In a media landscape increasingly shaped by algorithmic feeds, misinformation, and declining trust, the role of independent, community-rooted journalism has never been more vital. That’s why the Menzies Leadership Foundation is proud to support the Local and Independent News Association (LINA) through a matched funding contribution to their 2025 national fundraising initiative.
LINA represents a growing network of over 170 local newsrooms, many of them emerging in Australia’s so-called “news deserts” providing critical information in moments of crisis, environmental upheaval, elections and local civic debate. These outlets are often the first responders in public discourse, shining a light on stories that would otherwise go untold.
The Foundation’s support will commission around 25 original pieces of journalism by both emerging and established writers. More than just content, this initiative is about capability: participating newsrooms are also being equipped with the tools and training to run digital fundraising campaigns and develop long-term, reader-supported revenue models. It’s a step toward building resilience in an industry undergoing profound transformation.
“Leadership today must show up in places we haven’t always thought to look. Local newsrooms are not only informing communities—they are building the conditions for trust, accountability, and civic resilience. By supporting LINA, we’re investing in the leadership that sustains democracy at its most immediate and human level.” — Liz Gillies, CEO, Menzies Leadership Foundation
This collaboration speaks directly to the Foundation’s commitment to supporting leadership that protects and renews the systems underpinning our democracy. Journalism is one of those systems, an essential one. At its best, it challenges power, informs citizens and holds a mirror up to society. We believe that leadership is not just found in boardrooms or parliaments, it’s also found in small-town editors, freelance writers and citizen contributors – those who take responsibility for telling the truth, even when the structures to support them are fragile and so, supporting LINA is, in part, about strengthening those structures.
As platforms shift and policy frameworks evolve, we must continue to back those who are doing the difficult work of rebuilding trust from the ground up. Independent journalism is a form of leadership, and leadership, now more than ever, must be local, inclusive and resilient.
Independent journalism reminds us that leadership isn’t always in boardrooms — sometimes it’s in newsrooms, asking hard questions and telling stories that matter.
Through our support of LINA, we’re investing in local, inclusive, and resilient leadership — the kind that strengthens democracy from the ground up.
Because rebuilding trust takes more than good intentions. It takes action.
So what kind of leadership are we choosing to elevate — and where will it lead us?
