The West editor departs, one month into Stokes’ reign
The reign of one of Australia’s most controversial newspaper editors in recent years ended last night with the departure of Paul Armstrong from the West Australian.
His exit was not a complete surprise following the effective takeover of the newspaper by Kerry Stokes last month.
During Armstrong’s five year tenure, The West was involved in a string of feuds, prompting state Attorney-General Jim McGinty to describe it as “the nation’s most inaccurate and dishonest newspaper” in an outspoken attack on Armstrong.
Editor-in-chief Bob Cronin, a Kerry Stokes appointment, is to edit the newspaper in the interim. Stokes is also the biggest shareholder and chairman of the Seven Network.
However, Stokes may have picked a bad commercial moment to get his hands on The West. The WA government is planning to slash ad spend by 15%.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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