In our last newsletter of the year, this is what we have for you:
- What We Learned in 2025: The Journalism You Helped Us Pursue — By Scott Mitchell and Osman Faruqi
The two of us have worked through some remarkable news years back when we worked for traditional media, but there has been nothing quite like covering this year, completely independently.
We learned about the lengths that powerful lobbyists will go to try and chase artists out of public life, compiling dossier after dossier on them, to try and smear their reputations with false claims.
We learned just how prickly major media outlets are when they’re asked questions about big front-page stories, which don’t appear to be telling the public the entire truth of the matter.
But we also discovered that independent media can make a difference, and this year, at least six stories by major media organisations were corrected or edited after Lamestream sent them questions.
All the while, the actual events that are shaping our world are becoming more complex, and harder and harder for people to understand.
The far-right ‘March for Australia’ rallies appear to heralded a turning point in far-right and neo-Nazi activity, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation continues to rise in national opinion polling, over 400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Donald Trump’s so-called ceasefire deal was announced, and the grief and horror at the Bondi terrorist attack on Jews gathering for Hanukkah has led to hasty crackdowns on political expression, immigration, universities and protest.
Many of you will be taking a summer break right now, and with that in mind, we want to share some great reads for you, so we've have assembled some of the best stories we’ve published for subscribers – the journalism you’ve helped us to do.
Some of these pieces you may have missed the first time around, while others have taken on a different significance since we first published them. They span investigative work, news breaking and analysis. And always remember, as a subscriber, you can read all of Lamestream’s articles on our website, whenever you like.
Osman has also compiled the best film and TV of the last year, which we'll bring you in the new year, and he's left no stone unturned to bring you reviews of all the best in screen culture to catch up on over summer.
We’ve had so many new subscribers join us in the last month, which is an exciting end to the year for us as we build towards making Lamestream the sustainable, long-term outlet we believe it can be.
So, whether you’ve just joined as a subscriber or whether you are one of the very first people to sign up when we launched on the 26th of April, you are the people who’ve made 2025 possible for us.
We would love to hear any ideas or feedback at all, whether it's about the look and feel of it, what you want to read more about from us or how often you'd like to hear from us.
What We Learned in 2025: The Journalism You Helped Us to Pursue
