Just 12 months after the federal government's Mandatory Media Bargaining Code came into play, the Western Plains App has been announced as one of 10 regional publications across the state to receive funding from the Facebook Australian News Fund, keeping local news kicking into the future.

The Code was designed to ensure Australian publishers received some recompense for the use of their journalistic content from global internet giants such as Google and Facebook.

Each of the platforms have taken their own road towards delivering new opportunities for news publishers and Facebook's Australian News Fund, managed by the Walkley Foundation, allows individual publishers to put forward proposals for projects they will implement over the coming twelve months.

As part of the funding, $5 million will be awarded in 2022 across 54 Australian organisations to the most promising public interest journalism and digital newsroom projects, and helping news across the Western Plains be thrust into the spotlight and throughout the region. 

The Western Plains App owner and editor Lee O’Connor said that the app was her way of making local news sustainable into the future, and ensuring that the stories are being told by people on the ground. 

“It’s designed for those who like to know what’s happening up the road as well as in their own backyard. I guess we've got a very strong small town and rural focus, and we want to let people tell their stories,” Mrs O’Connor said. "It's very exciting to be among the recipients in this historic first-round of funding."

Deemed ‘The Bush Boost project’, the funding for Western Plains App will be used to muster the human resources needed to gather news across the 11 local government areas and 40 communities the publication covers. 

“The Western Plains App is really only nine months old so people are still finding out about us…It’s a big region and all our towns have a lot in common as well as their own unique stories to deliver. We hope to share valuable information and some of those local surprises,” Mrs O’Connor said. "This grant will help us engage people on the ground."

Western Plains App owner and editor Lee O'Connor said it's exciting to have the innovation of the project recognised on such a large scale.

Despite its youth and being launched from Coonamble amid pandemic mayhem, the Western Plains App is welcoming around 100 new readers come on board each week and increasing interest from businesses, councils and event managers within the region who see advantages in being accessible in a mobile format seven days a week.

As the app grows, Mrs O’Connor hopes to collaborate with local newspapers and community-owned radio stations across the LGAs it covers.

“The Western Plains App doesn’t aim to replace local newspapers, it’s a different animal and an additional service but from what we’ve seen so far there’s a big appetite for it.”

"I really believe the App is another tool for our independent local newspapers to use to maintain their long term viability and relevance," Mrs O’Connor said

“It’s a hard road because we’re competing against the big national and international media companies who have a vested interest in spreading the rumour that local newspapers are dying, when really it’s their centralised business model that has failed." 

“The government has a lot to answer for in terms of where they direct their advertising dollar, especially in NSW, because they constantly spend their budgets with the big end of town and not with smaller region-based media businesses which continue to work hard for our communities,” she said. 

The Facebook Australian News Fund, created by Meta in partnership with the Walkley Foundation, was split into the $2.5 million Public Interest Journalism Fund and the $2.5 million Newsroom Sustainability Fund. 

Over three years, the fund will see a $15 million investment into local and regional newsrooms, and independent journalists who serve diverse Australian communities. 

Meta Australia News Partnerships Lead Andrew Hunter said that the investment was essential to create economically sustainable newsrooms that can continue to tell the stories of their communities. 

“As part of our investment in Australian news, we wanted to ensure that smaller, regional, rural and digital newsrooms were supported,” Mr Hunter said. 

Mrs O’Connor said that having the Western Plains App recognised for its innovation and deemed worthy by the grant panel was an exciting event. 

“This Facebook funding is a recognition that the media needs diverse voices and the fact that regional residents enjoy and value authentic local news relevant to them and their area, and that they want it in a range of different formats,” she said. 

"I'd also like to congratulate the Coonabarabran Times as the only other western publication to receive funding in this round. They are proof that your local newspaper publisher is more dynamic and innovative than many people think and definitely part of the new media mix into the future."