The following changes were made in the Public Interest Publishers Index (PIPI) between 1 April 2026 – 30 June 2026.

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Due to a potential conflict of interest with my employment at the Local & Independent News Association, any significant changes that affect LINA members have been reviewed by PIPI’s Independent Advisor, Dr Alison McAdam. These are marked with an asterisk.

Market changes in Q2

DateOutletStateChange
25/06/2026Molong ExpressNSWOutlet opened
25/06/2026Molong ExpressNSWChange of ownership
11/06/2026The Courier (Narrabri)NSWOutlet opened
11/06/2026Gunnedah TimesNSWOutlet opened
11/06/2026Wee Waa NewsNSWOutlet opened
29/05/2026The Courier (Narrabri)NSWChange of ownership
29/05/2026Gunnedah TimesNSWChange of ownership
29/05/2026Wee Waa NewsNSWChange of ownership
14/05/2026Coonabarabran TimesNSWOutlet opened
07/05/2026The Courier (Narrabri)NSWOutlet closed
07/05/2026Gunnedah TimesNSWOutlet closed
07/05/2026Wee Waa NewsNSWOutlet closed
05/05/2026Coonabarabran TimesNSWChange of ownership

Changes were observed at five news outlets in Q2.

The Molong Express, a weekly newspaper in Molong, New South Wales, closed in February 2024. In June it was acquired by journalist Alistair Finlay’s company Grassroots Media and returned to service.1

The Narrabri Courier, Wee Waa News and Gunnedah Times, at the time owned by Collective Media, closed on 7 May. Editor Dylan Smith said that rising costs and logistical issues after the closure of Australian Community Media’s print facility in Tamworth led to the decison.2 Following this announcement the three titles were acquired by the Times News Group, a Victoria-based regional publisher with existing papers in the Byron-Tweed area.3 The papers returned on 11 June.4

The Coonabarabran Times closed in December 20255 following the death of part-owner Max Estens. Its operating entity, Warrumbungle Publications Pty Ltd,6 was acquired by locals Sallie and Steve Turner and, on 14 May, the newspaper was relaunched.7

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.

Dates listed as ’31/12/18′ reflect that the change occurred prior to the start of data capture on 1 January 2019, not that it occurred on that particular date.

DateOutletStateChange
20/03/2026News of the Midlands*TASOutlet opened
12/03/2026View NewsQLDSet as inactive
22/01/2026The Buloke TimesVICReduced print frequency
19/02/2025The Border WatchSAReduced print frequency
01/09/2024Village Voice (Ascot-Inner North)QLDChanged name
01/09/2024Village Voice (New Farm-Peninsula)QLDChanged name
26/06/2024Derwent Valley GazetteTASEnded print edition
20/09/2021NT News (Palmerston & Beyond)NTIncreased coverage area
15/09/2020SE VoiceSAIncreased coverage area
31/12/2018BridReportTASChanged name
31/12/2018The Cygnet, Huon & Channel ClassifiedsTASChanged name
31/12/2018CQ TodayQLDIncreased coverage area
31/12/2018Geelong IndependentVICIncreased coverage area
31/12/2018The LeaderQLDReduced coverage area
31/12/2018North West StarQLDReduced coverage area
31/12/2018Townsville BulletinQLDIncreased coverage area

News of the Midlands8 is a new monthly newspaper from Damian Bester, publisher of the New Norfolk and Derwent Valley Gazette. Its first edition was in March 2026. This title was added on the basis of its print edition, which demonstrates original public interest journalism, whereas the website appears to be largely press releases.

View News, a news website on the Sunshine Coast, has not published an article since 12 March 20269 and an email to the owner was not returned. When a title does not publish an article for a full quarter my approach is generally to list the title as Inactive. A second consecutive quarter without activity will see the outlet listed as closed. I will review again in September.

Buloke Times dropped to weekly publishing in January 2026, combining its Tuesday and Friday editions10 into a single Thursday ediiton.11

The Border Watch, a Today News Group paper in Mount Gambier, ended its Wednesday print edition in February 2025.12 It continues as a weekly paper published on Fridays.

Village Voice (Ascot-Inner North) was renamed from Village Voice (Inner North) in September 2024.13 In the same month, Village Voice (Peninsula) was renamed Village Voice (New Farm-Peninsula).14

The Derwent Valley Gazette, a Font Publishing paper in New Norfolk, ended its print edition in June 2024. It now operates solely as a digital title.15

For a local government area to be listed as part of an outlet’s coverage area in the Public Interest Publishers Index, it needs to meet a minimum threshold of an average of one story per month over the preceding year. Every outlet in the data is reviewed at least annually, and in this process I check that this threshold is still being met.

