The latest editorial in the New Matilda digest, which you can sign up for (free) here.
It’s always good in business, I’m told, to emphasise the difference between you and your competitors.
Thus, a fortnight ago, New Matilda published a lengthy investigation which alleged that Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham sexually assaulted a former staffer in 2011. At the same time, Fairfax media published a story that complained Greens MP David Shoebridge’s wife had an expensive house.
Last weekend, we also published a lengthy investigation into human rights abuses in West Papua, after sending UK Journalist of the Year Michael Gillard there in March (and again in June), posing as a doctor. Journalists are not allowed in the region. They can be jailed, or worse. We helped financed Michael’s trip with $1,000 prizemoney we won in the United States earlier this year (the Andrew Schneider Memorial Award) for a previous investigation by Michael which revealed a Kazakhstan absestos company was involved in an international spying ring targetting anti-asbestos activists.
Correspondingly, also over the weekend, Fairfax published its latest Luxury magazine, which told you where to find good pearls, and how to buy a Tesla.
If you want independent media that invests its resources into stories that matter, that focus on corporate greed and human rights abuses that don’t include not having fast access to Chanel perfume and polo, then you can start by supporting New Matilda. If you haven’t already, you can subscribe here for $6 a month. Admittedly that’s $2 a month more than it will cost to buy one copy of the Financial Review’s Luxury magazine, but it’s still pretty cheap for campaigning journalism.
In other news, Dr Lissa Johnson’s 5,000 word demolition of modern politics is a ‘tour de force’ when it comes to writing and researching. Helen Razer explains why Julian Assange matters. Oh, and we started a podcast.
Chat to you later in the week. And keep an eye out for a stunning new development in an ongoing New Matilda investigation, which we’ll have for you next week.
Chris Graham Publisher/Editor