
Crikey
An independent Australian website for news, investigations, analysis and opinion across politics, world affairs, business, society and culture.
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Petra Stock
Petra Stock is an award-winning freelance journalist, specialising in science, technology, education and climate change. Her portfolio includes news, magazine and online features, explainers, investigations and podcasts, with stories published …
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Kurt Johnson
Literary Critic/Historical TravelEastern Bloc, Post-Soviet Sphere The Red Wake (2016: Random House)
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Tom Hawking
I'm a New York-based writer and editor, originally from Melbourne, Australia. My work focuses on culture, society and politics. I am a former Managing Editor of Renew, and I was …
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Kristine Ziwica
Kristine Ziwica is a Melbourne-based columnist and consultant who has 20 years' experience working in Australia, the United States and the UK on human rights and gender equality campaigns.
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If you like this article, share it with your friends.While plenty of Australian businesses across the country still host pink-cupcake-catered “empowerment” events for International Women’s Day, it’s worth noting that the vacuous, corporate, “empowerment” feminism fever has broken. The past few years have seen significant, bringing meaningful policy and cultural …

'Hymn karaoke': Veterans organisation and War Memorial told to modernise Dawn Services or face 'irrelevance'
The RSL and the Australian War Memorial (AWM) have been warned they’re out of step on the Canberra Anzac Day Dawn Service that has been likened to church, after a complaint that the service amounted to discrimination against the growing number of irreligious people in Australia. Si Gladman, executive director …

Inside News Corp’s backfired 'UNDERCOVERJEW' operation
A News Corp operation sending an “undercover Jewish man” to a popular Egyptian cafe this week backfired when staff called the police following an altercation with Daily Telegraph journalists.

Journalists boycott SEN after sacking of pro-Palestine cricket commentator
Earlier this week, veteran freelance cricket commentator and journalist Peter Lalor was axed from radio station SEN’s cricket coverage midway through the Australian men’s Test tour of Sri Lanka due to his social media posts about Palestine.

‘Extremely prevalent’: Election betting rife in halls of Parliament
As the election draws ever closer, staffer group chats are heating up with talk about how to make money off democracy, according to sources speaking to Crikey.

Foxtel axing online access to streaming services in country Australia, including Binge, Kayo Sports
Foxtel has begun shutting down access to its online streaming services in remote areas of Australia.

What are Australia’s journalists reading, listening to and subscribing to?
We began Crikey’s Movers and Shakers series with a look at what the biggest names in Australian journalism considered to be the last great piece of journalism they read. We finish the series with a look at their media diets.

‘Salaciousness’, ‘Qantas’, ‘Melissa Caddick’: Revealing the clickiest, most loved subjects with readers
It’s a constant battle between audiences, audience editors and data teams. Readers say they want positive, detailed, feel-good stories, while the data says they want negative, digestible slop that pulls on their emotions. Newsrooms are filled with the exasperation of reporters forced to write what clicks over something that fulfils …

Here are the stories Australia's top journalists say they're missing
This is the fourth instalment of a Crikey series, Movers and Shakers.

What’s your favourite journalist’s favourite piece of journalism?
This is the third instalment of a Crikey series, Movers and Shakers.

Australia’s media movers and shakers on who survives in Australian journalism
This is the second instalment of a Crikey series, Movers and Shakers.

Australia’s media movers and shakers on the biggest threats to journalism
This is the first instalment of a Crikey series, Movers and Shakers.

'They'll be more upset': Albo flagged shift in Australia’s Israel-Palestine position at private Labor event
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told those gathered at a private Labor event that a change to Australia’s Israel-Palestine position coming this week will “upset” critics of the government’s support of a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Documents reveal what the ABC spends on legal fees — but Aunty won't say how much Lattouf fight has cost
The ABC spent $3.42 million in legal fees in the 2023-24 financial year, new documents obtained by Crikey under freedom of information (FOI) laws reveal.

