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''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by
Nine Entertainment Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited is an Australian publicly listed company with holdings in mass media radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding. The entity is largely a succ ...
. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia and claims to be the most widely read masthead in the country. It is considered a
newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...
for Australia. The newspaper is published in compact print form from Monday to Saturday as ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and on Sunday as its sister newspaper, ''
The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Entertainment. It is the Sunday counterpart of the ''Sydney Morning Herald''. In the six months to September 2005, ''The Sun-H ...
'' and digitally as an online site and app, seven days a week. The print edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' is available for purchase from many retail outlets throughout the Sydney metropolitan area, most parts of regional
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
and
South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...
.


Overview

''The Sydney Morning Herald'' publishes a variety of supplements, including the magazines ''Good Weekend'' (included in the Saturday edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''); and ''Sunday Life''. There are a variety of lift-outs, some of them co-branded with online classified-advertising sites: * ''The Guide'' (television) on Mondays * ''Good Food'' (food) and ''Domain'' (real estate) on Tuesdays * ''Money'' (personal finance) on Wednesdays * ''Drive'' (motoring), ''Shortlist'' (entertainment) on Fridays * ''News Review'', ''Spectrum'' (arts and entertainment guide), ''Domain'' (real estate), ''Drive'' (motoring) and ''MyCareer'' (employment) on Saturdays The executive editor is James Chessell and the editor is Bevan Shields. Tory Maguire is national editor, Monique Farmer is life editor, and the publisher is chief digital and publishing officer Chris Janz. Former editors include Darren Goodsir,
Judith Whelan Judith Whelan (born 1960 or 1961; died 26 June 2024) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. She was the second woman to serve as editor of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (SMH) since its inception in 1831. Career Whelan joined the SMH ...
, Sean Aylmer, Peter Fray, Meryl Constance, Amanda Wilson (the first female editor, appointed in 2011),
William Curnow William Curnow (1832 – 14 October 1903) was a Cornish Australian journalist, and Methodist minister, and was editor of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' for 15 years. Early life Curnow was baptised on 2 December 1832 at St Ives, Cornwall, Unit ...
,
Andrew Garran Andrew Garran (19 November 1825 – 6 June 1901), English-Australian journalist and politician, was the editor of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' from 1873 to 1885. Biography Garran was born in London in 1825, surnamed "Gammon" according to ...
,
Frederick William Ward Frederick William Ward (5 April 1847 – 1 July 1934) was an Australian journalist, newspaper editor and Methodist minister. Ward was born in New Zealand, the fourth son of the Rev. Robert Ward, a Primitive Methodist clergyman, and was sent to ...
(editor from 1884 to 1890),
Charles Brunsdon Fletcher Charles Brunsdon Fletcher (5 August 1859 – 17 December 1946) was an English-born Australian surveyor and journalist who served as the editor of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' for twenty years. Birth and education Fletcher was the third of ...
, Colin Bingham, Max Prisk, John Alexander,
Paul McGeough Paul McGeough is an Irish Australian journalist and senior foreign correspondent for ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In 2001, when covering events in Afghanistan with the Northern Alliance, he and French journalist Véronique Reyberotte survived ...
, Alan Revell, Alan Oakley, and Lisa Davies.


