So it goes like this. A few weeks back New Matilda ran stories about Abbott's daughter getting a free scholarship bla bla. We've all heard about that, it's old news now, has been in the media and everyone's made their comments about it in online discussion. The issue is no longer current as the discussion is over. People have made up their minds either way on it already and moved on.
Then the other day The Australian went bananas at New Matilda in some article that I can't be bothered to read as it's from The Australian/gov mouthpiece. Apparently The Australian accused New Matilda of being part of a plot to bring down Abbott, and said they had something to do with alleged hacking of something or other to find out the info they published.
New Matilda has denied this, accusing The Australian of being News Ltd.
In a long and detailed refutation, New Matilda has dissected The Australian article to it's gist. I've always loathed The Australian for it's bizarre adherence to far right gov talking points over the years. Indeed it's online reputation is a joke. I therefore extremely enjoyed this last bit of the New Matilda last article describing The Oz so poetically:
I think it’s time The Australian dumped the vendetta journalism. It’s see-through, it’s embarrassing, it’s ridiculous, it’s childish.
Under Chris Mitchell, The Australian’s journalism has become a ‘reds under the bed’ crusade, without any of the comedic value of McCarthyism. They see conspiracy in every corner, and any assault on ‘their boys’ (and, notably, they’re mostly boys) is to be met with the shrieking howl of outrage and smear.
The Australian is well known for this. I suspect that partly explains why the publication has operated at a financial loss for so long. But I’m certain it explains why New Matilda’s readership is growing exponentially, and The Australian’s is in serious decline.
So on that front. I’d like to personally thank Chris Mitchell and his team.
The only thing better than accusing New Matilda of being ‘involved in a plot’ to bring down a Prime Minister would be accusing New Matilda of being involved in a plot that did bring down a Prime Minister. And for the record, we’re not fussed whether it’s a Labor or Liberal one – our job, in stark contrast to those at The Australian, is to keep all the bastards honest.
Web traffic to New Matilda is setting new records. The subscriptions are rolling in (ok, they’re trickling in, damn you free online media business model!) and our site has nearly crashed from traffic on several occasions in the past 24 hours.
New Matilda struggles with profitability, and paying real wages and writers. We possibly always will. But we still lose $30 million less a year than the Australian does. We’re not a wealthy publication, but even if we were, we could never have afforded this level of free advertising. more
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