The Australian
| File:The Australian.png | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | News Limited |
| Editor-in-chief | Chris Mitchell |
| Editor | Clive Mathieson |
| Founded | 14 July 1964 |
| Headquarters | Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia |
| ISSN | 1038-8761 |
| Website | theaustralian |
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. As with other Murdoch publications it leans to the far right of the political spectrum. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the editor-at-large is Paul Kelly. Available nationally (in each state and territory), The Australian is the biggest-selling national newspaper in the country, with weekday sales of 135,000 and Saturday sales of 305,000, figures substantially below those of top-selling papers in Sydney (The Daily Telegraph), Melbourne (The Herald Sun), and Brisbane (The Courier-Mail). Its chief rival is the business-focused Australian Financial Review.
In May 2010, the newspaper launched the first Australian newspaper iPad app.[1]
Parent companies
The Australian is published by News Limited, an asset of News Corporation, which also owns the sole dailies in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin and the most popular metropolitan dailies in Sydney and Melbourne.[2] News Corporation's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder is Rupert Murdoch.
The Australian integrates content from overseas newspapers owned by News Limited's parent, News Corporation, including the Wall Street Journal and The Times.[2]
History
The first edition of The Australian was published by Rupert Murdoch on 15 July 1964, becoming the third national newspaper in Australia following shipping newspaper Daily Commercial News (1891)[3] and Australian Financial Review (1951). Unlike other Murdoch newspapers, it was neither a tabloid nor an acquired publication.[4] From its inception The Australian struggled for financial viability and ran at a loss for several decades.[4]
Coverage
Daily sections include National News (The Nation) followed by Worldwide News (Worldwide), Sport and Business News (Business). Contained within each issue is a prominent op/ed section, including regular columnists and non-regular contributors. Other regular sections include Technology (AustralianIT), Media, Features, Legal Affairs, Aviation, Defence, Horse-Racing (Thoroughbreds), The Arts, Health, Wealth and Higher Education. A Travel & Indulgence section is included on Saturdays, along with The Inquirer, an in-depth analysis of major stories of the week, alongside much political commentary. Saturday lift-outs include Review, focusing on books, arts, film and television, and The Weekend Australian Magazine, the only national weekly glossy insert magazine. A glossy magazine, Wish, is published on the first Friday of the month.
The Australian has long maintained a focus on issues relating to Aboriginal disadvantage."[2] It also devotes attention to the information technology, Defence and mining industries,[2] as well as the science, economics, and politics of climate change. It has also published numerous "special reports" into Australian energy policy.
Since 2006 the Australian Literary Review has been a monthly supplement, until its last issue on October 2011.
Notable stories
In 2009, The Australian ran many articles about the Rudd Government's "Building the Education Revolution" policy, which uncovered evidence of over-pricing, financial waste and mismanagement of the building of improvements to schools such as halls, gymnasiums and libraries. On the newspaper's website, there was a section named "Stimulus Watch", subtitled "How your Billions Are Being Spent", which contained a large collection of such articles.
The following year, the policy turned into a political embarrassment for the government, which until then had been able to ignore The Australian's reports. Along with the government's insulation stimulus policy, it contributed to perceptions of incompetence and general dissatisfaction with the government's performance.[citation needed] On 16 July 2010 it was reported that Julia Gillard had admitted that the school-building program was flawed and that that errors had been made because the program was designed in haste to protect jobs during the global financial crisis.[5]
Payment for online content
In October 2011 News Ltd announced that it was planning to become the first general newspaper in Australia to introduce a paywall. It charges readers $2.95 a week to view premium content on its website and mobile phone and tablet applications.[6]
Editorial and opinion pages
Mitchell has said that the editorial and op-ed pages of the newspaper are centre-right,[7] "comfortable with a mainstream Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd, just as it was quite comfortable with John Howard."[2] According to other commentators, however, the newspaper "is generally conservative in tone and heavily oriented toward business; it has a range of columnists of varying political persuasions but mostly to the right."[8] Its former editor Paul Kelly has stated that "The Australian has established itself in the marketplace as a newspaper that strongly supports economic libertarianism".[9]
The Australian presents varying views on climate change. Paul Kelly is consistent with economic libertarianism in condemning non-market mechanisms such as the renewable energy target which has bipartisan support and the direct action policy of the coalition,[10] but other commentators have argued against carbon markets.[11] The Australian is strongly critical of the carbon tax imposed by the Gillard government.[12]
Robert Manne wrote that "The Australian is... the only newspaper that is read by virtually all members of the group of insiders I call the political class, a group that includes politicians, leading public servants, business people and the most politically engaged citizens. Even those members of the political class who loathe the paper understand that they cannot afford to ignore it."[13]
Jonathon Holmes, an ABC journalist and the host of Media Watch, has said "It’s the extent to which its news agenda is driven by its obsessions and campaigns that makes it such an odd newspaper and difficult to read, because you’re constantly having to pick your way through stories that are hard, good journalism and stories that are agenda-driven nonsense." [14]
Columnists and contributors
Regular columnists include Dennis Shanahan, David Burchell, Peter van Onselen, Michael Stutchbury, Simon Adamek, Glenn Milne, Paul Kelly, George Megalogenis, Mike Steketee, Greg Sheridan, Alan Wood, Phillip Adams, Nicolas Rothwell, Janet Albrechtsen, Imre Salusinszky, Chris Kenny, Troy Bramston, Nikki Savva, Tim Soutphommasane, Judith Sloan, Emma Tom and Angela Shanahan. It also features daily cartoons from Bill Leak and Peter Nicholson.