History

''The Sydney Herald'' was founded in 1831 by three employees of the now-defunct ''
Sydney Gazette ''The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' was the first newspaper printed in Australia, running from 5 March 1803 until 20 October 1842. It was a semi-official publication of the government of New South Wales, authorised by Governo ...
'': Ward Stephens, Frederick Stokes, and
William McGarvie William McGarvie (1810 – 1 April 1841) was a Scotland, Scottish-born bookseller and newspaper owner, active in New South Wales. J. V. Byrnes,McGarvie, William (1810 – 1841), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 2, Melbourne Universit ...
. A Centenary Supplement (since digitised) was published in 1931. The original four-page weekly had a print run of 750. The newspaper began to publish daily in 1840, and the operation was purchased in 1841 by an Englishman named
John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...
who renamed it ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' the following year. Fairfax, whose family were to control the newspaper for almost 150 years, based his editorial policies "upon principles of candour, honesty and honour. We have no wish to mislead; no interest to gratify by unsparing abuse or indiscriminate approbation." Donald Murray, who invented a predecessor of the
teleprinter A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point and point- ...
, worked at the ''Herald'' during the 1890s.New Zealand's Donald Murray: The Father of the Remote Typewriter
, Australian Typewriter Museum,
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, 9 March 2012; accessed 10 March 2012
A weekly "Page for Women" was added in 1905, edited by
Theodosia Ada Wallace Theodosia Ada Wallace (18 August 1872 – 1 October 1953) was an Australian journalist. Life The daughter of Alexander Britton and Ada Willoughby, both natives of England, she was born Theodosia Ada Britton in Jolimont, East Melbourne. The ...
. The ''SMH'' was late to the trend of printing news rather than just advertising on the front page, doing so from 15 April 1944. Of the country's metropolitan dailies, only ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' was later in making the switch. The newspaper launched a Sunday edition, ''The Sunday Herald'', in 1949. Four years later, this was merged with the newly acquired ''Sun'' newspaper to create ''The Sun-Herald'', which continues to this day. By the mid-1960s, a new competitor had appeared in Rupert Murdoch's national daily ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'', which was first published on 15 July 1964. John Fairfax & Sons Limited commemorated the Herald's 150th anniversary in 1981 by presenting the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
with Stephen Walker's sculpture ''Tank Stream Fountain''. In 1995, the company launched the newspaper's web edition ''smh.com.au''. The site has since grown to include interactive and multimedia features beyond the content in the print edition. Around the same time, the organisation moved from Jones Street to new offices at Darling Park and built a new printing press at
Chullora Chullora, a suburb in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown local government area, is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Th ...
, in the city's west. The ''SMH'' later moved with other Sydney Fairfax divisions to a building at Darling Island. In May 2007,
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
announced it would be moving from a
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...
format to the smaller
compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...
or tabloid-size, in the footsteps of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', for both ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Age''. After abandoning these plans later in the year, Fairfax Media again announced in June 2012 its plan to shift both broadsheet newspapers to tabloid size, with effect from March 2013. Fairfax also announced it would cut staff across the entire group by 1,900 over three years and erect
paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content (media), content, with a purchase or a subscription business model, paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their website ...
s around the papers' websites. The subscription type was to be a
freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...
model, limiting readers to a number of free stories per month, with a payment required for further access. The announcement was part of an overall "digital first" strategy of increasingly
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
or
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
content over printed delivery, to "increase sharing of editorial content," and to assist the management's wish for "full integration of its online, print and mobile platforms." It was announced in July 2013 that the ''SMH'' news director, Darren Goodsir, would become editor-in-chief, replacing Sean Aylmer. On 22 February 2014, the Saturday edition was produced in broadsheet format for the final time, with this too converted to compact format on 1 March 2014, ahead of the decommissioning of the printing plant at Chullora in June 2014. In June 2022, the paper received global coverage and backlash to an attempted
outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia Transphobia consists ...
of Australian actress
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing in the SBS comedy ser ...
by columnist Andrew Hornery, and the subsequent defence of his since-deleted column by editor Bevan Shields; Wilson pre-empted the Hornery disclosure with an
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
post confirming her relationship.


''Daily Life'' Woman of the Year

In 2012, Woman of the Year (WOTY) awards were created by the editor of the ''Daily Life'' section, Sarah Oakes, inspired by the sexism faced by former prime minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
. Winners were selected as the result of voting by the public as well as a panel of judges appointed by Fairfax. Winners have included: *2012:
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
*2013: "ADFA Kate" (an
RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...
cadet, victim of the "Skype sex scandal" at the
Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military academy that provides military and Tertiary education in Australia, academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ...
) *2014:
Rosie Batty Rosemary Anne "Rosie" Batty (born 1962) is an Australian domestic violence campaigner. She became a campaigner in 2014, after her 11-year-old son Luke Batty was murdered by his father, Greg Anderson. As a campaigner, she has spoken publicly ab ...
*2015:
Gillian Triggs Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian and British public international lawyer, specialising in human rights and trade and commercial law. She is also an academic, barrister, and director. She became widely known in Aust ...
*2016: Mariam Veiszadeh


