The editorial vision and the person behind it

How We Work

The Otway Edit is an independent publication from South West Victoria, made for people who live here, love it, question it, and want to know it a little better.

We cover the people, places, businesses, histories, ideas and issues that make this region what it is — from the coast and forests to the farms, towns and back roads in between.

Some stories are beautiful. Some are uncomfortable. Some are weird. Some are the things people have been talking about for years but nobody has really stopped to investigate.

That’s where TOE comes in.

We’re interested in the stories underneath the obvious ones. The people you might walk past without knowing their story. The history hiding in plain sight. The businesses doing something different. The issues affecting our communities. The taboo subjects that are easier to ignore than discuss.

We call it slow journalism because we’d rather do fewer things properly than pump out content for the sake of it.

We take photographs. We ask questions. We listen. We dig through history. We check the facts. And when a story deserves more time, we give it more time.

TOE is proudly independent. We’re not here to be everything to everyone, and we’re not interested in chasing whatever gets the most clicks.

We’re here to make something local that feels different.

Something you want to read. Something you want to share. Something you might keep.

MADE HERE. LOOKING CLOSER.

The Otway Edit is created by journalist, editor and photographer April Burton, with stories and contributions from people across the region.

We’re based in South West Victoria, on Gadubanud Country, and we believe good local journalism should do more than tell you what happened.

It should make you look again.