| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Celebrities or social media influencers | Individuals or personalities who have a significant impact on public opinion, trends, or behaviours, often through their influence on social media platforms or traditional media channels. |
| Community or special interest group | A group of people who share common interests, characteristics, or goals, and interact with one another online or offline to pursue shared interests or activities. |
| Control |
Control refers to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) (Schedule 1, Part 2) definition, that a person is in a position to exercise control of a company, broadcasting licence or associated newspaper, if the person meets one of the following:
The BSA establishes that ‘control’ covers various formal and informal arrangements, including trusts, agreements, and practices through which a person is in a position to exercise control of a company, broadcasting licence or newspaper. More than one person may be in a position to exercise control of a company, broadcasting licence or a newspaper. |
| Controller | A person in a position to exercise control over a news outlet. |
| Distrust | Refers to respondents saying they disagree or strongly disagree with the statement ‘I can trust most news most of the time’ (reported in the Digital News Report: Australia 2024). |
| Female | The Framework draws on multiple datasets that provide demographic breakdowns by sex and/or gender. In most cases, sex and gender are described using the categories ‘women’ and ‘men’ and/or ‘male’ and ‘female’. The ACMA acknowledges that this approach reinforces and relies on binary constructions of sex and gender that ignore and may make invisible those whose experience of sex and gender sit outside of these binaries, such as many intersex, transgender, and gender diverse people. For more information, see the News media in Australia: 2025 report. |
| Free-to-air catch-up/streaming (also known as broadcasting video on demand) | Internet services typically provided on smart TVs and free-to-air and subscription broadcasters’ websites. These services allow users to watch a selection of previously screened content on-demand. Examples include ABC iview, 10 Play and 7Plus for free-to-air programs, and Foxtel Go for subscription broadcasters. |
| Free-to-air TV | Broadcast television services where the signal (and therefore content) is delivered without charge to the viewer. Examples include channels 7, 9, 10, ABC, SBS, 9Go! and 7Mate. |
| Independent brand | A news brand that has not been identified as part of a network under the Framework. |
| Journalist | The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations’ definition of ‘Journalists and Other Writers’ was used. Data excludes the subcategories ‘Technical writer’ and ‘Copywriter’. Full definitions are available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
| Main platform | The platform that annual consumer survey respondents reported as their main source of news over the past 7 days (for respondents who accessed news via more than one platform in the past 7 days). |
| Male | The Framework draws on multiple datasets that provide demographic breakdowns by sex and/or gender. In most cases, sex and gender are described using the categories ‘women’ and ‘men’ and/or ‘male’ and ‘female’. The ACMA acknowledges that this approach reinforces and relies on binary constructions of sex and gender that ignore and may make invisible those whose experience of sex and gender sit outside of these binaries, such as many intersex, transgender, and gender diverse people. For more information, see the News media in Australia: 2025 report. |
| Metropolitan | Metropolitan refers to respondents of the ACMA annual consumer survey who live in a state or territory capital city. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Greater Capital City Statistical Area definitions.) |
| Network | A group of news outlets, spanning at least 2 news brands that share at least one owner and/or controller. For the Framework, each outlet is only assigned to one primary network. |
| Networked brand | A news brand that has been identified as being part of a network under the Framework. |
| News | Includes any factual reporting by journalists or other information on current events at either a local, regional, national, or international level (see also professional news). |
| News brand | A name used to publicly identify one or more news outlets. A company may operate multiple news brands, for example, News Corp Australia operates news brands including the Courier Mail, the Daily Telegraph and The Australian, each of which has multiple news outlets, including a print newspaper and a news website. |
| News outlet |
News outlet refers to a content distribution channel of a news brand, including:
|
| News website/app | A website or app designed for the specific purpose of publishing professionally produced news content. Examples include news.com.au and the ABC News website. |
| Official/Reputable source | Reliable and credible sources of information, data, or news content from authoritative organisations, government agencies, academic institutions, reputable media outlets or subject matter experts. |
| Online intermediaries | Services that operate between news producers and consumers, including news aggregators/apps, search engines, and social media/communication websites/apps. |
| Online news aggregator/app | Online platform or software device that collects news stories and other information as it is published and organises it in in a specific manner (usually in one location) for easy viewing. Examples include Apple News and Microsoft Network News. |
| Owner | Owner refers to the legal person or entity responsible for ensuring the content of a news outlet complies with relevant professional standards. |
| Platform |
The delivery mechanism for news content, for example, free-to-air TV, subscription/pay TV, news websites/apps, and podcasts. In this report, digital platforms and services that provide access to other news outlets’ content, such as search engines, news aggregators, and social media, are referred to as online intermediaries. |
| Podcast | Digital audio content made available for download or streaming via the internet. Examples include From The Newsroom and 7am. |
| Print newspaper | Printed publications containing news articles, features, editorials, and advertisements, usually distributed daily or weekly to subscribers or sold at newsstands, covering local, national, and international news and topics. Examples include the Herald Sun and The Australian. |
| Professional news | News produced by a news outlet that adheres to professional standards, is editorially independent, operates predominantly in Australia and produces publicly available news content. |
| Professionally produced news media outlets | Established media organisations, publishers, or news agencies that produce and disseminate news content through various media channels and adhere to journalistic standards, ethics, and practices. |
| Radio (AM/FM/DAB+) | Broadcast radio over an AM, FM or DAB+ service, does not include listening to the radio via the internet/app or podcasts. Examples include ABC News Radio and 3AW. |
| Radio via the internet /app | Audio content accessible over the internet, allowing users to listen to radio stations, programs, or channels online via websites, apps, or internet radio platforms. Examples include SBS Audio (website), ABC Listen (app) and iHeart (internet radio platform). |
| Regional | Regional refers to respondents of the ACMA annual consumer survey who live in locations outside a state or territory capital city. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Greater Capital City Statistical Area definitions.) |
| Remoteness classes |
Five classes of relative geographic remoteness across Australia:
More information about the Remoteness Areas is available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
| Search engine | Website or app that uses algorithms to allow users to search for and access information on the internet. Examples include Google and Duck Duck Go. |
| Share of attention | An estimate of relative attention given to a news outlet, brand or platform. It is first calculated at the individual level before being aggregated across all users, to produce an overall share of attention for each news source. |
| Social media/communications website/app | Websites and applications that enable users to create, share and consume content online and enable people to communicate and participate in social networking. Examples include Facebook and WhatsApp. |
| Subscription/pay TV | Television services provided on a subscription basis, offering a wide range of channels, programs, and content packages to subscribers in exchange for a monthly fee, delivered via cable, satellite, IPTV or internet streaming. For example, Foxtel. |
| Trust | ‘Trust’ refers to respondents saying they agree or strongly agree with the statement ‘I can trust most news most of the time’ (reported in the Digital News Report: Australia 2024). |
| Trusted professionals | Reputable and reliable experts, professionals, or authorities in their respective fields, recognised for their knowledge, expertise, integrity, and ethical standards, often consulted for advice, guidance, or services by individuals, businesses or organisations. |