Editorial stance

The contemporary editorial stance of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' is generally centrist. It has been described as the most centrist of Australia's three major news publications (the others being ''The Australian'' and ''The Age''). In 2004, the newspaper's editorial page stated: "
market libertarianism Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism". ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...
and
social liberalism Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
" were the two "broad themes" that guided the ''Herald''s editorial stance. During the 1999 referendum on whether Australia should become a republic, the ''Herald'' (like the other two major papers) strongly supported a Yes vote. It also endorsed the Yes vote for the
2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum The 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum was a Referendums in Australia, constitutional referendum held on 14October 2023 in which the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was rejected. Voters were asked to approve an Co ...
. ''The'' ''Sydney Morning Herald'' did not endorse the Labor Party for federal office in the first six decades of
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, always endorsing a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
government. The newspaper has since endorsed Labor in seven federal elections:
1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
(
Calwell Calwell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell King's Counsel, KC (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party, La ...
),
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
( Hawke), 2007 (
Rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. The fishes in this genus are commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without ...
), 2010 ( Gillard),Lisa Davies
Why the Herald does editorials and why they can be controversial
, ''Sydney Morning Herald'' (March 27, 2019).
2019 ( Shorten), and 2022 ( Albanese). During the
2004 Australian federal election The 2004 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 October 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minist ...
, the ''Herald'' did not endorse a party, but subsequently resumed its practice of making endorsements. After endorsing the
Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
at the
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
and 2016 federal elections, the newspaper endorsed
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
's Labor Party in
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, after
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
was ousted as prime minister. At the
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
level, the ''Herald'' has consistently backed the Coalition; the only time since 1973 that it has endorsed a Labor government for
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
was
Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...
's government in the 2003 election, though it declined to endorse either party three times during this period. The ''Herald'' endorsed Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The ''Herald'' endorsed the Liberal-National Coalition in the run-up for the 2023 New South Wales state election. In May 2023, the ''Herald'' opposed the extradition of former
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
editor
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
to the United States, with the newspaper conducting a poll that found 79% oppose Assange's extradition to the United States.


Myall Creek coverage and apology

As ''The Sydney Herald'', the newspaper's editorial stance at times reflected racist attitudes within the colony, with the paper urging
squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
across Australia to emulate the mass killing of Native Americans. The front page of the paper on December 26, 1836 read: "If nothing but extermination will do, they ''will'' exterminate the savages as they would wild beasts." In the wake of the
Myall Creek massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least 28 unarmed Aboriginal people in the Colony of New South Wales by eight colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek in the north of the colony. Seven perpetrators were convicted of murder ...
in which at least twenty-eight unarmed Wirraayaraay men, women and children were murdered by a group of white stockmen, the paper published a long letter from a squatter in defence the killings. The squatter described the Indigenous inhabitants of Australia as "the most degenerate, despicable, and brutal race of beings in existence", writing: "they will, and must become extinct – civilization destroys them – where labor and industry flourish, ''they'' die!" The ''Herald'''s editorialisation on the trials contrasted with other newspapers which were more respectful on the matter and on the notion of
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
being protected under the law as British subjects, the same as settlers. In 2023, the paper apologised for its coverage of the massacre and the subsequent trials of the perpetrators.


