Many Australian communities have seen the plug pulled on local news, with Australian Community Media (ACM) blaming on Covid-19 for shoving their struggling businesses over the edge.

However, in good news for local communities, Fleurieu Peninsula print media seems to have scraped through relatively unscathed, so far.

In mid April, ACM announced it would stop printing some of its non-daily mastheads until 29 June, and suspend print operations at four press sites including Murray Bridge, where its South Australian newspapers were printed.

Over the following days, South Australian staff were notified that only two weekly papers, The Times, based in Victor Harbor and The Islander, based on Kangaroo Island, would continue. A third paper, the biweekly Port Lincoln Times, also survived.

On the Coast, a monthly newspaper based around the McLaren Vale area, appears to be one of the newspapers impacted by the decision, but on the whole staff based on the Fleurieu Peninsula have been spared the worst of the cuts.

A long list of impacted South Australian newsrooms includes the Eyre Peninsula Tribune, the West Coast Sentinel, Whyalla News, The Transcontinental (Port Augusta), The Recorder (Port Pirie), the Northern Argus (Clare), The Herald (Tanunda), the Murray Valley Standard (Murray Bridge), the Naracoorte Herald, the Border Chronicle (Bordertown) and the Coastal Leader (Kingston).

Unfortunately, the financial strain is still showing, with The Times office behind Westpac Bank in Ocean Street, Victor Harbor, now permanently closed and its editorial, sales and classified booking staff asked to work from home. They had only moved into the office a few years ago, following the sale of the original historic Coral Street building, when ACM downsized its location after a major restructure cut staff numbers.

It’s not known how many more workers have lost their jobs.

The Islander’s office in Kingscote had already been closed for many months, with the masthead’s sole journalist already working from home or on site at local businesses, before COVID-19 hit.

When asked for an update on where the continuing newspapers are being printed, how many staff have lost their jobs and the future of ACM’s newspapers including On the Coast, ACM’s deputy state editor Sharon Hansen said: “ACM has nothing to add at this time beyond what has been published on our websites on this topic, and related issues.”

Please note, the author of this article, Brooke DuBois, is a former employee of ACM and The Times.

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