The Australian Associated Press (AAP) is asking the public for financial support following its relaunch as a not-for-profit.
On Monday, AAP announced it had launched a crowdfunding campaign.
“In these early weeks and months we need your help,” said AAP CEO Emma Cowdroy in a statement.
“When News and Nine in March announced their intention to close AAP, we were overwhelmed with offers of support and today we are giving people to the opportunity to assist.
“We have launched a crowdfunding campaign so that all Australians can help AAP deliver its commitment to media diversity.
“As our media customers struggle in the toughest advertising market in modern history and as the government struggles to find a way to support media competition and diversity, we are reaching out to all Australians for their help.”
AAP was formally sold to a consortium of impact investors and philanthropists last month.
Speaking to The Guardian, Cowdroy confirmed AAP 2.0 is already facing some challenges.
“It’s probably fair to say that things have been a lot tougher than we thought,” Cowdroy told the publication.
“It’s been hard for our customers and we end up with downstream pressure from our clients’ business.”
News Corp’s planned NCA NewsWire will not make things any easier for AAP.
Cowdroy acknowledged News Corp’s “well-funded” move “threatens AAP’s unique role supplying independent content”.
She also said crowdfunding is not a longterm solution for the newswire, as it plans its future.
“Of course, crowdfunding will only ever be one part of our income but we are prepared to try many things to get us through this tumultuous time,” she said.
“We want to diversify our revenue base as much as possible so we have a sustainable future. When you support AAP, you help protect an essential building block of media diversity.”