SNACK’s Response to the Closure of The Skinny

First of all, I’d like to apologise that it has taken over a week to publish this response. The news that The Skinny is closing with the September magazine being their last after 20 years of totemic support of Scotland’s arts and artists has been met with near universal shock and sadness. Radge Media’s other titles, Fest and GNAW, are also sadly closing.

In truth, till now, I hadn’t quite believed that it had happened; that no additional funding has so far been sourced or offered to rescue, to my knowledge, is equally unbelievable. I can scarcely comprehend that yet another seemingly unassailable leading light of Scotland’s arts & culture is to be lost. And, yet again, the loss will be great. If you wanted to intentionally, systematically dismantle a country’s arts infrastructure then an intermediate stage wouldn’t look much different from what we see now.

Scotland has recently lost the ABC, GSA Mackintosh Building, CCA, 13th Note, The Flying Duck, Sett Studios, and many more, and along with Trongate 103’s recent near closure, and The Cooper Gallery’s shaky situation, the news of yet another cornerstone being removed is another body blow.

SNACK would like to express solidarity with everyone at The Skinny and Radge Media. We hope that this is not the end of your involvement in the arts in Scotland and that your amassed skills, knowledge, guile, and hard work are not lost to the sector. You have done great things and I hope you will continue to do so.

I have no knowledge of the direct circumstances that caused The Skinny to close. I do know and respect the talent, hard work and sheer bloody mindedness that it takes to run an arts and culture magazine in Scotland. I know that tiny teams can do great things, but that they need support to thrive and survive. I do know of the pressures that build when arts organisations, many of whom receive the majority of their income from Creative Scotland, gradually move their marketing budgets away from independent print magazines like The Skinny, The List, and SNACK to the tech giants of the world – Meta (Facebook, and Instagram), Alphabet (Google), and more. 

The print editions of The Skinny, The List, and SNACK are free to pick up for whoever wants them. This is not coincidence or accident, this is by design. I believe I can safely speak for all three organisations in stating that we believe independent quality cultural journalism should be free to all, no matter the reader’s income or background. All three titles have an unwavering commitment to the artists and arts organisations of Scotland, from the budding of the grassroots to the biggest institutions. Independent arts magazines give context to and uplift the creative work of the nation. They join the dots between disparate voices and scenes and give a regular and cohesive snapshot of a country’s creative world. 

Despite all of this, arts journalism falls outside Creative Scotland’s remit. Creative Scotland offers no funds to support the work of Scotland’s arts media. I’m wary of inviting Creative Scotland to fund the sector as each magazine’s independence is a key aspect of what makes our work valuable and worthwhile. But perhaps a solution can be found within the terms of any Creative Scotland funding, that perhaps a percentage of any marketing budget should be allocated for the country’s in-print arts media. This year, the UK Government’s Local News Fund was introduced to support news titles, backing the essential role of local media in our towns and communities. Arts media faces the same challenges but without similar support.

I’m not sure. I do know that we cannot do it alone. If you are reading this and you hold a budget for an arts organisation which works in Scotland, please invest in the future of arts journalism by supporting Scotland’s arts media. I believe that doing so is also a positive investment in the wider arts community and your own organisation’s future. I hope you do too.

As The Skinny wrote in their recent statement, ‘This may be the end for The Skinny, but it’s not the end of what we believe in: the power of independent journalism, the value of art and creativity, and the importance of print media’. 

Respect and solidarity to all.

Kenny Lavelle

Editor

SNACK