Australian Story: Nov 9

Monday’s Australian Story profiles the fight to save Broken Hill’s only newspaper, the Barrier Truth.

Five hundred kilometres from the nearest capital city, the outback mining town of Broken Hill is fighting to save its only newspaper.

For over a hundred years, the Barrier Truth has told the town’s stories, documented wars, droughts and the Depression, and recorded the lives and deaths of its citizens.

But when the pandemic struck, advertising revenue collapsed, forcing the newspaper to shut down.

Former Broken Hill resident and mining executive Robert Williamson heard about the community’s distress and raised enough money to restart the printing presses temporarily.

Now the newspaper’s union owners face a tough decision: should they sell their beloved paper to private interests?

Producer: Lisa McGregor

8pm Monday November 9 on ABC.