David Penberthy (born 1969,

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, South Australia) is the former

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

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news site news.com.au and the former opinion website, ''

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''. He was editor of ''

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'' in Sydney, Australia, from April 2005 until November 2008.

Early life and education

Penberthy studied a Bachelor of Arts at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

in the late 1980s. Initially, he had enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, but he left legal studies to enter journalism.

Career

He was the 1990 co-editor of '' On Dit'', the newspaper of the University's

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and was also President of CISCAC, the Committee in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean, a Marxist political club. In addition he was the energetic frontman for punk band Cerveza y Putas (Beer and Whores), which played originals and cover songs from such bands as the Pixies,

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitar ...

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and Hüsker Dü in Spanish, a language Penberthy acquired while living in

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in the late 1980s. Penberthy started his career as an industrial relations reporter and then political reporter for the Adelaide-based '' The Advertiser'', hired by then editor Peter Blunden. In 1999 Penberthy switched to work at the Sydney-based '' Daily Telegraph'', another newspaper in the News Limited stable. Three years into his tenure at the ''Telegraph'' he was appointed chief of staff. Later he became an opinion editor and roving columnist for the newspaper. One of Penberthy's more famous moments as a reporter with the ''Daily Telegraph'' came with his "Five Star Asylum" piece, an article headlined "The truth about how inmates are treated inside Australia's detention centres." In 2005 Penberthy was appointed editor of the ''Daily Telegraph''. As editor, Penberthy came under intense pressure over the publication of stories focusing on then NSW

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leader John Brogden, who was accused of making inappropriate comments to the journalist Justine Ferrari while drunk. ''The Daily Telegraph'' said there was evidence of more serious issues concerning Brogden, who later apparently tried to commit suicide. Penberthy resigned as editor of the ''Daily Telegraph'' in November 2008 during the newspaper's campaign for the

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to "sack itself". In October 2010, Penberthy was appointed the editor-in-chief of News Limited's online news site news.com.au as well as opinion website ''

''. Penberthy is currently (2017) the co-host of the Breakfast Show (6am–9am) on Adelaide talkback radio station FIVEaa alongside Will Goodings. He is also a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short ess ...

for ''

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'', ''The Advertiser'', and the '' Sunday Mail''.

Personal life

In October 2010 it was reported that Penberthy had recently separated from his wife and he was romantically linked to federal MP Kate Ellis. A relationship between the two was confirmed by news reports in January 2011. They confirmed their engagement in November 2012, and were married on 23 February 2013. They had a son in April 2015. Their second son was born in July 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penberthy, David 1969 births University of Adelaide alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian newspaper editors Online journalists Journalists from South Australia Australian columnists The Australian journalists