R.I.P. New Matilda

Independent Australian weblication New Matilda has said it will be forced to close its virtual doors. Editor Marni Cordell made the announcement mid-morning on Friday 27 May in her piece Curtains for New Matilda. Within hours, more than a hundred comments had been posted on newmatilda.com indicating the depth and breadth of support and appreciation for the journal.

Cordell highlighted finances as the main reason for setting a final deadline of 25 June. Even with a skeleton paid staff of four and a half, and writers on very modest payments, the additional costs of running the ‘zine have outflanked any ad revenue.

Cordell said her main hope is for an investor in shining armour, with no wish to interfere in the journal’s independence or use it as a soapbox, to come to the rescue. According to Cordell, the current owner – characterized by Crikey.com as “Gold Coast businessman Duncan Turpie” – has been ideal in this regard, allowing the New Matilda to thrive as progressive and independent, without becoming the virtual property of any political party or movement.

According to Cordell, New Matilda’s daily’s growth – truncated though it may yet be – has come about thanks largely to fresh and barely discovered talent rising to the challenge of producing original and in-depth news, commentary, and satire. Regular contributors Ben Eltham and Ben Pobjie are two writers of the many who have made names for themselves writing for the ‘zine. Cordell herself counts more than 1100 contributors over the publication’s six years.

Even a return to the original subscription-based reader-funded model won’t significantly prolong Matilda’s life. If a silent and benevolent beneficiary was to emerge, it would need to be substantial and soon.

A particular source of sorrow for Cordell is that the webzine’s readership has been steadily growing despite its financial woes.  In an election year, when independent analysis is especially needed to decipher the avalanche of half-truths, outright lies and hyperbole it is particularly saddening that the Australian media landscape will be absent one of its most original voices.

Ironically, says Cordell, it was when laying out plans for New Matilda’s approach to the federal election – increasingly likely to be around October – that the imminent evaporation of operating capital became clear. Her intention now is to keep the high quality articles coming until the bitter end, and she hopes that the continued outpouring of reader support and protest might just encourage someone to offer the exact support needed to keep going.

See www.newmatilda.com for more

By Roger Hanney