Notable contributors


Writers

*
Waleed Aly Waleed Aly (born 15 August 1978) is an Australian television presenter, journalist, academic, and lawyer. Aly is a lecturer in politics at Monash University working in their Global Terrorism Research Centre, and a co-host of Network Ten's ne ...
* Eliza Ashton *
Louisa Atkinson Caroline Louisa Waring Calvert (; 25 February 1834 – 28 April 1872) was an early Australian writer, botanist and illustrator. While she was well known for her fiction during her lifetime, her long-term significance rests on her botanical work ...
*
Julia Baird Julia Baird may refer to: * Julia Baird (teacher) (born 1947), British retired teacher and half-sister of John Lennon * Julia Baird (journalist) (born 1970), Australian journalist {{hndis, Baird, Julia ...
*
Lucian Boz Lucian Boz (; also rendered as Lucien Boz; November 9, 1908 – March 14, 2003) was a Romanian literary critic, essayist, novelist, poet and translator. Raised in Bucharest, he had a lawyer's training but never practiced, instead opting for a care ...
*
Mike Carlton Michael James Carlton, (born 31 January 1946) is an Australian former media commentator, radio host, television journalist, author and newspaper columnist. He formerly co-hosted the daily breakfast program on Sydney radio station 2UE with Pete ...
* Anne Davies *
Peter FitzSimons Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...
*
Ross Gittins Ross Gittins (born 1948 in Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian political and economic journalist and author, known for "his ability to make dry, hard-to-understand economics and economic policy relevant". Early life and education Ross Roder ...
* Richard Glover * Peter Hartcher *
Amanda Hooton Amanda Hooton is an Australian journalist and columnist and a senior writer with Good Weekend. Her work has appeared in the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''The Age'' "Good Weekend" Magazine is a supplement that is distributed with those newsp ...
* Adele Horin * H. G. Kippax * Amy Mack *
Louise Mack Marie Louise Hamilton Mack (10 October 1870 – 23 November 1935) was an Australian poet, journalist and novelist. She is most known for her writings and her involvement in World War I in 1914 as the first woman war correspondent in Belgium. Bi ...
* Roy Masters * Kate McClymont *
Anne Summers Anne Summers (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian writer and columnist, best known as a leading feminist, editor and publisher. She was formerly First Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Status of Women in the Department of the Prime Min ...
*
Michael Visontay Michael Visontay is an Australian journalist, editor and writer. He has worked in senior roles with numerous Australian newspapers, including ''The Sun-Herald'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Australian Jewish News'' and ''The Jewish Indepe ...


Illustrators

* Simon Letch, named as one of the year's best illustrators on four consecutive occasions.


List of journalists


Current journalists

The below is a list of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''s current journalists.


Former journalists

The below is a list of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'''s former journalists. After 40 years as
art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
, John McDonald was sacked in September 2024.


Ownership

Fairfax went public in 1957 and grew to acquire interests in magazines, radio, and television. The group collapsed spectacularly on 11 December 1990 when
Warwick Fairfax Warwick Fairfax (born December 1960) is an Australian businessman and consultant based in the United States. He was well known in the 1990s as the media heir and business tycoon who privatised the publicly listed media company, John Fairfax Hol ...
, who was the great-great-grandson of John Fairfax, attempted to privatise the group by borrowing $1.8 billion. The group was bought by
Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...
before being re-listed in 1992. In 2006, Fairfax announced a merger with
Rural Press Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and ...
, which brought in a Fairfax family member, John B. Fairfax, as a significant player in the company. From 10 December 2018, Fairfax Media merged into
Nine Entertainment Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited is an Australian publicly listed company with holdings in mass media radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding. The entity is largely a succ ...
, making the paper a sister to the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's
TCN TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the ...
station. This reunited the paper with a television station; Fairfax had been the founding owner of
ATN ATN is the Sydney Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax Media, John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the ...
, which became the flagship of what became the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
.


Content


Column 8

Column 8 is a short
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
to which ''Herald'' readers send their observations of interesting happenings. It was first published on 11 January 1947. The name comes from the fact that it originally occupied the final (8th) column of the
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...
newspaper's front page. In a front-page redesign in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, Column 8 moved to the back page of the first section from 31 July 2000. As at February 2024, the column is the final column on the Opinion (editorial and letters) pages. The content tends to the quirky, typically involving strange urban occurrences, instances of confusing signs (often in
Engrish ''Engrish'' is a slang term for the inaccurate, poorly translated, nonsensical or ungrammatical use of the English language by native speakers of other languages. The word itself relates to Japanese speakers learning r and l, Japanese speaker ...
),
word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...
, and discussion of more or less esoteric topics. The column is also sometimes affectionately known as Granny's Column, after a fictional grandmother who supposedly edited it. The column's original logo was a caricature of
Sydney Deamer Sydney Harold Deamer (1 December 1891 – 30 October 1962) was a newspaper journalist, an newspaper editor, editor and soldier. The son of Adrian Milford and Rhoda (née Milford) Deamer, Sydney Deamer was born on 1 December 1891 at Avondale Squa ...
, originator of the column and its author for 14 years. It was edited for 15 years by George Richards, who retired on 31 January 2004. Other editors besides Deamer and Richards have been Duncan Thompson, Bill Fitter, Col Allison, Jim Cunningham, Pat Sheil, and briefly, Peter Bowers and Lenore Nicklin. The column is, as of March 2017, edited by ''Herald'' journalist Tim Barlass, who frequently appends reader contributions with puns; and who made the decision to reduce the column's publication from its traditional six days a week, down to just weekdays.


