The Manly Daily

The Manly Daily is a special kind of beast. Distributed all over the Peninsula, it invokes all kinds of reactions. Yet all of these — even the deeply negative and critical — are accompanied by some warmth and affection.
Australia’s only newspaper to come out five days per week, The Manly Daily has always been a staple in Northern Beaches Households. Delivered by the local 13 year old, The Manly Daily holds a special place in the hearts of those who live on the Peninsula. It could be the extremely Peninsula-​centric nature of the paper; almost anything to take place on the Northern Beaches or to its residents can make the front page. It could be the often-​hilarious nature of the content; my personal all-​time favourite headline was «LOST PARRAKEET REUNITED WITH OWNER». It could be that despite the frequent focus on the banal, The Manly Daily really does focus on issues that matter on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Or it could be that in a world of depressing newspaper stories, it can be nice to occasionally read about the Curl Curl Netball Club getting new uniforms.
Whatever the case, The Manly Daily keeps on coming, five days per week. Regular newspaper features include «The Fixer», «On the Beat» and the all-​important weather forecast. Like many local newspapers, The Manly Daily is heavily subsidized by advertising. This is not all bad, however — my local bottle shop promises to match the price of any advertisement in The Manly Daily. Happy days! It’s also how many of the Peninsula’s young and old get a job, sell their rabbits, find a sharehouse or complain about the Labour Party.
While arguably the cornerstone of serious journalism, The Manly Daily pays no regard to the boring concept of objectivity. Like many Peninsula residents, it firmly follows the politics of one of the Peninsula’s most famous political minds — Mr. Tony Abbott. The opinions expressed by both its journalists and readers on the carbon tax, public transport or the dreaded boat people are infrequently balanced and frequently very right leaning.