About The Melburnian
The Melburnian is an independent local news publication covering the people, places and issues that shape Melbourne’s CBD and inner-city communities.
Published in print and online, we provide trusted local journalism across Melbourne CBD, Docklands, Southbank, Carlton, East Melbourne, Parkville, North Melbourne, West Melbourne, Kensington and surrounding inner-city areas.
The Melburnian brings together more than two decades of local publishing experience and the journalism of five established mastheads – CBD News, Docklands News, Southbank News, Inner City News and North West City News – under one stronger, city-wide platform.
While our name is new, our purpose remains familiar: to be on the ground in Melbourne’s communities, reporting the stories that matter to the people who live, work, study, visit and do business here.
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Our mission
Melbourne is one city, but it is made up of many distinct communities.
Our mission is to provide independent, accessible and genuinely local journalism that helps those communities better understand the city around them.
That means reporting on decisions that affect everyday life, celebrating the people and organisations contributing to our neighbourhoods, scrutinising the institutions shaping our city and providing a platform for local voices that might otherwise go unheard.
Our journalism is guided by four core commitments:
- Stay local – remain connected to the communities and issues we cover.
- Stay independent – make editorial decisions in the interests of our readers.
- Keep Melbourne informed – make important local information accessible and understandable.
- Represent the city – reflect the different neighbourhoods, perspectives and people that make Melbourne what it is.
Our story
The Melburnian might be a new name, but our story stretches back more than two decades.
Our publishing history began with Docklands Community News in 2003, a publication originally established by VicUrban to help connect the emerging Docklands community. It became Docklands News in 2009 and grew alongside the precinct itself.
Southbank Local News followed in October 2011, later becoming Southbank News and expanding its coverage to include South Wharf, Montague and the rapidly evolving Fishermans Bend precinct.
In August 2014, CBD News was established to serve Melbourne CBD’s growing residential community. Known for many years as “The Voice of Postcode 3000”, it became an established source of local news for residents, businesses and organisations throughout central Melbourne.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the importance of strong local information and connected communities became clearer than ever, Hyperlocal News expanded again.
Inner City News launched in February 2021 to serve Carlton, East Melbourne and Parkville, while North West City News was established at the same time for North Melbourne, West Melbourne, Kensington and Parkville Gardens.
Together, these five publications created a network of dedicated local journalism spanning the City of Melbourne.
In 2026, their next chapter began as The Melburnian.
Five local publications. One stronger home.
The creation of The Melburnian represents an evolution of our local journalism, rather than a departure from it.
Our five publications were built around a simple idea: people care deeply about what happens in their own neighbourhood. That hasn't changed.
What has changed is how people find, consume and engage with news.
By bringing our journalism together under The Melburnian, we can provide readers with a better digital experience, invest more strongly in online journalism, newsletters, social media, video and audio, and make it easier to discover stories from both your neighbourhood and the city around you.
Importantly, our local coverage isn't disappearing.
The communities previously served by our five mastheads retain dedicated sections within The Melburnian, while our existing journalism and archives are being preserved as part of the transition.
It means you can still come to us specifically for what's happening in Docklands, Carlton or Kensington – but you're now only one stop away from discovering what's happening across the rest of Melbourne.
The communities we cover
Our reporting spans Melbourne's CBD and surrounding inner-city neighbourhoods, with dedicated coverage of:
Melbourne CBD | Docklands | Southbank | Carlton | East Melbourne | Parkville | North Melbourne | West Melbourne | Kensington
Each has its own identity, challenges, institutions and stories.
The Melburnian preserves that hyperlocal focus while connecting those communities through a single city-wide publication.
What we report on
Our journalists report on the issues that influence life in Melbourne – from the decisions being made at Town Hall to the transformation of individual streets and neighbourhoods.
Our coverage includes local news, politics and governance, planning and development, business, environment and sustainability, arts and culture, community, transport, major projects and local events.
We also provide a platform for regular columnists, resident and community groups, historians and other contributors with a close connection to Melbourne.
Independent ownership and leadership
The Melburnian is published by Hyperlocal News Pty Ltd, an independent Melbourne publishing company owned by Sean Car, who serves as Managing Director and Editor.
Sean has worked in local publishing in the City of Melbourne for more than a decade and has overseen the growth of Hyperlocal News and its network of publications across the municipality.
As editor, he is responsible for the editorial direction of The Melburnian and works alongside a team of journalists, editors, photographers, designers and community contributors.
Our editorial decisions are made independently.
Meet Sean Car
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Sean Car
Managing Director & Editor
Our approach to local journalism
Being local means more than putting a suburb's name at the top of a story.
It means understanding the history behind an issue, knowing the organisations and people involved, attending the meetings where decisions are made and maintaining relationships with communities over many years.
We seek to report accurately and fairly, verify information, attribute our sources appropriately and provide relevant parties with an opportunity to respond where required.
We welcome community contributions, story ideas, letters and differing perspectives. Opinion and contributed columns are clearly distinguished from our news reporting, while sponsored and commercial content is identified accordingly.
If we've made an error, we encourage readers to contact our editorial team so it can be reviewed and corrected where appropriate.
The Melburnian in print
Digital might be increasingly central to how we publish, but print remains an important part of how we connect directly with Melbourne.
The Melburnian is published monthly, bringing together the strongest journalism from across our city in a single print edition distributed throughout Melbourne's CBD and inner-city communities.
Copies are delivered directly to residents, including thousands of apartments and residential buildings, as well as businesses, cafés, community venues and other high-traffic locations throughout the city.
Our print publication allows us to continue reaching local audiences where they live and work, while our digital platforms provide a faster and more frequent source of news throughout the month.
View the publication schedule
Explore previous editions
More than two decades of local Melbourne journalism sits behind The Melburnian.
Our archive preserves previous print editions of Docklands News, Southbank News, CBD News, Inner City News and North West City News, providing a unique record of how Melbourne and its communities have changed over time.
From the emergence of Docklands and the transformation of Southbank to major planning battles, elections, community campaigns, local characters and countless neighbourhood stories, that history remains part of The Melburnian.
Explore previous editions and historical coverage
Get involved in your local news
Some of our best stories begin with a conversation with someone in the community.
If there's an issue affecting your neighbourhood, an event we should know about, a person whose story deserves to be told or something happening in Melbourne you think deserves greater attention, we'd love to hear from you.
You can send us a story tip, submit a letter, share an event, suggest a story or contact our editorial team directly.
You can also subscribe to The Melburnian for regular news and updates from across the city.
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The Melburnian provides businesses, government, organisations and institutions with opportunities to connect with highly engaged audiences across Melbourne's CBD and inner city.
Advertising and partnership opportunities are available across print, digital, newsletters, social media, video, podcasts and branded content, with options to reach the wider Melburnian audience or target particular parts of the city.
Melbourne starts locally.
Whether you're here for the news from your neighbourhood or want to understand what's happening across the city, The Melburnian connects you with the Melbourne around you.
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For businesses and organisations, discover print and digital advertising opportunities with The Melburnian.