In this 12 months’s closing On Background, Boris forgives an previous goal, scuttlebutt of succession planning in Guardian Towers, a clampdown on Christmas misbehaviour, Seven swings the axe and Global Roaming’s growth continues.
Sky News boss’ rose-tinted eulogy
Sky News boss Paul Whittaker has lots to be grateful to Graham Richardson for. But possibly not for the explanations you’d suppose.
In truth, the late Richo performed a job in Whittaker touchdown his first Walkley Award in 1995, solely a short while into his profession of greater than 30 years in journalism. Boris (Whittaker) is so grateful that he was one of many few to ship a eulogy for the previous Labor powerbroker on Tuesday, saying he “will endlessly be remembered as an enormous of Australian politics”.
Whittaker made his identify in Brisbane breaking the story about Operation Wallah, a secret investigation into the then-Labor Senator and Cabinet Minister Richardson’s alleged corruption. The scoops and multi-year investigation revealed an AFP investigation into corruption allegations in opposition to Richo and a serious bust-up between the Federal Police and the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) over the dealing with of the operation, in keeping with media experiences from three a long time in the past.
Richo had allegedly accepted $4000 price of prostitution providers from a Gold Coast businessman in alternate for doubtlessly utilizing his place to assist promote missile know-how to the Chinese authorities from defence contractor McDonnell Douglas.
The two first crossed paths within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, with Whittaker a younger reporter on The Courier Mail and Richardson a not too long ago retired Parliamentarian draped in scandal.
“As a plucky journalist, these interactions had been typically adversarial, however at all times respectful with Richo’s disarming trademark wit and appeal at all times evident,” Whittaker informed the St James’ Church attendees
“Adversarial” is definitely one method to put it, as a number of attendees hastened to level out to On Background.
So critical had been the yarns by Whittaker that an inquiry was held into how he obtained the paperwork and who leaked them to him. Boris despatched Russell Hanson QC, who led the inquiry, barking mad by refusing to reply 400 questions regarding his sources throughout a state CJC inquiry into the Operation Wallah leaks, which immediately linked Richardson to corruption allegations.
And in December 1995, two weeks after successful his first Walkley for his reporting on the case, the AFP raided Whittaker’s house due to his refusal to surrender his sources.
Whittaker believed he was destined for jail time, which he narrowly escaped, regardless of the suggestions of Hanson for his refusal to conform. Good on you, Boris!
He was praised for sticking by his sources, a reporter’s most cardinal rule by one in every of media legislation and journalism’s best wordsmiths on the time, Richard Ackland.
“Not to attract too superb an analogy, the journalist and the supply are in it collectively, reasonably just like the prostitute and the shopper,” Ackland wrote within the Australian Press Council News.
As the story goes, Boris was given fairly a send-off by his Courier Mail colleagues, together with a survival package inclusive of condoms, lipstick and stockings as he ready to spend time behind bars. Oh, the ’90s.
Still on the story years later, Whittaker’s 1999 freedom of data requests and a years-long marketing campaign allowed him to lastly uncover the beforehand suppressed particulars of how Richardson “loved sexual favours from prostitutes paid for by a Gold Coast businessman a minimum of twice”, in 2001.
“Brief backs Richo sex-romp declare” the story splashed.
It was only some years later that Richo started his time as a columnist for The Australian whereas Boris was editor. Richo joined Sky News in 2011, Boris joined him later in 2018 and the remaining is historical past! We requested Boris when and the way the pair patched issues up … however like in 1995, he declined to reply the query. Make that 401?
Successor anointed at Guardian Australia?
You needed to squint to see it, however white smoke has been seen at Guardian Australia within the final week as information of a serious promotion despatched workers into overdrive, with ideas editor Lenore Taylor’s successor might have been chosen.
Taylor is one with the Guardian model in Australia, its gun rent at its inception in 2013, and has edited it since 2016. She’s the longest serving editor in Australian media, so naturally, there’s been hypothesis for a while about when she’ll have had sufficient.
While she informed this masthead this 12 months she’s nonetheless comfortable and there’s “extra work to do right here”, the query has at all times been about who’s match to fill Taylor’s sneakers.
Now it appears we might have a solution. One of Taylor’s most loyal lieutenants, Bridie Jabour, has been given a two-year secondment as “multimedia transformation editor” on the Guardian’s British HQ, with the transfer introduced to workers by London-based editor-in-chief Katharine Viner herself final week. Portentous!
The job is in The Guardian’s Berger Team, a challenge geared toward innovation in response to viewers habits and AI, pushing the masthead’s output to be extra visible, digital and experimental. This consists of extra workers being employed to give attention to social media, graphics and video content material. The staff is run out of the UK, but additionally has involvement from its US and Australian groups.
The working concept among the many Guardianistas is that Jabour’s hand-picked secondment by Viner is a chance for her to get a close-up view, doubtlessly making ready Jabour for a grand return to edit the Aussie outpost. It may additionally function a canny method to promote Jabour on return with minimal fuss and doubtlessly not bending any noses out of joint.
Jabour is head of multimedia down beneath however has held nearly each job since 2013, together with reporting roles, information desk editor, opinion editor and her present gig. On Background contacted everybody concerned and a Guardian spokesperson mentioned the outlet was delighted by Jabour’s secondment and the larger collaboration between the three worldwide newsrooms that may observe.
A really Sky Christmas
Speaking of Whittaker, he was readily available this week to warn his personal plucky younger staffers to not stray too far off the straight and slim (or replicate any Richo-like behaviour) because the broadcaster joined News Corp’s Christmas celebrations.
After the escapades of Chris Smith gave Sky undesirable headlines in 2022 and prompted a cancellation of the Christmas social gathering the next 12 months, Boris was certain to clarify what his expectations had been in an e mail despatched out on Monday.
“Please keep in mind the occasion stays a office setting, and everyone seems to be required to conduct themselves in a means that helps a optimistic, protected and respectful environment.
“Behaviour that falls in need of this, together with any type of harassment, unwelcome behaviour or feedback about others that would moderately trigger offence or embarrassment won’t be tolerated.” As far as we’ve heard, everybody behaved themselves.
Roaming globally
Fresh off its Waleed Aly-snub (detailed final week), one of many ABC’s high podcasts, Global Roaming, has appointed Latika Bourke as its new, third host, whereas former international correspondent Kylie Morris has joined as fourth host.
Bourke is a writer-at-large for Kerry Stokes′ The Nightly, whereas Morris is already at Radio National. The pair will be a part of Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue in 2026 as they start pumping out an episode each weekday.
It will in all probability be a rotating solid – paying homage to the favored British podcast The News Agents.
Hopefully, there may be sufficient information to service such an intense schedule.
Seven Network’s early Christmas current
After Nine’s 50 job cuts dominated headlines final month, it’s now seemingly Seven’s flip handy their workers an early Christmas current within the type of 40 workers being made redundant.
A spokesperson put the cuts all the way down to the continued promoting market circumstances, a line changing into far too acquainted for media firms.
“We sincerely thank these impacted for the contribution they’ve made to Seven,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Thanks for studying On Background within the second half of 2025. The column will return in 2026.
Calum Jaspan is a media author for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based mostly in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect by way of Twitter or e mail.Most Viewed in Business
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