I am a long-time reader, contributor and supporter ofPearls & Irritations.

Australia’s media is highly concentrated, and becoming more so. Pearls and Irritations is not only a vital source of independent news and comment, it provides longer-form, deeply researched articles, from a range of specialists in their field. There is simply no other outlet for such detailed, well-written and well-researched regular journalism on topics which would otherwise be ignored, certainly in such detail, by the mainstream media.

I find this absolutely invaluable at a time when news and comment are too often inaccurate, biased or even false. P&I’s network of authors is remarkable and John Menadue’s editorial skills and capacity to harness their expertise with regular contributions are central to the success of P&I and its reputation.

JennyHocking is an Emeritus Professor with the Faculty of Arts, Monash University

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