The telecommunications industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has opened applications for Australian news businesses wishing to register for the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code.
Online sources of news are slowly but surely overtaking traditional media like print newspapers and commercial free-to-air TV as the preferred medium for local news by Australians living in regional areas of the country.
Optus has launched an app developed by its parent company SingTel that it says helps smartphone and other gadget users manage the flood of news and the information overload they are confronted with on a daily basis.