THE Perth Voice has discovered more Victorian bias in the allocation of federal government small media development funds.

As reported last week most of the $3.6 million stage one, first round innovation fund for small publishers went to Victoria, the Senate electorate of federal communications minister Mitch Fifield (‘Big Victorian bias in media funding’, Perth Voice).

Now the Voice can report that 11 of the 14 successful Victorian applicants for the innovation fund were also funded for cadet journalists.

Not one successful applicant was from West Australia.

Pork-barrelling

A common link among many of the the winners of both grants is the Country Press Association which does not operate in WA.

As yet, there’s not been one peep about this ministerial ‘pork-barrelling’ from Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited, Channel 9 (the new owner of Fairfax newspapers including the Financial Review), nor any other mainstream media, all beneficiaries of the 2017 changes to the cross media ownership laws. And neither has there been any report from the ABC.

COMMENT by ANDREW SMITH