Creighton Burns
Encyclopedia
Creighton Lee Burns, AO
(19 March 1925 – 19 January 2008) was an Australia
n journalist and academic, who was editor-in-chief of The Age
newspaper in Melbourne
from 1981 to 1989.
, and at the age of 15 became a cadet journalist at The Sun News-Pictorial
.
In 1942, he joined the Royal Australian Navy
, where he served as a sailor on board the cruiser HMAS Australia, the corvette HMAS Warrnambool and the destroyer HMAS Nepal
.
, Burns returned to Australia where he attended the University of Melbourne
on a government grant, and achieved first-class honours in history. In 1941, Burns was named the Rhodes Scholar
for Victoria
. Prior to attending Oxford, Burns returned once again to journalism, briefly working for the news agency AAP
-Reuters
. At Oxford, Burns was granted scholarships to study at Nuffield
and Balliol Colleges
, where he gained first-class honours in philosophy, politics and economics, and a Master of Arts
.
Returning to Australia in 1952, Burns took up a teaching position as a lecturer at Canberra University College
. In 1953, he returned to the University of Melbourne as a senior lecturer and later reader
in political science
. In 1964, The Age
newspaper offered him a position as their Southeast Asia
foreign correspondent
.
, covering the Vietnam War
. He was one of the first journalists to be taken out on patrol with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
. He returned to Melbourne in 1967, as diplomatic and defence correspondent for The Age, later becoming the paper's assistant editor, then associate editor. In 1975, he was appointed U.S. correspondent at The Ages Washington, D.C.
bureau, where he worked until 1981.
In 1981, Burns was appointed editor-in-chief at The Age. His appointment was controversial amongst the media community, as the appointment of an editor from an academic background was unusual. Despite his reluctance to take the post, Burns went on to become one of the paper's longest serving editors.
One of the biggest stories overseen by Burns was "The Age tapes
" affair, a landmark in Australian judicial-political history. In February 1984, The Age obtained a series of recordings made by the New South Wales Police Force and the Australian Federal Police
, which Burns published as a three-part series entitled 'Network of Influence'. The transcripts revealed conversations between High Court
Judge Lionel Murphy
and a magistrate, which lead to a Royal Commission
and the conviction of Justice Murphy on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The publication of the tapes also prompted the New South Wales government
to pass the Listening Devices Act 1984, which tightened up the provisions of the 1969 Act under which the illegal police buggings and tapings had taken place.
Burns retired from The Age in 1989, but remained in public life as the chancellor
of the Victoria University of Technology
and president of the Melbourne Savage Club
. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia
in the 1991 Australia Day
honours, in recognition of service to the media and to international relations.
on 19 January 2008, after a long battle with cancer
. He was 82 years old. He was lauded by Premier of Victoria John Brumby
as an "outstanding editor", a sentiment echoed by Brumby's predecessors, Jeff Kennett
and Joan Kirner
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(19 March 1925 – 19 January 2008) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist and academic, who was editor-in-chief of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
from 1981 to 1989.
Early life and naval career
Born in Melbourne, Burns attended Scotch CollegeScotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, and at the age of 15 became a cadet journalist at The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990.It was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers...
.
In 1942, he joined the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, where he served as a sailor on board the cruiser HMAS Australia, the corvette HMAS Warrnambool and the destroyer HMAS Nepal
HMAS Nepal (G25)
HMAS Nepal was an N class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy . Launched in 1941 as Noreseman, the ship suffered significant damage during an air raid on the John I. Thornycroft and Company shipyard, and during repairs was renamed to recognise Nepal's contribution to the British war effort...
.
Academia
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Burns returned to Australia where he attended the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
on a government grant, and achieved first-class honours in history. In 1941, Burns was named the Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
for Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Prior to attending Oxford, Burns returned once again to journalism, briefly working for the news agency AAP
Australian Associated Press
Australian Associated Press is Australia's national news agency. The organisation was established in 1935 by Fairfax and The Herald and Weekly Times.AAP employs more than 175 journalists who work in bureaux in all Australian states and territories...
-Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. At Oxford, Burns was granted scholarships to study at Nuffield
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
and Balliol Colleges
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, where he gained first-class honours in philosophy, politics and economics, and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
.
Returning to Australia in 1952, Burns took up a teaching position as a lecturer at Canberra University College
Canberra University College
Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930...
. In 1953, he returned to the University of Melbourne as a senior lecturer and later reader
Reader (academic rank)
The title of Reader in the United Kingdom and some universities in the Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation in research or scholarship...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. In 1964, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper offered him a position as their Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
foreign correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
.
The Age
For most of his tenure in Southeast Asia from 1964 to 1967, Burns was stationed in Saigon and SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, covering the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He was one of the first journalists to be taken out on patrol with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War...
. He returned to Melbourne in 1967, as diplomatic and defence correspondent for The Age, later becoming the paper's assistant editor, then associate editor. In 1975, he was appointed U.S. correspondent at The Ages Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
bureau, where he worked until 1981.
In 1981, Burns was appointed editor-in-chief at The Age. His appointment was controversial amongst the media community, as the appointment of an editor from an academic background was unusual. Despite his reluctance to take the post, Burns went on to become one of the paper's longest serving editors.
One of the biggest stories overseen by Burns was "The Age tapes
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
" affair, a landmark in Australian judicial-political history. In February 1984, The Age obtained a series of recordings made by the New South Wales Police Force and the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
, which Burns published as a three-part series entitled 'Network of Influence'. The transcripts revealed conversations between High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
Judge Lionel Murphy
Lionel Murphy
Lionel Keith Murphy, QC was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.- Personal life :...
and a magistrate, which lead to a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
and the conviction of Justice Murphy on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The publication of the tapes also prompted the New South Wales government
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
to pass the Listening Devices Act 1984, which tightened up the provisions of the 1969 Act under which the illegal police buggings and tapings had taken place.
Burns retired from The Age in 1989, but remained in public life as the chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the Victoria University of Technology
Victoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
and president of the Melbourne Savage Club
Savage Club
The Savage Club, founded in 1857 is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:Many and varied are the stories that have been told about the first meeting of the Savage Club, of the precise purposes for which it was formed, and of its christening...
. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in the 1991 Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
honours, in recognition of service to the media and to international relations.
Death
Creighton Burns died at Cabrini Hospital in MalvernMalvern, Victoria
Malvern is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Malvern had a population of 9,422.-History:...
on 19 January 2008, after a long battle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He was 82 years old. He was lauded by Premier of Victoria John Brumby
John Brumby
John Mansfield Brumby , is an Australian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became Premier after the resignation of Steve Bracks. He also served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He contested his first election...
as an "outstanding editor", a sentiment echoed by Brumby's predecessors, Jeff Kennett
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
and Joan Kirner
Joan Kirner
Joan Elizabeth Kirner AM , Australian politician, was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, the first woman to hold the position, which she held for two years prior to a landslide election defeat.-Biography:...
.