With independent media on the rise, author and commentator, Kim Wingerei, who has just launched theIndependents, looks at the top performers. Traffic for this website is up 60 per cent. Why? Perhaps, as Tim Dunlop observed on Twitter this week: “@MichaelWestBiz had found his own niche – actual f…ing news”.

INDEPENDENT MEDIA continues to grow apace, while mainstream media is at best stagnant. A piece I wrote here a couple of months ago resonated with readers and spurred me on to start theIndependents — an independent media “portal” promoting the strength and diversity of independent media in Australia.

Based on data provided by SimilarWeb – a global online traffic measurement service – independent media traffic has grown by 9.76 per cent from November 2018 to February 2019*. During the same period the top corporate mainstream media sites** grew by 1.1 per cent. And that growth was entirely attributed to News Limited’s growth of 4.6 per cent, the other three in the sample lost on average 5 per cent of their traffic.

Some of the notable performer among the 30 independents measured were:

michaelwest.com.au – up by 61 per cent

IndigenousX.com.au – up by 152 per cent

EurekaStreet – up by 40 per cent

Pearls & Irritations (John Menadue) – up by 18 per cent

Inside Story – up by 110 per cent

A distinctive things about the current media environment is that digitisation has led to a shift from general news to specialised, niche reporting.

For instance, since leaving Fairfax, @MichaelWestBiz has found his own niche. It is called, actual fucking news.

PS: subscribe! https://t.co/jLiwBbmkjA — timdunlop (@timdunlop) March 18, 2019

Our list does not include ABC News, The Guardian and the New Daily — the latter two also continuing to grow at a healthy rate and gaining influence. Notably, neither of these three have a paywall.

Well may we lament the power that the infotainment giants have, but the best way to combat it is to stop reading their papers. Independent media has so much more to offer in terms of diversity of opinion, depth and insight.

For a list of participating independent media sites – click here.

* Based on visitor traffic for 30 independent media sites in November 2018 vs February 2019 – adjusted for a 28 day month.

** Based on sample of The Australian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and News.com.au

The Internet is awash with sites pumping out opinion and rumours as news but real evidence-based investigative journalism, integral to our democracy, costs time and money. Help support https://t.co/r7c2kPfozW for just $5 a month https://t.co/cltVcxyJSB #auspol pic.twitter.com/JoVJn3TRNV — ?Sandi Keane (@Jarrapin) January 8, 2019

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Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.

You can follow Kim’s blog or on Twitter @kwingerei.