Platform Bargaining, Journalism Sustainability, and Democratic Communication: AComparative Study of Australia and Canada

Abstract

This article examines how platform bargaining policies reshape journalism sustainability, media institutional
power, public-interest communication, and democratic development through a comparative case study of
Australia and Canada. It argues that news bargaining regulation has become a critical field of communication
governance because digital platforms now control advertising markets, audience distribution, news visibility,
and public access to journalistic information. Drawing on comparative media systems theory, platform
governance, political economy of communication, journalism studies, and institutional policy analysis, the
article compares Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code with Canada’s Online News Act. Empirically, the
study analyzes legislation, regulatory documents, parliamentary materials, platform responses, journalismindustry reports, Reuters Institute news-use data, OECD digital-policy frameworks, and public institutional
records. The findings indicate that Australia’s model initially produced commercial agreements between
platforms and news organizations through regulatory threat, whereas Canada’s model generated a more
formalized statutory bargaining system but also triggered platform resistance, particularly Meta’s blocking of
news availability. The comparison reveals that platform bargaining influences democratic communication
through four mechanisms: bargaining power redistribution, journalism revenue stabilization, platform
visibility control, and institutional legitimacy. The article contributes to Communication and Media Studies
by conceptualizing platform bargaining as a form of media governance that links communication policy,
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journalism sustainability, platform accountability, and democratic development.