Independent journalism finds its moment
With extreme views populating mainstream media and increased use of generative AI within once respected news media outlets and platforms, how do we make sense of the world? Who is left to hold power to account, where do we find the kind of journalism that informed as well as critiqued the events shaping our lives and that of future generations?
by Andrew Garton
Mar 8, 2026
Australia has had a long tradition of both establishing the means and supporting independent media. Though the means and mechanisms of support have changed, the tradition has not. In fact, it is flourishing. It is also flourishing abroad, creating far more means to be informed and engaged in both local and global concerns.
We are seeing the rise of an independent media phenomenon, largely driven by experienced journalists and educated commentators who have either left their main stream publishers or never entertained such pursuits at all.
I have compiled some of the resources I have come to trust and find both solace and a sense of personal empowerment, a far more meaningful space to be in than outrage and despair. Though it may be difficult to fully rid ourselves of despair, there is strength in knowing we can draw on the courage and experience of the following individuals and platforms.
These are recommendations based on what I can comprehensively read weekly. There are many more. You will find them listed in a weekly rundown of essential reading from the TrueNorth Weekday Independent News Update. I have no personal stake in any of these platforms and journalists.
News and current affairs
Australian independent journalism is growing at a pace, no-more so than recent years as major media outlets report talking points rather than engage in holding power to account. Our once trusted media has all but abandoned the must fundamental of journalistic principles. The following selection represents the journalism I have come to rely on and when feasible, support through subscriptions and posts such as this.
The shot
The Shot describes itself as priding “...itself on providing witty yet thoughtful news, opinion and analysis pieces that are ‘Profane and Profound’, focusing on the oddly unique perspective of telling stories from the perspective of regular people stuck in an awful system looking for hope. Writers to look out for include Ronni Salt and Dave Milner.
They also produce a weekly interview panel, The Sunday Shot, comprised of guest journalists and some of Australia’s most essential commentators and thinkers, streamed on YouTube at 9am AEDT every Sunday and available as a podcast. Search for The Sunday Shot on your podcast app of choice.
>> The Shot
Michael West Media
Michael West Media describes itself as “...an independent media publisher covering the rising power of corporations over democracy.” They are “...non-partisan, do not take advertising and are funded by readers. Our investigations focus on big business, particularly multinational tax-avoiders, financial markets and the banking and energy sectors.”
They also produce The West Report published weekly on YouTube.
Pearls and Irritations
Published by John Menadue since 2012, Pearls and Irritations is largely focused on public police. It describes itself as “...a vehicle for analysis, clarification, fresh interpretations, policy proposals, reviews and other contributions to promote discussion on important public issues.”
Lamestream
Lamestream describes itself as “...an independent news publication tackling the crisis in media.” Their “...podcasts and newsletters cover how the media shapes news, culture, politics and current affairs, and how the industry's transformation is reshaping the world we live in.”
Hosted by Osman Faruqi and Scott Mitchell, two journalists who have worked with many news and media outlets, from the ABC to the Sydney Morning Herald. They are creating, in addition to all of the above, some of the most critical and important independent media platforms in Australia.
>> Lamestream
Independent Australia
Independent Australia describes itself as “… a progressive journal, supporting freedom and justice for individuals, and getting to the truth. IA opposes governments of the country beholden to vested interests. Our main editorial focus is on federal politics, democratic government, the environment, human rights, Australian identity, Indigenous issues, world affairs, economics, finance, health, law and the justice system.”
Amy Remeikis
Amy is not only the Chief Political Analyst of The Australia Institute, she writes for the independent publisher, The NewDaily. Clear-eyed and essential reading for all things politics in Australia.
>> Amy Remeikis's profile on The Newdaily
Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin takes on some of the toughest local and international events impacting us all. She and her husband, Tim Foley, produce a single article every day on an astonishing number of platforms. Their reach is extraordinary. Caitlin also publishes moving reflections in poetry, painting and a monthly hard-copy publication.
Tim Dunlop
Tim describes himself as “a writer based in Melbourne and the author of four books on media, politics and the future of work.” He is also known for his “doctoral work was on citizenship and deliberative democracy.” Tim was a frequent contributor to the ABC’s The Drum. I have found him an essential critic of all things governance in Australia, particularly when it comes to the power plays in Canberra and the people we have elected to represent and lead us.
