In a bid to rewrite the disconnect between capital cities and outer suburbs, The WEST Journal strives to provide a space for the Western Sydney community in the media.
Founded in 2009, The WEST Journal is an independent Australian media platform built around discovering the vibrancy, diversity, and community of Western Sydney. Its print publication and mobile app centres around local travel, food experiences, and culture. It highlights small businesses, local restaurants, public art, hardworking people, and community events in Western Sydney.
The founder of The WEST Journal and Western Sydney University alumni, Dean Boone, said that The WEST Journal was inspired by his experience in the design and planning industry. Boone attended a seminar hosted by the Urban Design Institute, where he recognised the potential of the outer suburbs.
“They were showing an aerial model of the second international airport in Dallas, Texas, it’s kind of the same formula as Western Sydney airport. It was on the outskirts, nothing there. There was then sort of a time lapse of it growing and changing. That was really the moment I went ‘there has to be something we can do here because what I’m seeing is so exciting and good and it can be so brilliant.’”
While creating the publication, Boone found there to be a common construct where the media has become centric to capital cities all around the world. He believes one of the reasons for this is the location of a publication’s media license.
“If you look at radio, you look at ARN network…. Their radio license is based in Sydney… Media hasn’t needed to go outside of the area because that’s where they need to speak to.
And for them, the outskirts of their radio license would be Penrith. So why would they put all their time and effort into that space?”
The WEST Journal brand works to rewrite this narrative by fostering appreciation for cultural diversity. In sharing stories about travel, food and culture, Boone believes it can spark curiosity of people wanting to experience that and try something different to their own culture.
“Travel is like a sense of place, the unique character…Food brings everyone together…We don’t truly appreciate a culture until we try their food…Art and culture are sort of intertwined. Without art, there is no beauty and what kind of society has no beauty, and it allows us to tell stories,”“ said Boone.
To further build the space for voices in the outer suburbs, The WEST Journal has set its horizons on spotlighting local contributors that create content about their area, including popular locations or attractions. In doing so,
Boone believes that this will create a space for local journalists “to actually do journalistic reporting of news, facts, information” and thinks local journalism can combat his concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) and its spread of misinformation in the media industry.
“There is an automatic response that you will have when you see something you think ‘is it real or AI?’ And that is a trust thing, it goes back to what real journalism used to be. People who were not sensationalising but telling a story….and they try not to be biased. The antidote to the fear of AI is actually journalism,” said Boone.
Looking to the future, The WEST Journal aims to create a general model based on the capital city and outer suburb disconnect.
“Our progression for WEST is New South Wales. We’re building out into News South Wales to create a model that we will replicate in every state. There’s a formula behind it,” said Boone.
