AAP to receive $15 million in federal funding from 2021 budget

A funding pledge of $15 million in the federal government’s budget is a welcome endorsement of the role Australian Associated Press (AAP), the nation’s only independent newswire, plays as a piece of democratic infrastructure.

AAP provides content to hundreds of newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations, many of which are in regional areas and could not each send a journalist and photographer to cover what happens in the nation’s capital cities, in courtrooms or on sporting fields. AAP operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, delivering articles to a domestic and global audience.

"Most people only know AAP as a small acronym beneath a photo or beside an article, but without the newswire there would be a significant void in Australia's news offering," AAP CEO Emma Cowdroy (pictured) said.

The majority of global AAP counterparts are able to rely on government support to supplement their commercial and philanthropic funding as they work towards a sustainable future. Since its near closure by previous shareholders, AAP has become a not-for-profit operation with support from those who recognise the need to preserve its critical role as a trusted supplier of fact-based news, without commercial or political influence.

“In the context of AAP’s exclusion from the Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, this grant will help underpin the AAP newswire on its path to sustainability. The AAP newswire is an essential part of our democratic infrastructure. Supporting the national newswire means supporting the industry as a whole,” Cowdroy said.

By supporting AAP, the government is supporting a pillar of Australia’s media diversity, AAP chair Jonty Low said. 

“On behalf of all of AAP’s staff, the hundreds of news outlets that rely on our stories and images and the millions of people who consume it each week, I would like to warmly thank prime minister Scott Morrison and communications minister Paul Fletcher.”