The Australian celebrates 50 years of ‘impartial information’
Rupert Murdoch checks pages of The Australian newspaper 15 July 1964
The Australian is celebrating its 50th birthday this year with a campaign looking back on its half century of journalism while also promising continued innovation into the future.
In a press release this morning News Corp’s said: “The Australian launched on Wednesday 15 July 1964 with Rupert Murdoch promising it would be a newspaper of impartial information and independent thinking; tied to no party and to no state, only guided by its faith in Australia and the country’s future.
“Fifty years later, The Australian continues to deliver on this promise. It reports fearlessly, holds Governments and institutions to account, and has consistently argued for big policy changes whose implementation have benefited the nation, and its people, enormously.”
To mark the milestone, the paper is undertaking a series of print and online specials including an editorial publishing series looking at the events that have shaped the last 50 years of Australia’s history, a digital recreation of the first edition of the paper, a special digital hub dedicated to the birthday that will showcase content published since the paper’s launch and a glossy collectors’ edition magazine celebrating its best bits.
The Australian CEO Nicholas Gray said: “2014 marks the 50th birthday of the nation’s greatest newspaper. Fifty years ago The Australian launched because the country needed a newspaper that advanced the nation’s welfare. This year we are saluting it’s proud past as we continue to evolve for more successes in the future.
“What makes this newspaper great is that it is old enough to have the insight and experience to see the real story, but young enough to have the enthusiasm to constantly challenge and transform. We lead in media innovation, we set the national agenda and we speak to the nation’s highly influential opinion leaders. Our birthday campaign will bring to life the past 50 years through today’s multi-platform storytelling tools.”
The paper has partnered with the Commonwealth Bank who have come on board for the celebrations as a gold sponsor.
The celebrations will also be underpinned with a consumer marketing campaign, the details of which the paper is yet to reveal.
The Australian editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell said: “Over five decades, The Australian has strongly supported economic liberalism, championed entrepreneurs and held governments to account.
“I know that not everyone has agreed with positions we took on important matters like floating the dollar, supporting competition or opposing maladministration and waste of public money. But I think 23 years of uninterrupted growth – driven by key policies we advocated and implemented by brave politicians from both sides of politics – says we are right on the big issues.”
In February Mitchell conceded The Australian had struggled to be profitable since the global financial crisis of 2008, also revealing the paper had lost $30m last year.
News Corp is also currently pitching its creative account, putting AJF Partnership, Archibald Williams and Mark on alert.
Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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Late April fools day release?
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Yes, Chris. Australia’s 23 years of growth is down to your reactionary, rightwing, ideological paper. The hubris of these people is just astounding.
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@Billy C – surely you are right.
No words can describe the true hilarity of this press release.
Known as the Government Gazette by the Canberra press gallery during the Howard years. Just uses bigger words and less pictures than News’ tabloid papers in its extreme and partisan support of conservatism, and Abbott in particular.
Just be honest about it fellas.
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Good to see a continuation of the theme of tough times in the media insofar as the CEO couldn’t afford to get his comment subbed before it went out in the presser. Fifty years ago young cadets would have been spanked severely by the subbies for the use of an apostrophe in a possessive pronoun.
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There’s nothing quite like the venom and bitterness of the luvvies who hate The Australian. Their inner city bourgeois Left hypocrisy is often exposed in its pages, and like the chills winds of winter, they sting.
Well done to The Australian – it’s a breath of fresh air and refreshing reality in the cesspit of proselytising, left-leaning junk media like Fairfax, the Guardian et al.
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Oh yes Mike, left leaning, what with Reith and Vanstone writing for it..not to mention Sheehan..
Talk about junk? let’s start with your ‘comment’.
The Australian is The Human Centipede of journalism. You’re just unaware which end you are in the chain..
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Wow Mike. Great effort, you covered most of the required ground there;
– “Inner city”: tick
– “Bourgeois”: tick
– “Lefty”: tick
Points off for forgetting “latte sipping” and “do-gooders” though.
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It’s great they are celebrating 50 years of impartial information. When are they going to start?
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pugwash,
Putting quotation marks around words and terms that are used legitimately and appropriately (if Mike’s contribution is not a comment, then what is it? Careful, abuse-in-place-of-explanation won’t cut it, this time) doesn’t actually do anything, other than perhaps expose a little something about you.
And, if you don’t think Fairfax and the Guardian are Left-leaning, then either:
a) You don’t read them. Ever. Not even once.
b) You’re so far to the Left yourself that you have some form or balance disorder or perhaps an inner ear infection.
Get treatment, pugwash.
You can still get a job and contribute to society. I’ve seen it happen before.
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“Mike’s contribution is not a comment, then what is it?”
Oh Robbo, you really have to question how thought out your own ‘comment’ is, let alone ..
So instead I’ll give you a bit of treatment…free even!
Let’s take one step back, just for your benefit. Mike, in his muddle headed attempt to defend the laughably lop-sided Oz attempts to brand Fairfax as a “cesspit of proselytizing, left leaning junk” In response I’ve given him three factual examples which immediately refute that..Perhaps you both also forgot Fairfax’s ringing endorsement of Tony Abbott.
But then you had to put a turd cherry on that icing by claiming that Fairfax and the Guardian..oh and even I, MUST be ‘far left’ for ruffling your furiously flapping right wing.
Right wing projection at its finest…And nice job of the old variation of ‘get a real job’ with the lame ‘contribution to society’. I believe in accountable journalism…that’s my contribution right here.. what’s your excuse?
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Was it Goebbels who fashioned the big lie technique? It’s really quite effective, isn’t it?
Putting aside the left-right palaver, the fact is that the Oz is relentlessly repetitive. The content of most days is virtually the same as the day before. Opinion is usually more of the same. ABC, unions, Labor, etc etc. Curiously low key on ICAC. Why is that?
Even Abbott is forced to concede the science on global wamring, even if he doesn’t actually do anything. The Oz persists in arguing against the science. Constantly.
Now they want us to apply impartiality as a relative concept. And they want independent thinking to be independent of facts.
Of course Fairfax is moribund. But the Oz got there first!
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Enjoyed the excellent writing there from both Robbo and pugwash.
Yes Fairfax is left leaning. And yes, the Murdoch press is right leaning.
Only an idiot would debate that. The problem is the swinging voters in the Western Suburbs last election read the Tele. And listened to right winger John Singleton’s 2GB. They didn’t have a hope in hell of getting a left leaning point of view.
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I’m reminded of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s refrain “Laugh, I almost shat ……..”
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AFR Friday edition is the best read all week. The Weekend Australian is good, just filter out the bias when you read it. Same with The Age /SMH. Not that hard, particularly if you don’t read commentary or editorial. AFR produces the most neutral output of the mainstream press. And it’s not all about the markets. There, I’ve said my piece, now back to the form guide.
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The Australian is about as impartial as as a seesaw with a mouse sitting at one end and an elephant at the other. Are they that arrogant? Evidently, yes they are…
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The Australian DOES NOT MAKE MONEY. It is not a business in any traditional sense.
So why pump it full of cash year after year to keep it afloat…? Propaganda, influence, call it what you will, just don’t call it journalism.
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Sorry Robbo, but it is hard to see much left leaning in the Sydney Morning Herald or the Guardian. Yes they are to the left of The Australian, but so too is just about everyone. It is a long time since it was a good product with a genuine claim to be a newspaper. These day’s it is just a propaganda journal struggling with reality.
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