28/03/2023
: Skeer News - no one breaks it better but this is our last time.
We regret to announce the closure of Skeer Media’s Skeer News and the local news website skeernews.com.au.
We’ve worked tirelessly to provide our readers with 24/7 breaking news coverage and community stories over the past five years.
Unfortunately, due to financial hardship and politics, we can no longer sustain our online news operations and have made the difficult decision to stop publishing.
Skeer News founder Tex Reeks said the move would disappoint many but to continue in the current technology sphere and economic state was impractical.
“We set the bar for local breaking news,” Mr Reeks said.
“Skeer News was very successful in terms of reputation, engagement, and community support but struggled to make revenue as an independent.
“I'm not blaming anyone for our demise.
“However, some local organisations, government agencies, and even politicians refused to consider us legitimate, which often saw us left out of press conferences, refused access to information, ignored, and left off press release lists.
“This saw us work harder to get basic information and exhausted resources that could have been allocated elsewhere.
“Throw in a global health pandemic, the Meta/Facebook ban on news pages, the rise of technology and citizen journalism, and we have a recipe for hardship."
The website will be accessible via skeermedia.com until April 3.
However, the domain skeernews.com.au has already become inactive.
Mr Reeks said the opportunity saw him break and cover some of Perth’s biggest stories.
“Peel and Rockingham are such strong communities and we’ve seen people gather and support those in times of need,” he said.
“It’s been an honour to seek truth, expose, tell your stories, and share black and white, unbiased information.
“I’d like to personally thank all of our readers, supporters, and sources over the years, as every message, call, email, share, react, click, and tip-off has helped immensely.
“A special thanks to my family and friends for their continued support, especially my father, mother and sister.”
Our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and impartiality has always been at the forefront of our mission, and we are proud of what we have accomplished.
While we may be closing the doors on Skeer News, we remain optimistic about the future of the Skeer brand.
We encourage you to continue supporting local news outlets and to advocate for the importance of a free and independent press in our society.
