This paper identifies various issues associated with the increase in direct public funding of news media across Australasia. We conduct a comparative analysis of outcomes from two Trans-Tasman public interest journalism funds: the Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) in New Zealand and the Public Interest News Gathering Fund in Australia (PING). By investigating the allocation of funding, the paper identifies risks and unintended consequences arising from the direct public funding of private media. It also raises issues that policymakers need to address when drafting media policies in the future as government support can lead to negative outcomes. While a substantial proportion of the public money of the two funds was aimed at retaining newsroom roles, redundancies and newsroom closures have continued, highlighting the limitations of these specific government interventions.