Inner West Council cancels advertising with City Hub

Opinion By WENDY BACON

Since earlier this year, City Hub’s print edition has carried a full page advertisement for the Inner West Council. But Council recently cancelled City Hub’s advertising contract with no warning and without providing reasons. So this month, we are publishing this editorial on the page set aside for the advertisement.

The cancellation of the advertising agreement is a blow as it would be for any small publication in the shrinking field of local journalism.  

City Hub is the only surviving regular local news outlet. It is free and independent and has been continually publishing since 1995. It is a member of the Australian Press Council. 

This lack of independent public interest journalism in inner Sydney is part of a broader crisis in local and regional news. This is why the Federal Department of Communications will be consulting on ways to measure and build localism and media diversity in 2023. 

Investigating transparency and accountability at the Inner West Council. 

The Inner West LGA is one of the most progressive in NSW. Last year’s local government elections delivered eight Labor Councillors, five Greens and two progressive independents. With a very narrow margin of votes, Labor controls the Council. But if you expected the Council to be more transparent and democratic than other Councils, you would be wrong.

This year, City Hub has published a series of investigative stories relevant to political accountability and transparency in the Inner West Local Government Area. We focussed on Mayor Darcy Byrne’s failure to pay rates and declare his debts as well as a failure to declare another property in his 2021 annual return. We also investigated how Councillor Zoi Tsardoulias’ used a little known legal loophole to get elected for the Marrickville ward by representing the Leichhardt Municipal Cafe on the non-residential electoral roll for lessee ratepayers. She has no connection with this tiny company.

These facts remained hidden until they were exposed by City Hub Both Councillors subsequently revealed the matters in their 2022 Annual Returns.   

In response to a letter from Greens’ spokesperson for Local Government and Corruption Jamie Parker, the Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman replied that she believes that Councillors should have a connection to their LGA and an amendment to close the loophole will be considered. 

City Hub does not claim that these stories are of national significance or that these issues are more important than others including planning, climate change, housing, food insecurity, racism or local arts. However effective transparency is part of the framework of democracy. Such stories are properly the stuff of local journalism. Indeed, if they are not covered by local journalists, they may not be covered at all. In the absence of coverage, they will remain hidden which is just what those who benefit from secrecy want to happen. 

In line with journalism ethics, City Hub  needed to give Councillors a chance to respond to questions. Mayor Byrne has not responded or even acknowledged the author’s questions. Councillor Tsardoulias did respond to initial questions with a comment but has ignored a number of questions. As the story developed we sent more questions to all Councillors. Greens and Independent Councillors did respond.The only acknowledgement that we got from any of 8 Labor Councillors was four words from Councillor Mark Drury. “This is not journalism”.

It’s the job of journalists to ask questions. People have the right not to answer them. Questions may be uncomfortable but in the author’s experience, a refusal to acknowledge receipt of questions or sending back derogatory comments is unusual for public officials or politicians.  

Those who fear truth often dismiss negative stories about them as fake news

City Hub sent the stories to two prominent reporters who are also journalism researchers.

Award-winning investigative journalist Bill Birnbauer, who was previously an Associate Professor of Journalism at Monash University and a founding member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, now runs Democracy Watchdogs. He responded: 

“Those who fear truth or have something to hide, often dismiss negative stories about them as fake news or ‘this is not journalism’ in the hope that gullible readers will simply gloss over the facts revealed.  Journalism comes in many forms today, some on new platforms and others on more traditional formats. But what is in common and important is that independently verified information be provided that is in the public interest and that gives readers information that is of use to them even if though they not have an immediate interest. Voters, including ratepayers, have a right to know about the interests behind those seeking to represent them. It is one of the jobs of journalists to dig into the backgrounds and interests of those seeking election so that anything that might influence the votes of those elected is publicly known. It’s vital for our democratic processes.” 

Deakin University Professor Matthew Ricketson, a journalist and academic who has written several books about journalism and was a member of the Finkelstein Independent Media Inquiry, acknowledged that he does not know the facts of what is happening at the Inner West Council,  But he said, ” The idea that scrutinising the council and what it is doing is “not journalism” is not only wrong-headed but appears on its face to be part of a broader trend, here and especially in the United States, of denying the validity of the role of watchdog or fourth estate journalism.”

