Neighbourhood Paper founder Jonathan Samway is remaining optimistic about the future of the publication, despite a pause being placed on its print and a disappointing 2017-18 financial year.
Moth Projects, Samway’s production company that handles the publication of Neighbourhood, is working with an administrator to maintain the business while it looks for investors.
It was misreported yesterday in other trade press publications that the business had entered liquidation - but Samway tells AdNews the business has not reached that stage just yet.
The launch year of the publication in 2017 proved hard for Neighbourhood and it's currently exploring the prospect of a buyer and/or bringing investors on board, Samway says.
"Everyone knows the challenges facing publishers but we remain deeply committed and hope to return,” he says.
"It's been disappointing to see some media writers focus on the negatives when what we need now is support. The hard yards have been done over the last 12 months with a lot of people involved. We now need to find that extra financial investment to see the paper reach its full potential and also grow into other markets.”
The indie Sydney newspaper has been building interest since its launch as an alternative to the content offered by the duopoly of News Corp and Fairfax.
Neighbourhood announced it would be pausing publication on Facebook
The monthly paper, prior to its pause in publication, has carved out a strong audience of 450,000 in inner-Sydney with its egalitarian editorial tone, dropped in suburbs like Paddington, Surry Hills and Potts Point.
It’s a free paper funded by ad revenue and has lured big brands such as Volkswagen Mini and Virgin Airlines in the last 12 months, but Samway said Neighbourhood still needs to lock down a future business model.
Neighbourhood editor Mark Mordue said he continues to believe in the paper's mission and in doing work that matters.
"Neighbourhood has given a lot of people genuinely free space. Major writers boxed in by old formats; a swathe of young writers never published before. We've respected their feel for the city - and the world for that matter," he says.
"The idea behind Neighbourhood is for it to be the voice of the city, to do something local and independent yet highly cosmopolitan and creative and sophisticated too. I don’t think there’s another publication out there that has come close to us for adventurous content that connects to a large audience. In just one year we’ve established a signature style and a real sense of energy."
After making the announcement on Facebook earlier this month, Neighbourhood was inundated with emails and comments from fans who are hoping for the paper's return.
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