‘Closely connected to our readership’: the female-led bush media that’s a hit in the city

OAK Magazine founder Kimberley Furness, pictured with her children, was the 2022 AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award Victorian winner and national runner-up. Photograph: Chloe Smith

A demand for magazines and newspapers that represent a more diverse spectrum of rural communities has led to a new wave of mastheads spearheaded by country women – and metro-based Australians are a big percentage of their audience.

For Bendigo editor Kimberley Furness, creating a magazine came from not seeing her story in the titles on offer at local supermarkets in central Victoria.