Local newspapers shutting down because of 'uneven playing field'

News Corp Australia Executive Chairman Michael Miller says there "may not be as much Australian media" following the coronavirus pandemic with big tech soaking up remaining advertising dollars and bearing no costs of the news they profit from. 

"From next week we won't be able to print and distribute 60" of the company's local newspapers which include the Quest Group in Queensland, the News Local Group in Sydney, the Leader Group in Melbourne, and the Messenger Group in Adelaide, Mr Miller said. 

He said these mastheads are "advertising-funded businesses" and as a result of the coronavirus outbreak their "key advertising streams are not active and are unable to open and operate". 

He told Sky News host Chris Kenny the current crisis has been a "tipping point" which many media companies in Australia have been warning of to all levels of government. 

"This field that we're playing on isn't an even one". 

Many local media organisations in Australia are suffering as a result of global tech giants which have not only claimed a large proportion of advertising revenue, but do so on the back of locally produced and locally funded publisher content. 

Mr Miller said the announcement of the closure of printed local papers across the country comes at quite an "ironic" time as the company has "never had a bigger audience in (its) history". 

"We've seen a real appetite for coronavirus information, but local coronavirus information … and that's something which the tech platforms haven't invested in". 

"They're benefiting from the content we've created over the past three weeks". 

"There may not be as much Australian media post-coronavirus," Mr Miller said.