Others...
There are many more independent journalists and media platforms doing impressive work. The few I follow on socials or subscribe to include Deepcut News, Emma Shortis, Ketan Joshi (all things climate and energy) Jeff Sparrow, Rick Morton, The Saturday Paper and The Australia Institute, the podcasts 7AM, This Machine Kills, We Used to the Journos, Serious Danger, Australia Matters and Burning Platforms.
International news and current affairs
The Intercept
Publishing since 2014, The Intercept describes itself as investigating “...powerful individuals and institutions to expose corruption and injustice.” They see “...journalism as an instrument of civic action.” They make the point that they are “...here to change the world, not just describe it.”
Kyiv Independent
Publishing since 2021, the Kyiv Independent was founded by a group of journalists who had been laid off from the Kyiv Post when the owner tried to take over the newsroom and realign its mission. The Kyiv Independent does not stray from calling out the problems within Ukraine as it does describing and reporting on the war waged against it by Russia. They also report on Eastern European issues.
Ian Dunt
Many Australians will know Ian from his weekly contributions to the ABC Radio National program, Late Night Live. He writes on numerous geopolitical issues with an emphasis on UK and EU politics and produces the hugely information podcast, Origin Story, with writer Dorian Lynskey.
Timothy Garton-Ash
Timothy (unrelated) writes about the geopolitics of the European Union and more specifically, Ukraine. His two books, Free Speech – ten principles for a connected world (2017) and Homelands – a personal history of Europe (2024), I can’t recommend highly enough.
>> Timothy Garton-Ash's website
Emergence Magazine
It’s important to keep one’s information intake balanced. As such, the stories published by Emergence Magazine ensure I remain connected to one of my first loves, the non-human world. They also produce a weekly podcast that I listen to from time to time.
Reasons to be Cheerful
Founded by musician and producer David Byrne, Reasons to be Cheerful covers stories everyone ought to. It provides insights into all manner of works dealing with innovation in farming, energy, urban planning, building and design, civic culture and more. It’s an uplift and reminds us that there is important, valuable and inspired work going on in communities the world over.
Tech and media ecology
So much of our lives are mediated by one form of technology or another. We are saturated by streams, socials, outrage and apps and devices that compete for our attention. As many of us are wise to these perilous tactics, we are learning how to use tech in far more meaningful and creative ways. Some of the journalists and media outlets helping us make sense of these trends and the pervasive impact tech is having on us have become essential reading and listening to both inform and maintain my well-being.
404 Media
The small crew of journalists that created 404 Media have made more impact since going independent, I would argue, than when they were employed by various publishers. Jointly they are irrepressible, courageous and on their podcast, voices I have befriended over recent years. Essential reading and listening.
>> 404 Media
Cameron Wilson
Cameron investigates tech issues and writes for both Crikey and his own newsletter, The Sizzle. He also co-authored Conspiracy Nation - exploring the dangerous world of Australian conspiracy theories with Ariel Bogle. Ariel is an investigative journalist for The Guardian focusing on tech issues.
The Weekly Cybers
A weekly newsletter published by Australian freelance media and communications journalist, Stilgherrian.
>> The Weekly Cybers newsletter
Cory Doctorow
Cory is a prolific writer in both fiction and non-fiction genres, specifically dealing in tech and all its optimism and failures. I have read just about all of his books, fiction and non-fiction. His writing on tech is recommended reading for the Media Ecology unit I teach at Swinburne University. Cory has also been online nearly as long as I have and like Douglas Rushkoff, whom I list below, brings that historical perspective into his work.
Paris Marx
Paris is publishing some of the most important and critical writing on tech and related issues. I got to know of his work through his outstanding podcast, Tech Won’t Save Us.
Tech Won’t Save Us (podcast)
Paris Marx’s long-running podcast. The podcast is based on interviews focusing in key technology issues that impact us all. Every so often he will delve into a single topic resulting in a specialised series unpacking, for instance, the extraordinary influence and hold Elon Musk has on so many of our lives.