No, cricket is no longer the national sport, its window is getting smaller and smaller
The question of what Australia’s national sport is has occupied us for decades, igniting passionate debate at the pub, forcing us to grapple with ideas of what makes a sport part of the national identity and even inspiring a TAB campaign in which famous athletes cast a vote for their …

'The camera and the mirror': Sitting down with Kim Williams on the future of the ABC
Earlier this year, after hearing about ABC chair Kim Williams’ thoughts on the broadcaster’s direction, Crikey got in touch and asked if he wanted to chat with us about what exactly he envisioned. Williams, a former News Corp chief executive known for his way with words, was announced as the …

WIN launches probe into employee, Lehrmann spotted, and we remember Colin Chapman (because the Oz doesn't)
WIN Corporation has launched an investigation into an employee’s social media accounts after receiving questions from Crikey. An X (formerly Twitter) account seemingly linked to a WIN Corporation employee, who Crikey has chosen not to name, appears to have abused sporting and media personalities dating back to October 2023. Following …

‘Widespread scepticism': Nine staff unimpressed by executives' response to damning cultural review
Nine staff have refuted executives’ claims that the findings of the company’s bombshell independent report into workplace culture, were “not about individuals”. Nine released the findings of the long-awaited review, conducted by consulting firm Intersection, on Thursday following allegations of toxicity, sexual harassment and bullying at the company across its …

A non-exhaustive list of NRL media figures involved with gambling companies
Last month Crikey brought you a list of many of the AFL media figures who publicly involve themselves in the betting industry, following our Punted series on gambling advertising. With the NRL grand final this Sunday, we’ve turned our attention to the favoured football code north of the Barassi Line. …

‘Farcical’: ABC staff react to racism review
Editorial staff at the ABC have reacted to a review that found “overwhelmingly” consistent experiences of racism within the national broadcaster’s workforce. On Tuesday, the Janke review into “ABC systems and processes in support of staff who experience racism” was released, and the findings were damning. The majority of participants …

'It’s fucked … most people know that': Sports podcasters speak out over gambling ad influence
As Crikey previously addressed via our Punted series, gambling advertising in sport is almost inescapable. Last week, we published a list of just how many people in AFL media were publicly involved in the betting industry, prompting some backlash and strong views from other sports media personalities. Crikey received this …

'It’s fucked … most people know that': Sports podcasters speak out over gambling ad influence
As Crikey previously addressed via our Punted series, gambling advertising in sport is almost inescapable. Last week, we published a list of just how many people in AFL media were publicly involved in the betting industry, prompting some backlash and strong views from other sports media personalities. Crikey received this …

Nine engages former John Howard spinner as consultant amid company turmoil
Nine has engaged John Howard’s former senior spin doctor as the company grapples with the fallout of a cultural review, the loss of a chair and CEO, as well as a tanking share price. David Luff, Howard’s former press secretary, is working with Nine as a consultant through corporate advisory …

'People will swim through shit for a dollar': A list of AFL stars and journos on the gambling payroll
The extent to which gambling advertising has infiltrated sport has been well-documented in Crikey’s Punted series. It is inescapable. Every week, Australians are bombarded via our televisions with betting tips from former players, while clubs sign deals with the same betting agencies that hire executives from the AFL. The AFL’s …

'Borderline mental': News Corp journos slam company's AI crackdown on popular transcription service
News Corp Australia has blocked journalists from using the popular transcription service Otter.ai, notifying staff identified using the service through their work email accounts that it was blocking access by September 13. Otter.ai automatically transcribes recorded audio and uses AI to assist in the accuracy of its transcription. It is …

A new Australian media company has just launched. But who on earth is funding it?
Gazette News is a mysterious new Australian media startup led by Anna Saulwick, a former Change.org and Unicef executive and GetUp campaign manager. Saulwick, who lists her title on LinkedIn as CEO of Gazette News as of June 2024, has brought on board former Vice head of editorial Brad Esposito …

Top journos leave Nine newspapers in mass redundancies
Culture editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Osman Faruqi and former Private Sydney columnist Andrew Hornery have headlined the departures at Nine Publishing this week, as the company completes the process of executing major redundancies foreshadowed earlier this year. There were a raft of other departures from …

‘Pathetic’: Muslim journalists slam ‘rabid’, ‘disgusting’ coverage of Fatima Payman
The Fatima Payman affair has viscerally divided Australian politics. On the one hand, her supporters have branded the newly independent senator a fresh breath of conscience; on the other hand, the Labor faithful have used charming party adjectives to brand her a “rat”. But it’s the displays of ignorance and …

The viral suit guy hits the red carpet for the Midwinter Ball
Last night some of the least fashionable people on the continent (read: journalists and politicians) frocked up for Australian politics’ night of nights: the annual Midwinter Ball in Canberra, described by one staffer as “the Oscars for ugly people”. The occasion gave the rest of us the opportunity to judge …

'Fuck Mike Sneesby': Nine staff incensed at mass job cuts
Nine Entertainment has announced major job cuts, with an internal all-staff email from CEO Mike Sneesby stating that the company will be making a series of cuts that will affect 200 jobs, representing approximately 4% of the company’s total headcount. In the email seen by Crikey, Sneesby said Nine was …