The demise of The Pool is a blow to women’s journalism – now it’s time to help their freelancers pay the rent

I wish I knew what the answer was to such good egg projects surviving online

Sam Baker, left, and Lauren Laverne have created the website for women: smart, funny, down to earth, and written by a “pool” of female writers (Holly McGlynn)

So it’s goodbye to The Pool, the online daily bulletin for women, which pinged into my inbox bright and early every morning and was often the first thing I browsed on waking.

For those not in the know, The Pool was the brain child of Sam Baker, a well known name among women’s magazine editors, and the presenter Lauren Laverne, both of whom left the board some time last year. Its aim was to provide women with an eclectic reading mix of anything and everything from politics to skincare.

The sad thing about The Pool’s demise is that it was a brilliant idea – a refreshing, non-judgmental platform for women to write interesting articles that didn’t turn its back on fashion or beauty advice. It could have been po-faced but it wasn’t. It was also really nicely designed. The online magazine was neatly divided up into bitesized chunks, managing to cover politics without preaching while also pointing you in the right direction for a really great leopard print blouse.

I was probably at the older end of its target demographic, but I liked it because it felt fresh and optimistic. It acknowledged that women are allowed to be interested in many different things, so while you might want to read an in-depth article on American reproductive rights for women, you might equally want an easy recipe idea for a cheap tasty one-pot supper dish.

It provided all this and more. Several of the books I’ve read over the past year were suggested by The Pool. It put me on the right track when choosing my next Netflix crush and I adored its regular Friday shopping fix guide, featuring anything from wide-legged trousers to smelly candles.

Sadly, The Pool isn’t the first online women’s magazine to close. A few years ago, the most generous hearted of comedians, Sarah Millican, started a similar freebie for women. Standard Issue was a reaction against the tyranny of so many print magazines which seem to exist just to tell women off for being too fat, for not wanting more sex, for not trying hard enough to please, for not shaving in the right places, for not being sexy, glamorous, cute or thin enough.

It was a huge breath of fresh air. Women wrote about all sorts of things – it was funny. I remember howling with laughter at an article written by the comic Jen Brister about her entire family having a terrible case of food poisoning, resulting in rivers of diarrhoea on a family caravan holiday in France. It was the kind of article that I doubt any other women’s glossy magazine would have touched with a bargepole. Not only was Standard Issue funny, it was informative and kind, offering a warm virtual hand hold for the anxious.

But even though people loved it, it couldn’t survive as a magazine, possibly because on principal it wouldn’t accept advertising revenue from companies intent on “improving” women and eventually it ran aground.

Standard Issue rallied back in the form of a hugely successful podcast, possibly because a great deal of emphasis had been placed on female wit. The live versions of the podcast soon became a must-have ticket and the shows regularly pack out venues in London and around the country.

I’m not sure The Pool will have a life beyond the defunct digital magazine. Standard Issue has always had the tireless Sarah Millican at its helm and whereas the world of funny writing transfers quite easily to a live environment, quirky little Pool-type articles about how to maximise the space in your bathroom don’t.

I wish I knew what the answer was to such good egg projects surviving online. The most obvious solution is to make people pay for the stuff, but everyone has got so used to reading news and features for nothing that they don’t see why they should.

Providing digital content has become a curse for the freelance journalist. How much do you give away before you realise you can’t pay the rent? “But it’s so good for your profile” everyone choruses and it is, until your landlord chucks you out and you’re your back living with your parents and sleeping in your childhood single bed.

The Pool was the kind of magazine I’d have bought in a newsagent had it been in print. But it wasn’t in print, it was online and it was free unless you checked out the small print and opted to subscribe, only I didn’t notice/bother and I’d like to apologise.

Of course now that the horse has bolted I find myself putting my hand in my pocket, not to save the magazine – it’s too late for that – but I’ve contributed to a gofundme campaign to raise £24,000 for the freelance contributors to The Pool who have yet to be paid this year. Let’s face it, after all the enjoyment I’ve had gratis from the magazine, it’s the least I can do.