The following changes to coverage areas were made following a review of these outlets:

  • CQ Today: Added Woorabinda.
  • Geelong Independent: Added Surf Coast.
  • The Leader: Removed Barcoo, Boulia and Diamantina.
  • North West Star: Removed Boulia, Burke, Cloncurry and Doomagee.
  • NT News (Palmerston and Beyond): Added West Arnhem, West Daly.
  • SE Voice: Added Robe, Kingston.
  • Townsville Bulletin: Added Palm Island.

Changes to coverage areas generally aren’t dated; they’re retroactively applied to the record as a whole.

BridReport, a community newspaper in Bridport, Tasmania, was renamed from BridREport. This was a correction of a typo.

The Cygnet, Huon & Channel Classifieds, a local newspaper in Hobart, Tasmania, was renamed from The Cygnet & Channel Classifieds. This is a correction to the data rather than a reflection of a change at the title: on review I couldn’t find any cases where the newspaper did not also have ‘Huon’ in the name.

Other events

After closing in January 2026,16 Sunbury Life17 started publishing new content in May. The owner confirmed in an email that the title has not returned to full service but that articles will be added as and when he has time. On this basis I’ve elected not to change the title to an active publication but will continue to monitor.

Echo Media Group,18 a LINA member in Queensland, launched two new digital titles in the Brisbane suburbs of Chermside and Strathpine in May and June respectively. I was not aware of these titles in time to include them for assessment by the Independent Advisor, and as such they are not recorded in this quarter’s changes. These will be assessed for inclusion in the Q3 update.

CommunityLocalMetroStateNationalTotal
Print864439113552
Digital91495025188
Total9559214138740
Number of public interest publishers recorded in PIPI, 30 June 2026.

Footnotes

  1. Molong Express. 2026. Contact Us. https://molongexpress.com.au/ ↩︎
  2. The Courier. 2026. End of an era with The Courier to publish final edition after 113 years. 30 April. https://narrabricourier.com.au/2026/04/30/end-of-an-era-with-the-courier-to-publish-final-edition-after-113-years/ ↩︎
  3. Byron Coast Times. 2026. Local newspapers set to return weeks after closure. 29 May. https://timesnewsgroup.com.au/byroncoasttimes/news/narrabri-courier-gunnedah-times-wee-waa-news-return/ ↩︎
  4. Smith A. 2026. The Courier returns. The Courier. 11 June. https://narrabricourier.com.au/2026/06/11/the-courier-returns/ ↩︎
  5. Dickson G. 2026. Q4/25 Data Changes. Public Interest Publishers Index. 1 January. https://gary-dickson.com/2026/01/01/pipi-q4-25-data-changes/ ↩︎
  6. Australian Business Register. Warrumbungle Publications Pty Ltd. https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=43000741891 ↩︎
  7. Turner S. and Turner S. 2026. A new era for the Times. Coonabarabran Times. 14 May. p. 2. ↩︎
  8. News of the Midlands. https://midlandsnews.com/ ↩︎
  9. Hodgson C. 2026. Construction begins on Aura Town Centre. View News. 12 March. https://www.viewnews.com.au/construction-begins-on-aura-town-centre/ ↩︎
  10. The Buloke Times. 2025. https://www.buloketimes.com/2025/ ↩︎
  11. The Buloke Times. 2026. https://www.buloketimes.com/2026/ ↩︎
  12. The Border Watch archive page doesn’t allow for perma linking of this change. At time of writing the switch can be observed on page 7. https://borderwatch.com.au/digital-editions/the-border-watch/page/7/ ↩︎
  13. Village Voice. Inner North Issues. https://village-voice.com.au/inner-north-issues/ ↩︎
  14. Village Voice. Peninsula Issues. https://village-voice.com.au/peninsula-issues/ ↩︎
  15. New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News. 2024. Final print edition of the Derwent Valley Gazette. 26 June. https://newnorfolknews.com/2024/06/final-print-edition-of-the-derwent-valley-gazette/ ↩︎
  16. Dickson G. 2026. Q1/26 Data Changes. Public Interest Publishers Index. 1 April. https://gary-dickson.com/2026/04/01/pipi-q1-26-data-changes/ ↩︎
  17. Sunbury Life. https://sunburylife.au/ ↩︎
  18. Echo News. https://echo-news.com.au/ ↩︎