Crikey
 | |
 crikey.aufront page from 21 February 2007 | |
Type of site | Political commentary |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 1999 |
| Owner | Private Media Pty Ltd |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Yes |
| Launched | 2000 |
Crikeyis an Australian online news outlet founded in 1999. It consists of a website and email newsletter available to subscribers.
History
[edit]Crikey was founded by theactivist shareholderStephen Mayne,a journalist and former staffer of thenLiberalVictorian premierJeff Kennett.[1]It developed out of Mayne's "jeffed" website, which in turn developed out of his aborted independent candidate campaign for Kennett's seat ofBurwood.Longstanding Crikey political commentators/reporters have included the former Liberal insiderChristian Kerr(who originally wrote under the pseudonym"Hillary Bray"),[2]Guy Rundle,Charles Richardson,Bernard Keane,Mungo MacCallumand Hugo Kelly.
In 2003, Mayne was forced to sell his house to settle defamation cases brought by the radio presenterSteve Priceand the formerLabor PartysenatorNick Bolkusover false statements published about them by Crikey.[3]
Staff ofTreasurerPeter Costellobanned Crikey from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 budget "lock-ups" in which financial journalists are shown the federal budget papers some hours in advance so that their publications can report the budget in depth as soon as it is released. The grounds were that Crikey was not considered to be part of the "mainstream media".[citation needed]
On 1 February 2005, it was announced that Stephen Mayne had sold Crikey toPrivate Media Partners(later Private Media[4]), a company owned by the former editor-in-chief ofThe Sydney Morning Herald,Eric Beecher,forA$1 million. Under the agreement, Mayne has occasionally written for the email newsletter.[5][6][7]
Under Private Media's stewardship, the publication aimed for a more "professional" style by avoiding the use of in-house nicknames and other idiosyncrasies of the original Crikey. In February 2006,The Agereported that a co-founder and writer, Hugo Kelly, had been sacked on the grounds of professional misconduct, but Kelly maintained that Crikey had folded to political pressure and it had "no guts".[8]
Several staff members left in the period 2013–2014, including senior reporter Andrew Crook and media editor Matthew Knott. The cartoonFirst Dog on the Moonwas published on Crikey until 2014, when writerAndrew Marltonmoved toGuardian Australia.In March 2014, Crikey editor Jason Whittaker became the founding editor of Private Media's new publicationThe Mandarin.[9]
In 2022, following a war of words in which Crikey invited media proprietorLachlan Murdochto sue, Murdoch commenced defamation action against Crikey for an article byBernard Keanethat suggested that Murdoch was an "unindicted co-conspirator" in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack.[10]On 21 April 2023, Murdoch dropped legal proceedings against Crikey.[11]In response, the chief executive of Private Media, Will Hayward, claimed victory, saying the decision amounted to a "substantial victory for legitimate public interest journalism".[12][13]
Description
[edit]Crikey is an Australian online news outlet, comprising a website and email newsletter available to subscribers. It aims to "explain and dissect the news agenda for an intelligent, skeptical, socially and politically aware audience... to understand the news from a truly independent perspective".[14]
As of June 2024[update]Sophie Black is editor-in-chief.[15]
Private Media
[edit]Private Mediais an independent media company. As of June 2024[update],it publishes four brands: Crikey,The Mandarin(since 2014[9][16]), SmartCompany, and Inc.Australia.[17]SmartCompany caters to small to medium business owners and managers,[18]while Inc.Australia is for entrepreneurs.[19]Will Hayward is CEO, whileEric Beecheris chair of Private Media.[17](Beecher is also chair ofSolstice Media,which publishesInDailyand the superannuation-funded general news site,The New Daily.[20][21][9])
Private Media formerly ownedDaily Review(2013–2015) andWomen's Agenda(2012–2016).[22][23]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^"Multimedia Media Exchange"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 April 2012.
- ^Brown, Susan (4 July 2004)."Crikey! Name behind column comes clean on dishing dirt".The Age.Melbourne.Retrieved23 August2009.
- ^Shiel, Fergus (7 May 2003)."Legal web snares Crikey publisher".The Age.Melbourne.Retrieved22 August2009.
- ^"Home".Private Media.30 May 2024.Retrieved13 June2024.
- ^Carbone, Suzanne (3 February 2005)."Mayne finds a million reasons to sell".The Age.Melbourne.Retrieved22 August2009.
- ^"Eric Beecher".friendlyjordies.26 April 2023.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^"Crikey Sold To Beecher For $1 Million".AustralianPolitics.2 February 2005.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^Westerman, Helen; Urban, Rebecca (16 February 2006)."Crikey! You've got to watch what you say".The Age.Melbourne.Retrieved22 August2009.
- ^abcHeffernan, Madeleine (20 March 2014)."No crisis at Crikey, says Private Media chief".The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^Meade, Amanda (24 August 2022)."Australian media Lachlan Murdoch accuses Australian news site Crikey of using legal threat to attract subscriptions".The Guardian.
- ^Meade, Amanda (21 April 2023)."Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation proceedings against independent Australian publisher Crikey".The Guardian.Retrieved21 April2023.
- ^Heath Parkes-Hupton (21 April 2023)."Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation case against Crikey publisher".ABC News Australia.Retrieved26 April2023.
- ^Amanda Meade (21 April 2023)."Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation proceedings against independent Australian publisher Crikey".The Guardian.Retrieved26 April2023.
- ^"We Dig Deeper".Crikey.14 March 2023.Retrieved13 June2024.
- ^"Crikey Team".Crikey.27 May 2024.Retrieved13 June2024.
- ^"The Mandarin: new online publication for public servants".RN Breakfast.Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 September 2014.Retrieved26 March2018.
- ^ab"Home".Private Media.30 May 2024.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^"SmartCompany".SmartCompany.14 June 2024.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^"Home".Inc. Australia.6 December 2023.Retrieved15 June2024.
Inc. Australia is the brand new, go-to resource for our boldest, most ambitious people: entrepreneurs. We serve and celebrate the founders, innovators and change makers building the fast-growing businesses shaping our future.
- ^"Eric Beecher".Public Interest Journalism Initiative.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^"About".The New Daily.22 June 2018.Retrieved15 June2024.
- ^Hicks, Robin (7 August 2012)."Crikey publisher's Women's Agenda site goes live".Mumbrella.Retrieved14 June2024.
- ^"Women's Agenda sold to Angela Priestley".Crikey.18 March 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.