Piece by piece in Sydney’s Chippendale, a rich woman’s dream of using some of her wealth to support and grow journalism appears to have turned into a nightmare.

Independent directors of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas have gone, executive director Mark Ryan has “negotiated his exit” and this week it was reported that remaining employees have been made redundant, some leaving immediately and others to go by the end of the year.

A couple of Asian journalists – Su Myat Mon from Myanmar and Safiullah Ahmadzai from Afghanistan – were to join University of Hong Kong’s Master of Journalism programme (pictured) last month, thanks to a fellowship from JNI and the university.

Meanwhile, the institute’s impressive website sails on, a little like the Marie Celeste, while Neilson, her family and advisers reportedly continue a review into its future.

In Nine’s the Sydney Morning Herald this week, Zoe Samios quoted “sources inside the institute” that staff had been told last Wednesday of a decision to make them redundant. “Some employees have left the not-for-profit organisation immediately, but others will work until the end of the year,” she wrote, adding that a spokesperson for Judith Neilson had declined to comment.

An international advisory council has also been disbanded.

Established in 2018 with a $100 million commitment, things appeared to go wrong for the institute when four independent directors resigned, reportedly following a “change of vision” for the institute. Differences of opinion are understood to have included ideas of a major prize in Neilson’s name, not unlike the Nobel programmes.

The JNI website tells of the good works it has supported through grants, events and a range of other activities, working with university journalism schools and publishers in Australia and overseas.

Many of the projects benefit journalists in southeast Asia, while Samios cites examples from the Nine mastheads which received funding towards “a range of projects” including work by journalists Anthony Galloway and Kate Geraghty on the war in Ukraine.

While JNI has been contacted in the hope of a comment from Judith Neilson, we’re not holding our breath. It would however, be a tragedy if the original brilliant vision of the institute was allowed to fail.

Peter Coleman

Pictured: JNI’s headquarters in Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, a renovated former glass factory described as “a gift to the journalism community” (photos Judith Neilson Institute/HKU)