Opinion

The ''Opinion'' section is a regular of the daily newspaper, containing opinion on a wide range of issues. Mostly concerned with relevant political, legal and cultural issues, the section presents work by regular columnists, including ''Herald'' political editor Peter Hartcher,
Ross Gittins Ross Gittins (born 1948 in Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian political and economic journalist and author, known for "his ability to make dry, hard-to-understand economics and economic policy relevant". Early life and education Ross Roder ...
, and occasional reader-submitted content. Iconoclastic Sydney barrister Charles C. Waterstreet, upon whose life the television workplace comedy ''
Rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...
'' is loosely based, had a regular humour column in this section.


''Good Weekend''

''Good Weekend'' was launched in May 1978, as a Saturday magazine appearing in both ''SMH'' and ''
The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
''. The editor was Valerie Lawson, and
Cyprian Fernandes Cyprian "Skip" Fernandes (born September 1943) is a retired journalist and author. Having started life and his career in Kenya, he is now based in Sydney, Australia. Early life and education Cyprian Fernandes was born in September 1943 into a ...
was founding chief sub-editor. It is now distributed with both ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' in Saturday editions. It contains, on average, four feature articles written by its stable of writers and others syndicated from overseas as well as sections on food, wine, and fashion. Writers include Stephanie Wood, Jane Cadzow, Melissa Fyfe, Tim Elliott, Konrad Marshall, and Amanda Hooton. Other sections include "Modern Guru", which features humorous columnists including Danny Katz responding to the everyday dilemmas of readers; a '' Samurai Sudoku''; and "The Two of Us", containing interviews with a pair of close friends, relatives or colleagues. ''Good Weekend'' is edited by Katrina Strickland. Previous editors include Ben Naparstek,
Judith Whelan Judith Whelan (born 1960 or 1961; died 26 June 2024) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor. She was the second woman to serve as editor of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (SMH) since its inception in 1831. Career Whelan joined the SMH ...
(2004–2011) and Fenella Souter.


Digitisation

The paper has been partially digitised as part of the
Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...
project of the
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
.


Awards

In March 2024, David Swan, technology editor of ''SMH'' and ''The Age'', won the 2023 Gold Lizzie for Best Journalist of the Year at the IT Journalism Awards. He also won Best Technology Journalist and Best Telecommunications Journalist, and was highly commended in the Best Technology Issues category. With ''The Age'', SMH also won Best Consumer Technology Coverage and were highly commended in the Best News Coverage category.


See also

*
List of oldest companies in Australia This list of oldest businesses and companies in Australia includes businesses, whether incorporated or organised in a different form (such as a partnership). However, the list excludes non-commercial associations and educational, governmental, or ...
*
Journalism in Australia Journalism in Australia is an industry with an extensive history. Reporters Without Borders placed Australia 26th on a list of 180 countries ranked by freedom of the press, press freedom in 2020, ahead of both the United Kingdom and United State ...
*
List of newspapers in Australia This is a list of newspapers in Australia. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' is the most-read newspaper in Australia, with over eight million readers as of 2021. Top 10 newspapers by circulation The following is a list of the top 10 newspapers ...
* ''
The Sydney Mail ''The Sydney Mail'' was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938. History ''The Sydney Mail'' was first published on 17 July 1860 by J ...
'' – weekly magazine of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', published from 1860 to 1938


Notes


References


Further reading

* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers'' (1980) pp 314–19 * Gavin Souter (1981) ''Company of Heralds: a century and a half of Australian publishing by John Fairfax Limited and its predecessors, 1831–1981'' Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, * Gavin Souter (1992) ''Heralds and angels: the house of Fairfax 1841–1992'' Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books,


External links

*
Earth Hour archive
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney Morning Herald 1831 establishments in Australia Australian news websites Fairfax Media Fairfax Media Newspapers published in Sydney Newspapers established in 1831 Daily newspapers published in Australia Newspapers on Trove Nine Entertainment