/publishedfiles/MDD-214/ ↩︎
  10. Tamar Valley News. 2024. As the turning of the pages of a well-loved book leads to new adventures, so too does the journey of Tamar Valley News. Facebook post. 17 January. https://www.facebook.com/tamarvalleynews/posts/pfbid035YZBrWw9xeZZZdtMa3Dp9K8PX8DmenGPLYGjSbcxfDM1E7JJmT4Wy46Xr7eknuzJl ↩︎
  11. Dickson G. and Des Preaux 2024. Australian News Data Report: July 2024. Melbourne: Public Interest Journalism Initiative. ↩︎
  12. Salter L. 2024. Vale: Leon Pezzimenti 1945 – 2024. Glenferrie Times. 13 August. https://www.theglenferrietimes.com/single-post/vale-leon-pezzimenti-1945-2024 ↩︎
  13. Local News Plus. 2024. Newspaper to close. 26 August. https://localnewsplus.com.au/newspaper-to-close/ ↩︎
  14. Rea A. 2024. It’s Bye Bye from the Bugle. Braidwood Bugle. 11 September. https://braidwoodbugle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/221-20240904-Braidwood-Bugle-min.pdf ↩︎
  15. Graham C. 2023. Left jab: from heaven to hell, in the shadow of a Covid vaccine. New Matilda. 14 January. https://newmatilda.com/2023/01/14/left-jab-from-heaven-to-hell-in-the-shadow-of-a-covid-vaccine/ ↩︎
  16. Simmons D. and Kelly I. 2024. Solstice Media adds The New Daily to stable of mastheads. The New Daily. 13 December. https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/2024/12/13/the-new-daily-sale-solstice-media ↩︎
  17. GXpress.net. 2024. New life for Gawler ‘local’, and a notable death. 30 October. https://www.gxpress.net/article/8490/new-life-for-gawler-local-and-a-notable-death ↩︎
  18. The Bridge Connection. December 2024. https://www.redesdale.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BCED-153-December-2024R.pdf ↩︎
  19. Bennett R. 2025. After 16 years the Bridge Connection Committee has made the decision to stop publication. Facebook post. 28 February. https://www.facebook.com/groups/897527781461431/posts/1398632854684252/ ↩︎
  20. The Wynyard Pulse. 2024. Facebook post. 14 June. https://www.facebook.com/thewynyardpulse.yourlocalnews/posts/pfbid02fvjVLTJ1RGU9o8s4YhstqirdYmPb2Wvi9kJSDig4T7SW1GMteJa8Qmb2ruEX72TQl ↩︎
  21. Dickson G. and Des Preaux J. 2024. Australian News Data Report: January 2024. Melbourne: Public Interest Journalism Initiative. ↩︎
  22. Australian Business Registry. Current details for ABN 92 682 526 003. https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?id=92682526003 ↩︎
  23. Greater Springfield Today. https://ipswichnewstoday.com.au/all-digital-editions/springfield-today-20th-february-2025/ ↩︎
  24. Wimmera Mail-Times. 2025. After 65 years… Newspaper returns to family ownership. 30 January. https://www.wimmeramalleenews.com.au/after-65-years-newspaper-returns-to-family-ownership-2025-01-30 ↩︎
  25. Wimmera Mail-Times. 2025. After 65 years… Newspaper returns to family ownership. 30 January. https://www.wimmeramalleenews.com.au/after-65-years-newspaper-returns-to-family-ownership-2025-01-30 ↩︎
  26. Traf District News. 2024. Date Errors. Facebook post. 3 December. https://www.facebook.com/trafnews/posts/pfbid02JGPXguFp63zJhT6sWLVNJFShReHHiEBPdfXijBaLA37fbYF843L3Pk7LqMau5TH2l ↩︎
  27. Traf News. Back Issues. https://trafnews.com/back-issues/ ↩︎
  28. Green Street. 2025. Green Street acquires Australian Property Journal to expand global reach of Green Street News. 13 March. https://www.greenstreet.com/insights/press-releases/green-street-news-launches-into-australia-for-expanded-global-offering ↩︎
  29. The Griffith Phoenix. Local achievers acknowledged at Murrumbidgee’s Australia Day awards. 30 January. https://www.griffithphoenix.com.au/local-achievers-acknowledged-at-murrumbidgees-australia-day-awards ↩︎
  30. Australian Business Registry. Current details for ABN 81 614 918 115. https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/81614918115 ↩︎
  31. Australian Business Registry. Current details for ABN 20 621 592 694. https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=20621592694 ↩︎
  32. Australian Business Registry. Historical details for ABN 20 621 592 694. https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=20621592694 ↩︎
  33. The Hawkesbury Phoenix. 2025. KSTP wins big at the 2024 GNSW annual awards. 18 March. https://www.hawkesburyphoenix.com.au/kstp-wins-big-at-the-2024-gnsw-annual-awards ↩︎
  34. Canowindra Phoenix. https://www.canowindraphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  35. Parkes Phoenix. https://www.parkesphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  36. Hilltops Phoenix. https://www.hilltopsphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  37. Cowra Phoenix. https://www.cowraphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  38. Yass Phoenix. https://www.yassphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  39. Goulburn Phoenix. https://www.goulburnphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  40. Mudgee Phoenix. https://mudgeephoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  41. Blue Mountains Phoenix. https://bluemountainsphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  42. Hawkesbury Phoenix. https://www.hawkesburyphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎
  43. Griffith Phoenix. https://www.griffithphoenix.com.au/ ↩︎