Return of the bushrangers? Technological determinism and the collapse and revival of independent Australian rural newspaper publishers

The gradual shrinkage of the print news sector in Australia was accelerated by COVID-19, with Australia’s ‘Big Three’ of print news, News Corp, Fairfax/Nine, and Australian Community Media particularly hard hit. Unprecedented closures of newsrooms, printing sites, and newspapers opened up a market for the second coming of the small, independent ‘bush’ newspaper publisher. This chapter examines one particular case of a new greenfield printer/publisher, and asks, does technology hold the key to how future regional newspapers will emerge from the COVID-19 collapse? Is Australia likely to see the return of the ‘bushranger’ publisher – small, independent, and activist?.