“That [idea] is actually more disturbing, and I think in important ways, anti-democratic, than an elected official or their Communications person stonewalling or refusing to respond to questions. At least with the latter there is a sense they acknowledge the role of journalism,” he said.

City Hub also asked Inner West Watch facebook group and others on Facebook for their opinion. Not one person thought it wasn’t journalism or that the issues were inappropriate ones to raise. The artist Ian Milliss wrote, ” I guess his definition is that journalism should tell people what he wants them to think. Strange that if this is not journalism, he must by default define journalism as either essentially partisan or only concerned with matters other than local government. The obvious conclusion is of course that he does not want the issue discussed because it is not in his personal interest to have this too-smart-by-half trickery brought into the light.”

Author Inez Baranay wrote, “Of course this is journalism. It is bizarre to say it is not. I have seen the phrase “this is not journalism” used with more justification in recent times about, eg, Murdoch media bull**it. Why they’d say that to you, you might well question. I wish Mark Drury could be made to defend that allegation. It surely means something like it’s not something he wants investigated. Not only is it journalism, it is marked all the research skills and clarity of reporting characteristic of your work. … Possibly in general people think the important stuff happens at higher levels of government but seems to me important to promote and reveal local politics.” (The author discloses that she is a friend of Baranay and Milliss.)

Regarding research, these sort of investigations do require careful explanation and legal precision which takes time and can mean some find them a tedious read. It’s also why, local journalism, which these days is largely promotional and advertising driven, often fails to cover these stories even when reporters about them.

So why did Mark Drury write, ‘This is not journalism’ to describe something that is journalism? We suggest it is because he knows that it is journalism and  journalism can change public understanding and perceptions. 

Advertising chopped in secret hearing 

In April this year, City Hub entered into a contract to carry one page of Inner West Council advertising in each of its monthly editions for a year.  

On Friday December 2, a City Hub advertising staff member emailed the Inner West Council reminding them that artwork for this issue was due. Council sent back an email informing City Hub that Council was stopping hard copy advertising, which means that “last month’s City Hub is the final edition in which Inner West Council would have an information page”.  

On December 6, City Hub publisher Lawrence Gibbons wrote back to Council: “We view Council’s decision to cancel all ongoing advertising in the City Hub to be retaliatory. We believe that Council is seeking to terminate its advertising contract with City Hub because we have published a series of news pieces (that) have tirelessly shined a light” on the Mayor’s conduct. https://cityhubsydney.com.au/tag/wendy-bacon/. “We believe it is the duty of the Fourth Estate to scrutinise the conduct of publicly elected representatives”.  

Cancelling advertising is a well known type of informal censorship. The author remembers when the NSW Labor government and corporate crook Alan Bond threatened to withdraw advertising from Fairfax Media in anger at its coverage of political and corporate corruption in the 1980s.  

Subsequently City Hub discovered from Council minutes that at a meeting on November 8, Labor Councillors Mark Drury and Philippa Scott moved a motion to transfer all advertising to digital and Council newsletters. The report attached to the motion was confidential as was all the discussion. Digital advertising goes to News Corporation and newsletters may be useful but they are promotional and written from the perspective of Council managers.

Gibbons was given no access or opportunity to respond to the confidential report. Three Councillors Greens Kobi Shetty and Independents John Stamolis and Pauline Lockie voted against the motion. We do not know whether all Councillors were aware that City Hub’s advertising contract was being summarily terminated. According to Council minutes, the General Manager Peter Gainsford, who authorised the motion, considered that secrecy was justified because a public hearing risked interfering with the commercial interests of the person recommending it. The nature of that interest is not clear.  

It was only after City Hub prompted IWC to send its December advertising that anyone bothered to inform Gibbons that they had suddenly terminated his contract.

Gibbons wrote a second letter to Council asking for reasons why he was not notified that the item was on the agenda and why he was not given an opportunity to speak to the meeting. “I understand that this is standard Council policy,” he wrote. In response he received an email from General Manager Peter Gainsford stating, “your request has been forwarded to the relevant Council area who will contact you…” 

At the time of going to press, City Hub has received no answer to its letters.

City Hub will continue to pursue public interest stories relevant to the Inner West in 2023. 

Wendy Bacon is an investigative journalist who was previously Director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism.