Welcome to an audio-led edition of Unmade.
Today’s edition features the story of the first ten years of The Guardian Australia in the accompanying podcast. Below, there’s also an update on a mixed day for The Unmade Index including yet another new low for Southern Cross Austereo.
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The legacy of The Guardian Australia’s first decade
Saturday marks the tenth anniversary of The Guardian launching in Australia.
In today’s Unmade podcast, Tim Burrowes talks to editor Lenore Taylor and managing director Dan Stinton about how The Guardian found its place within the Australian media establishment after arriving in May 2013.
Using a loan from philanthropist Graeme Wood, the publication assembled a team of some of the country’s best journalists, many of whom were refugees from Fairfax Media following the mass redundancies of 2012.
Taylor says that the tenth anniversary has inspired a deluge of gratitude from readers in her inbox with many arguing that The Guardian has indeed fulfilled a “much needed” niche in Australia’s media landscape.
Stinton, who will shortly move to the Perth-based tech platform Health Engine after five years running the business side of the operation, explains the Guardian’s funding model. The company’s ‘diversified’ revenue - which has almost tripled in the last three years - is generated through a combination of reader support (which has been a ‘rocketship’ for the publication) and other philanthropic funding, digital advertising, and licensing revenue, via the News Media Bargaining Code.
Taylor recalls former Fairfax Media boss Greg Hywood’s dismissal of the launch, asserting that there would only ever be two Australian news brands that would matter - Fairfax and News Corp.
The interview also covers some of the highlights of The Guardian’s reporting, including its ‘Life on the Breadline’ series which focused on Australians living in poverty, and the Snowden spying revelations. Taylor also points to the discovery of new writing talent including columnists like Van Badham and Greg Jericho.
She also addresses the topic of transexual politics, which has divided the newsroom of The Guardian’s head office in the UK.
According to Ipsos, The Guardian is currently Australia’s sixth biggest digital news brand.
The podcast was recorded in The Guardian’s Sydney studio and edited by Abe’s Audio.
The interview was recorded before yesterday’s apology from The Guardian after staff in the UK office used the phrase “gone walkabout” to describe the launch.
Flashback ten years to The Guardian Australia’s launch editor Katherine Viner in conversation with Tim Burrowes back in 2013:
A slip on the Unmade Index
Seja Al Zaidi writes:
The Unmade Index trended downwards yesterday on a day with twice as many listed media and marketing stocks falling, compared to those on the up.
The Index fell 0.96% to land at 634.3 points.
The Craig Hutchison-led Sports Entertainment Group, had the biggest drop on the Index yesterday, its share price falling 6.82%.
Printing and marketing group IVE Group and broadcaster Southern Cross Media also had down days, experiencing a 3.96% and 3.85% fall respectively. SCA’s closing 75c share price is another all time low for the company.
Communications agency holding group Enero was the biggest winner on the Index yesterday, climbing 2.12% in share price. ARN Media had a 0.96% rise.
Unmade will be back with another analytical update tomorrow.
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Ten years of The Guardian in Australia: Finding a niche next to Fairfax and News Corp