‘A lot of stories that will now go untold’: outback NSW newspaper closes after almost 130 years

Apr 19, 2024

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

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 Wednesday 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.

The other was with a staffer at Central Darling shire council for a story about the weir at Wilcannia, about 200km east of Broken Hill.

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