A reader holding a phone showing the Pith News feed: Need to Know stories, marked free, with bylines and read times.

Read news from real voices, not the mandate of mastheads.

The news Australians need to know in verified fact cards, free for everyone. Deeper analysis and opinion from independent journalists, their lens always visible. Readers spend a credit per read, and the journalist is paid directly for every one.

Get early accessI’m a journalist

One subscription. One place. Every side of the story.

How it works

For readers

  1. Get the facts, free. Need to Know cards are always free: the day’s news as sourced dot points, updated as the story moves.

  2. Read every side. Analysis and opinion from independent journalists, a credit each. Every piece is tagged and shows its lens.

  3. Ask what’s missing. Ask the questions you have on any card and find answers from the real voices behind the news.

For journalists

  1. Get commissioned. Our newsroom brain surfaces what readers are asking about right now and matches it to your beat.

  2. Write it your way. Your voice, your reporting. Every piece is read for its tag and lens, and the tool shows its working. It never edits you.

  3. Get paid for every read. 60% of the reader’s credit value, paid the month it’s read.

Plans from $18 a month for 20 credits. A free account gets 4 credits a month. Need to Know cards are always free. Credits you don’t spend fund free journalism, never our margin.

The Australian news landscape is failing readers and journalists alike.

35% of Australian news consumers used seven or more news brands in the past week, six percentage points more than a year earlier.1 A third of digital news subscribers pay for three or more services.2 Readers are hunting for breadth, and stitching a bundle together by hand.

They are also sceptical of who controls it. 77% of Australian news consumers believe media owners and parent companies influence news coverage.3 Australia has the second highest media concentration of the countries measured, with four companies controlling 84% of the newspaper market, up from 78% in 2019.4 Too few owners have the potential to influence the news we see.

The same forces hit the newsroom. 47% fewer people work for Australian newspapers than in 2010–11, down from 23,472 to 12,531.5 The freelance pool they landed in is crowded: 56% of the freelance journalists surveyed earn under $60,000 a year from their freelance work.6

Readers want more voices than ever. Journalists have never had fewer ways to be paid for providing them.

Why we built Pith News

We lost the habit of reading and engaging with news. Paywalls, ads and fragmentation made news harder to read, but the feeling of an echo chamber is what killed our engagement.

We wanted points of view, opinion and debate. We wanted to hear from the real voices reporting the news that matters, while finding a way to fairly support them.

We’ve rebuilt how news gets written, read and paid for with a marketplace for original and independent journalism. Readers get news from outside the echo chamber, and journalists are paid for every read.

Ever wondered if you’re actually informed?

We’ve built the metric.

Knowledge Health

A single number for how well-informed you actually are. It counts what you’ve read and shows you where your coverage has gaps. It climbs as you stay informed, faster when you read a side you don’t usually read, and drifts when you don’t.

Our journalists have bylines here.

Freelance and independent reporters joining the founding Pith News roster have been published at these mastheads.

  • The Australian Financial Review
  • ABC News
  • SBS
  • The Guardian
  • Rolling Stone

They do not imply endorsement, affiliation or partnership.

Questions

What is Pith News?

An Australian news app. The day’s news arrives as free, sourced fact cards, and independent journalists add analysis and opinion from across the spectrum, unlocked with credits from one subscription.

How much does Pith News cost?

Plans start at $18 a month for 20 credits. A free account gets 4 credits a month, and Need to Know cards are always free, with or without an account.

What are credits?

A credit unlocks one piece of analysis or opinion. Longer standalone reads cost 2. Need to Know cards never cost credits. Unused credits roll over, up to one month’s worth.

Is any of Pith News free?

Yes. Need to Know cards are always free, every card and every update. A free account also gets 4 credits a month to read analysis and opinion.

How are journalists paid on Pith News?

Every time a reader spends a credit on a piece, the journalist earns 60% of that credit’s value, paid the month it is read. The journalist share of unspent credits funds free journalism.

What do the Analysis and Opinion tags mean?

Every piece on Pith News is tagged Analysis or Opinion and shows its lens, from Left to Right. A reading tool assigns both, shows the phrases behind its reading, and writers and editors can contest it.

How is Pith News different from Substack?

Substack asks you to subscribe to writers one at a time and do the curation yourself. One Pith subscription covers every journalist, and every story starts from a free card of the facts.

How is Pith News different from an AFR or SMH subscription?

A masthead subscription is all-or-nothing and ties you to one owner’s editorial mandate. Pith covers the spectrum, labels every piece with its lens, and you pay only for what you choose to read.

Who is behind Pith News?

Laura Whiddon and Leah Clemenger are the co-founders of Pith News. Between them they bring proven experience transforming editorial publications into modern media businesses, and marketplace expertise unburdened by how news has always been done. Pith News is built in Boorloo, Perth.

When does Pith News launch?

Pith News launches in Australia in October 2026. Join the waitlist for first access.

We’re always on the hunt for interesting people to join us. Think that’s you? Email info@pithnews.com.

The waitlist · coming soon

Great journalism shouldn’t be a privilege of disposable income.

Sources

  1. 1Digital News Report: Australia 2026, News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, p.107, Fig 5.18
  2. 2Digital News Report: Australia 2025, News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, p.125, Fig 7.10
  3. 3Digital News Report: Australia 2026, News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, p.14
  4. 4Flew, Fitzgerald, Nicholls & McTernan, Communications, media and internet concentration in Australia 2019–2022, Global Media & Internet Concentration Project, 2024
  5. 5IBISWorld, cited in MEAA, Quality Journalism Demands Quality Jobs, News MAP submission, February 2024, p.3
  6. 6MEAA, A Fair Go For Freelancers 2024, p.6