Australian 126-Year-Old Newspaper Goes Under

Broken Hill’s only newspaper has closed after almost 130 years of operation in a major blow to the outback New South Wales (NSW) community.

The Barrier Truth’s board told staff the union-run bi-weekly paper would shut down as its final edition went to press.

Barrier Industrial Council president and newspaper board chair Roslyn Ferry told AAP the masthead was closed until further notice, with the board planning to seek legal and financial support.

“It probably comes as no surprise that maintaining operations, particularly over the past 12 months, has been extremely challenging,” Ms. Ferry said in a statement.

Jason Irvine—one of two remaining full-time journalists at the paper—had just finished two interviews and lined up photos with sources when he was told about midday on April 17 he no longer had a job because of cashflow problems.

One of his interviews was with former local police officer Ben Clavel, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and set to compete in an overseas sporting competition to raise money for charity.

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The other was with a staffer at Central Darling Shire Council for a story about the weir at Wilcannia, about 200 kilometres east of Broken Hill.

When Irvine moved from Melbourne to the outback city to join the Barrier Truth in October 2022, he was one of five journalists in the newsroom.

“It’s always sort of been on edge, I feel, for the past six months at least ... we just weren’t sure where it was heading,” Mr. Irvine told AAP.

“In saying that, it still came as a sudden shock. There’s a lot of stories now that will go untold and that’s really sad for the community.

“I’ve been really proud to contribute and shape the paper (into what) it became.”

Management did what they could to bring the Barrier Truth back to its former glory, Mr. Irvine said.

The paper also employed an on-site production manager, graphic designer, an advertising manager, three other people in the advertising team and two people in its front office. It also published work from contributors.

Former general manager Robin Sellick told AAP the Barrier Truth’s demise was sad for the mining town of about 18,000 people.

The loss of the paper meant the ABC was the only remaining news service in Broken Hill after the outback city lost its only TV news bulletin in April 2023.

“I don’t think the community will have a full understanding of what the loss will mean for them,” Mr. Sellick said.

“There’s no replacement ... it’s a big loss.”

The Barrier Truth was no stranger to adversity after the community fought to save it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, general manager Gavin Schmidt told ABC’s Australian Story the newspaper was bleeding up to $10,000 (US$6,400) a day and a decision had to be made whether to run the business into the ground or cease production immediately.

Staff voted to shut down the paper.

A local mining executive came to the rescue and the Barrier Truth was saved, but on April 17 staff were again told they no longer had jobs.

The Barrier Truth was established in 1898 and was one of the few remaining independent newspapers in Australia.