Why The Melbourne Snap Exists
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I love Melbourne. It’s Australia’s sporting capital, it’s Australia’s cultural capital and it’s the coolest city in the hemisphere (sorry, Sydney). It’s also where my family and I call home.
There are thousands and thousands of words written about what’s going on in Melbourne every single day, scattered across dozens of sites. It can be exhausting to try to wade through it all. There’s got to be a better way to get your news, right…?
It’s worth saying loudly and clearly that this newsletter will always be free but if you like The Melbourne Snap and want to support it, you can do so from as little as $10 a month. Not everyone has $10 to spare and that’s fine, but for those that can your support is much appreciated.
One email, one minute of your time, no opinion
Melbourne is big. Over five million people live here, nearly the same as the entire population of Scotland (we’ll come back to this topic). The news ecosystem is crowded and noisy. Nine, Herald Sun, Seven, The Age, The Australian, ABC and more.
The venerable beasts of news are great, but they often come with their own bias and frequently get sucked into national issues. The Melbourne Snap is all about local news. From Epping to Mornington, Werribee to Dandenong, the stories getting people talking across the city.
You won’t be getting opinion columns, hit pieces, or hot takes here. Just straight up news. The goal is to keep you informed about what’s happening in Melbourne as quickly as possible.
So, who am I?
The Melbourne Snap will start as a one-man band. In all likelihood it will always be a solo operation.
Every word you read will most likely be written by me, Sam Shedden. I’m originally from Scotland, the northern (and cold) part of the UK. I lived in Melbourne in 2009-2011 until my visa expired and I somehow managed to convince my then girlfriend to leave the Victorian sun and come back to Edinburgh with me. Fast forward to 2024 and we returned to Melbourne as a married couple with two children and the odd grey hair. A lot has changed here, a lot hasn’t - it’s still one of the best cities in the world.
I’m an editor and a journalist with over a decade of experience in national and local news. I have a day job, I do kindy drop-offs and I try to keep fit. Between all that I will be writing The Melbourne Snap around 4:30am-6:30am each weekday morning. Which leads me to…
Why have I started The Melbourne Snap?
I love local news. Some of the best stories can be found within small communities and as corporate media gobbles up smaller titles these communities have become poorly served. But people will always want to know what’s happening round about them.
The news business in the digital age is tough. It’s hard to make money. You will see news organisations with a subscription model or you will see the programmatic ad model, which means annoying, flashing, intrusive ads on web pages.
Journalists don’t work for free. They need to pay their bills like anyone else, but sometimes local news falls between cracks. The current mass market model is flawed in this regard.
I hope to be a small force in changing things for the better.
Get in touch
If you like what I’m doing (or even if you don’t) let me know. I welcome feedback.
If you have news or events you want covered please also get in touch.
Sam Shedden
November 2024
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thanks for your memes Sam, keep it up and hope your subscriptions continue to grow