Social media giant Meta's withdrawal of funding for Australian news providers and the disappearance of state and federal government advertising in regional newspapers have been cited as factors in media company ACM's decision to stop publishing a number of community newspapers in NSW.
The Inverell Times, Moree Champion, Tenterfield Star, Glen Innes Examiner and Country Leader in the state's New England and north-west, the Dungog Chronicle and Gloucester Advocate between the Hunter Valley and the Barrington Coast and the Milton-Ulladulla Times on the South Coast will discontinue their weekly printed editions from next month.
Staff of the publications were briefed on the proposal on Wednesday.
"Given the long and proud histories of these mastheads, this has been a difficult decision," ACM managing director Tony Kendall said.
"Every title in the ACM portfolio has been affected by Meta's decision to withdraw its funding for the trusted local news that Australian social media users rightly expect to see in their feeds," he said.
"Our newspapers also face reduced revenue from display advertising, including from state and federal governments, classifieds and print circulation. Against this, inflation is driving significant cost increases across the board. Production and distribution costs are particularly challenging."
In a note to ACM staff, Mr Kendall said the company was not the only media business facing difficulties.
"Without governments restoring a fair share of their advertising budgets to regional newspapers - the elegant solution our industry has been calling for - we must make prudent decisions that support the continued sustainability of our local journalism and the digital future of our business," he said.
While the eight NSW papers were "no longer operating sustainably", their websites would be retained to provide audiences with continued access to the news and sport coverage of their regional cluster, as well as the ACM network's national news, sport and comment content.
Consultation with affected staff has commenced, with editorial and sales redundancies expected if redeployment opportunities cannot be identified.
"They have served their communities well and I thank each and every one of them for their dedication and hard work," Mr Kendall said.
Next month's changes follow the publication on August 22 of the final editions of the Blayney Chronicle and Oberon Review newspapers in the NSW central-west.
Mr Kendall said ACM would continue reviewing its portfolio and costs to "ensure the sustainability of our publications and our local news coverage".