Occasional contributors include Gregory Melleuish, Kevin Donnelly, Tom Switzer, James Allan, Luke Slattery, David Messer, and Noel Pearson.
Former columnists include Cordelia Fine,[15] Michael Costa, Michael Costello, Frank Devine and Matt Price.
Other contributors include Penny Wong, Clive Hamilton, Tim Costello and Kevin Rudd.
Awards
In November 2006, The Australian journalist Caroline Overington was awarded both the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism and a Walkley award for investigative journalism over her coverage of the AWB Oil-for-Wheat Scandal for the paper.[16] The following year, Hedley Thomas won the Gold Walkley Award for his coverage of the Haneef case.
Also in 2007, the newspaper's website won the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers' Association Online Newspaper of the Year award.[17]
The Australian's "Australian of the Year"
In January of every year, The Australian announces its choice for "Australian of the Year". In 2011, the newspaper announced that Treasury Secretary Ken Henry was its winner of the award for 2010.[18] Previous winners include Kevin Rudd (2009),[19] Stephen Keim (2008),[20] Bob Brown (1983)[21] and Gough Whitlam.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Omar Dabbagh (17 May 2010). "The Australian launches iPad newspaper app". PC World. IDG Communications. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Manning, James (10 March 2008). "National daily plans new business website and monthly colour magazine". MediaWeek (854). Sydney, Australia: 3, 7, 8.
- ^ Daily commercial news and shipping list, National Library of Australia Trove
- ^ a b Cryle, Denis (2008). Murdoch's flagship (PDF). Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-85675-0.
- ^ Matthew Franklin and Patricia Karvelas (16 July 2010). "Julia Gillard admits school mistakes". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ "Australian to charge $2.95 a week for all online content". The Age. Melbourne. 18 October 2011.
- ^ Mitchell, Chris (9 March 2006). The Media Report. Australian Broadcasting Company.
- ^ Clancy, Laurie (2004). Culture and customs of Australia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-313-32169-6.
- ^ "Do not disturb: is the media failing Australia?" P60 By Robert Manne
- ^ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/throwing-money-to-the-wind/story-e6frg71x-1226422909377.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/abbott-mounts-a-powerful-argument-against-gillards-carbon-tax/story-e6frgd0x-1226091000884.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://www.acij.uts.edu.au/pdfs/sceptical-climate-part1.pdf
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2875686.html
- ^ http://www.themonthly.com.au/power-rupert-murdoch-and-australian-s-editor-chief-united-states-chris-mitchell-sally-neighbour-3589
- ^ http://www.cordeliafine.com/journalism.html
- ^ Kickback: Inside the Australian Wheat Board scandal. Allen & Unwin.
- ^ Elks, Sarah (9 August 2007). The Australian wins online newspaper award. News.com.au.
- ^ Ken Henry: the thinking country's bureaucrat The Australian
- ^ a b Why is Kevin Rudd Australian of the Year? Crikey
- ^ Hedley Thomas. (15 December 2007). The odd couple. The Australian.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/myfavouriteaustralian/brown.htm
