The small local newspaper, the Outback Courier, was published from November 1994. It was owned and edited by Irene Smith and distributed free to all households and businesses fortnightly in Barcaldine, Aramac and Jericho Shires.
In 2000, Irene Smith produced her last issue of the Outback Courier and sold the paper to Toni Cullen, owner of the cafe where she had used a room as her editorial office. Toni carried on well for several months with a charge of $1 a copy but sold her cafe in March 2001 and the paper lapsed.
The Outback Advocate produced its first issue in 2003. Published by Doug Church, it was sold at Barcaldine News and Travel. In April 2004, Spencer Astill took over the project.
The Advocate ran for 60 issues altogether, from February 2003 to September 2006, tending towards entertainment in jokes and contributed letters.
After the Outback Advocate ceased publication in September 2006, Tony Jackson began as editor of the Barcaldine Bugle with the first issue at $2 per copy from 1 February 2007.
