Award-winning journalists Osman Faruqi and Scott Mitchell have launched Lamestream, a new independent podcast and newsletter looking at the challenges facing the Australian media industry.
Produced in partnership with Acast, Lamestream aims to offer a bold alternative to legacy outlets, addressing issues such as collapsing trust in traditional news, the ABC’s shifting audience priorities, and the influence of global political trends on local media.
Weekly episodes will be released in both audio and video formats, with the first now live on the Lamestream website.
Osman Faruqi and Scott Mitchell.
Faruqi, former Culture Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and former Head of Audio at Schwartz Media, said the idea for Lamestream grew out of frustrations from working inside Australia’s largest media organisations.
“Lamestream is the result of Scott and me spending the last decade watching the media industry crumble from within, and realising we wanted to build something to try and course-correct,” Faruqi said. “There are lots of smart and engaged Australians who deserve a smart and engaged news product that’s accessible, fun and doesn’t patronise them.”
Mitchell, who previously served as Editor and Executive Producer of 7am and as a founding producer of the ABC’s You Can’t Ask That, added that the pair were inspired by the growth of independent news podcasts overseas.
“Os and I have been talking a lot about how independent podcasts starting up overseas have been able to give audiences completely new ways of getting their news and having meaningful conversations,” Mitchell said. “We really want to bring some of that spirit to Australian audiences.”
The first episode is available here.