Wyndham City Council has changed how it communicates, publishing some announcements as “news articles” instead of media releases without informing the public or local media. The shift has raised transparency concerns as Council has not explained what has changed, why, or who approved the move.
Wyndham City Council has altered its communication strategy without notice, quietly publishing some announcements as “news articles” instead of media releases and without telling local media the change had been made.
On 19 November, Wyndham TV identified that several items usually issued as media releases had instead been placed under a new “general news” category on Council’s website.
Wyndham TV received no prior notification of any change and sent a media inquiry asking:
* Why is council doing news articles rather than press releases for some topics?
* Which topics will be under news stories and which will be under media releases?
* Has council informed the public of this change before 19 November?
* Has there been an official media policy change?
* Whose decision was this?
Council did not answer those questions directly, instead providing the following statement:
To be attributed to a Wyndham City spokesperson:
“Wyndham City Council continues to provide the same information to our community, stakeholders and local media – we’re simply using our online news page more so that information is easy to find in one place.”
“Links to these stories will be circulated to local media.”
“Council routinely uses a mix of media releases and news stories on our website, supported by social media and direct briefings where appropriate.”
Council did not clarify what content qualifies as a media release compared to a news story, whether an official policy change has taken place, who made the decision, or whether any documentation exists.
Since Wyndham TV’s inquiry, Council has also moved several items — including the Truganina pedestrian bridges announcement — from the “general news” category back into its media releases section. No explanation has been provided for the reclassification.
The sudden shift in approach has raised concern among local media and transparency observers. Council is a government authority, not a media outlet, and producing government-written news-style content without clearly outlining the criteria or notifying the public might be perceived by some as blurring the line between communication and narrative control.
Without an explanation of what has changed, why it has changed and who authorised it, the move risks weakening trust between Council, the media and the Wyndham community.
At a time when local news providers rely on consistent and transparent access to information from government, the absence of public notification and the lack of answers to basic questions leaves key issues unresolved.
Wyndham TV makes no allegation of wrongdoing by Wyndham City Council, but is reporting on an unannounced change that was made.
