The critical but financially-challenged news portal - The Nut Graph - will now attract its readers through its fearlessly written columns and commentaries on Monday, every week.

The Nut Graph, which was established in August 2008, will continue publishing and sustaining its presence with volunteers, whereby all of its staff members will be retrenched by the end of August this year.

However, in an article published on the website today, its journalist and editor, Jacqueline Ann Surin, said the decision would enable her to fully focus on her role without constantly worrying about raising funds to keep the entire team fairly paid.

"Under the new plan we will see our office closed. But that won't stop us from working from home," said Surin.

She also added that the website will see a slowing down in the frequency of publications from five days a week to just once every Monday.

NONE "We will be publishing fewer stories, consisting of critically written columns and commentaries," she added.

The team will also continue to offer its regular features like ‘Six Words', ‘Found in Quotation', ‘Found in Malaysia' and ‘Found in Conversation'.

"This plan is also premised on knowing that with enough commitment to the ideals of journalism and creating spaces where democracy can be upheld, most of what we are currently doing will continue to be done.

"There is no failure, there is only feedback and this is our response to the feedback."

She also added that the office motto - "We do the best we can with the resources we have" - will continue to be their mantra as the team move forward.

The Nut Graph had to come up with a new plan as the company's seed funding ended in March 2010. It has been operating on funds from Konrad Adenauer Foundation for its MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project, and the Asia Foundation, beyond March.

The independent news site believes that both politics and popular culture provide indicators about the health of our democracy and the directions we may be heading, with its tag line, "Making sense of politics and popular culture."

One of its most famous articles is the one on the Rosmah advertisement in the New York Times placed on the government's behalf - which attracted almost 30,000 hits and more than 100 comments.

The article revealed that the two-page spread costing thousands of US dollars and featuring the prime minister's wife, was placed on behalf of the Malaysian government.

Also one of its photos, featuring Pakatan coordinator Zaid Ibrahim being interviewed in a restaurant, achieved dubious fame when it was doctored by pro-Umno bloggers during the Hulu Selangor by-election, to show him with a bottle of alcohol.