The future is uncertain for the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) which publishes Australian science magazine Cosmos, meaning its next print issue could be the last. 

RiAus executive director Will Berryman said issue 103 of the quarterly print magazine would go ahead in June but no future issues could be confirmed beyond that. 

A financial report published to the Australian Charities register shows RiAus has been unable to secure funding from government grants or other sources. 

The report said a meeting of the RiAus board was scheduled for October last year to discuss whether it should cease trading by December. 

When the board met at the end of 2023, it decided to continue operating given income and donations at the time, but identified opportunities for cost savings and restructuring. 

In February, five of eight full-time editorial staff took voluntary redundancies.

According to RiAus’ annual information statement submitted to the Australian Charity register, employee expenses made up 39.89 per cent of total expenses for the financial year 2022-23. 

Berryman told InDaily that Cosmos was not extravagantly staffed and while redundancies were necessary, funds were “finite” and a smaller team limited what could be done commercially. 

According to Berryman, 22 million people worldwide accessed Cosmos content in 2023, with one in three Australian adults coming across its science news and 650,000 school students using curriculum resources. 

The editorial team cutback put that reach and impact at risk, Berryman said, and was indicative of a larger threat to science communication. 

“There comes such a time when you reduce the footprint of the organisation so much that it ceases to be effective in providing a social difference,” Berryman said. 

Cosmos has published over 100 digital magazines, with their award-winning journalists recognised recently at the 2024 Australian IT Journalism Awards and the 2023 international Kavli Science Journalism Awards. Photo: Cosmos Magazine via Facebook)

RiAus is located in the Science Exchange building – formerly the Adelaide Stock Exchange – and shares the space with the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC). 

AusSMC is a not-for-profit which disseminates a broad range of evidence-based science through the media and operates Scimex, a news portal that facilitates access to new research and experts. AusSMC and RiAus share a chairman in Peter Yates, and RiAus is a sponsor of AusSMC.

Former Premier Mike Rann played a role in securing the building for the organisations, with the vision that the Science Exchange would be a hub of science communication nationally. 

AusSMC CEO Dr Susannah Eliott said if RiAus and the Cosmos operations closed, they would likely have to leave the building.

RiAus and AusSMC are located in the former Adelaide Stock Exchange building, a state heritage place. Their team operates there, and they run events.

AusSMC is an independent organisation, with sponsorship caps meaning although RiAus is a sponsor, a closure of RiAus would not significantly impact its operations. 

Eliott said while about 90 per cent of their science stories are picked up – often by mainstream media – Cosmos played a unique role as one of the last remaining pools of science journalists in the nation with the “luxury” of being able to follow the narrative of unfolding research and cover the complicated stories. 

“Every now and again, a really important story comes up and we think, ‘gosh, probably nobody’s going to cover this, but it’s actually really important’,” she said. 

“It might be quite technical, it might involve physics, or maths or genetics in a way that takes a while to get your head around… we can’t force anyone to cover these stories but we’ll put them out anyway, but sure enough, Cosmos will cover them.”

Eliott said the future of media required both science-informed general reporting and dedicated science journalism teams such as Cosmos.

“If Cosmos closes, it’s not a good omen for science journalism in Australia,” she said. 

Berryman said while there was a lot of goodwill in the community, a solution must be found to keep Cosmos going.

“I see the public’s need for factual information as one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time,” he said. 

“The reality is, those people in Australia who are in a position to support us don’t see that at the current time and that’s what makes it very difficult for us to get the public support that we need, which isn’t a lot of money in the scheme of things.”

According to their FY2022-23 Financial report, Cosmos’ revenue includes government funding, advertising and subscription income, as well as grants received from organisations such as the Walkley Foundation of Public Interest Journalism, Google and the state government. 

In the financial year 2022-23, 79.6 per cent of RiAus’ $3,535,635 revenue came from government funding, 10.6 per cent from providing goods or services and 5.3 per cent from donations. 

A one-off $2.7 million state government grant was given to RiAus in June 2022 to allow it to expand its journalism with a focus on emerging South Australian industries such as space and renewable energy. 

Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Susan Close told InDaily “the Adelaide-based magazine is an important part of the national and international scientific landscape”.

She said she was working with RiAus to “secure the long-term viability of Cosmos and its quality scientific journalism”.

“Now more than ever, there is a real need for credible scientific journalism, the type of which Cosmos Magazine provides,” she said.

“The pandemic, the climate crisis and the growth of the renewable energy sector are examples of the importance of timely, accurate and trustworthy reporting on scientific issues.”

Berryman said RiAus and the Cosmos products were known and used both nationally and internationally and it was time to discuss wider support.

“We’re a national organisation with an international footprint, the burden of doing a social dividend job for the nation shouldn’t be borne by just one of the smaller states,” he said. 

“It’s time that the rest of the country shared that passion that South Australia shares for what we do.”