Molly White
Molly is one of the most invaluable writers in all things tech, specifically cryptocurrencies and all things crypto which she documents on Web 3 is Going Just Great. Her newsletter, Citation Needed is essential reading. She brings enthusiasm for tech, specifically the web, into her critical observations. She’s also a great advocate for Wikipedia where she had been “an administrator and functionary, and previously served three terms on the Arbitration Committee” since 2007.
Brian Merchant’s Blood in the Machine
Brian is one of the few investigative tech journalists that had begun his career with big publishing houses and is now supporting himself through his newsletters and commissioned articles. He has valuable insights and is as fearless as all of the above. His book, Blood in the Machine - The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech (2023), is also essential reading.
Even though Brian publishes on Substack, he has enabled an RSS feed for much of his public, subscription-free readers. See below for info about RSS.
>> Blood in the Machine substack
Pivot to AI
Just as Molly keeps track of crypto, so too does Australian journalist David Gerard on all things artificial intelligence.
>> Pivot to AI
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas pretty much wrote the book on media ecology, or rather, brought the work of the late Neil Postman into the 20th and 21st centuries alongside the emergence and growth of the internet. I’ve read pretty much all of Douglas’s books and from time to time listen to his podcast, Team Human. Douglas’s writing and podcast interviews can ground me, reminding me why we began this thing we call the internet in the first place and why connection, not merely wires and wireless, within you and I is the most important relationship we must claim and nurture and allow to grow in all its beautiful manifestations.
Others...
There are many other writers and commentators I read, specifically those who deal with generative AI and its relationship to big tech, white supremacy and eugenics! They include Joan Westernberg, Australian student of political economy of information technology, Jathan Sadowski, author of The Mechanic and The Luddite – a ruthless criticism of technology and capitalism (2025), German Sociotechnologist, tante, Ed Zitron, Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, authors of The AI Con (2025), founder of The Distributed AI Research Institute, Timnit Gebru, and scholar Émile P. Torres. Timnit and Émile co-authored The TESCREAL bundle – Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence (2023).
Support independent media
It should go without saying that all these writers and publishers rely on subscriptions to keep themselves not only afloat, but able to research and sometimes travel to cover the stories we read. Some ensure all their work is available regardless of subscription rates or paywalls and others, such as Molly White, have a pay what you can afford, if you can, model.
How do I keep up with all of this?
Most of the above can be read from an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed reader from which you can curate your own personal newspaper. This means you don’t have to scroll through socials. Install a feed reader app or use a browser that supports RSS aggregation such as the European owned Vivaldi.
Don’t know what RSS is? Here’s an excellent introduction to this ancient internet feature that we use everyday without knowing it.
Others publish on Substack, a platform known to generate income from neo-Nazis newsletters. Many writers have abandoned Substack for Ghost, Beehive or setup newsletter publishing platforms on their own web and mail servers.
But truly, do I keep on top of all of these writers and publishers? No. I don’t. But I do have a broad palate of material to choose from should I need to understand the brutal idiocy and violence brought to bare on all human and non-human life on planet Earth and why those we elect to represent us, fail again and again to do so. We are, day by day, lied to and betrayed. But we are not alone in our grievances and neither are we isolated from the many who do what ever it takes to course correct.
4 responses to “Independent journalism finds its moment”
-
Friendly Jordies. However they have been through so much for speaking the truth (Shanks had his house fire bombed twice) that they may be twice shy to take on any new exposé.
-
Thanks for the recommendation. I haven’t tuned into any of his work for a couple of years now. Not since his hate of The Greens, regardless what they say or do, persisted without reason. It’s of course good to hold everyone up to scrutiny but his regard for The Greens is divisive and unreasonable.
-
-
Great to see all these writers gathered in one place. Thank you for taking the time to call them in. I am saddened an appalled that Substack is, in part, funded by neo-Nazi newsletters. It seems like as soon as someone sets up a space away from the division and terror of everyday media/social media these pernicious weevils seem to arrive. Keep up your good work, Andrew!
-
Thanks. The issue with Substack has been a concern for some years. It’s only recently made mainstream media, such as The Guardian. There has been an exodus of independent journalists off Substack since 2022.
-
Leave a Reply to Neil Grant Cancel reply