The West Australian
Encyclopedia
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia
, and is owned by ASX
-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times
, a News Limited
publication. It is the second-oldest continuously-produced newspaper in Australia
, having been published since 1833. The West has strong conservative leanings, and has consistently supported the Coalition
.
In October 2010, the paper ended its long-term policy of not directly competing for Sunday readership and advertising by re-branding its former Saturday editions as "a weekend read" under the masthead
The Weekend West. In consequence, The West Australian was reduced to weekdays-only circulation.
A digital archive subscription enables past editions from July 2004 to be accessed for $220 per month or $2,200 p.a.
, Paul Murray and a variety of writers syndicated from Fairfax Media
including Gerard Henderson
, Danny Katz and Brian Toohey .
The paper publishes a supplement titled WestWeekend Magazine which is included as an insert in The Weekend West. The publisher also operates a "breaking news" website (thewest.com.au). In April 2008, the website was expanded to include a video news service called West TV, to compete with similar services from Fairfax Media
and News Limited
.
bought WAN and published the paper until 1987 when it was sold to Robert Holmes à Court
's Bell Group in 1987 when the remainder of H&WT was bought by Rupert Murdoch
's News Corporation
. The following year Alan Bond
, through Bond Corporation, gained control of Bell Group and hence the paper. This ownership structure only survived for a few years until the collapse of Bond Corporation. A newly formed company, West Australian Newspapers Holdings, then purchased the paper from the receivers before being floated
in an oversubscribed $185 million public offering. Chairman Trevor Eastwood
announced in the annual report that the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
on 9 January 1992. A management fee of $217,000 and underwriting/brokers handling fee of $1,981,136 were paid to companies associated with former short-term directors John Poynton and J. H. Nickson. February 2011: After acquired Seven Media Group, West Australian Newspapers Holding Ltd. became Seven West Media Limited, Australia's largest diversified media business.
The West Australian traces its origins to The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal, the first edition of which appeared on 5 January 1833. Owned and edited by Perth
postmaster
Charles Macfaull
, it was originally a four page weekly. It was, at first, published on Saturdays, but changed to Fridays in 1864. Eventually renamed The Perth Gazette and was published by Arthur Shenton, until 26 June 1874, when it was bought by a syndicate who renamed it The Western Australian Times and increased production to two editions a week. On 18 November 1879, it was relaunched as The West Australian. In October 1883, production was increased to three editions per week; two years later it became a daily publication. (The proprietors of the West Australian at that time also inaugurated the Western Mail
, in 1885.) Initially, delivery of the paper beyond settled areas was problematic, but the growth and development of the rural railway system in the early 1900s facilitated wider circulation.
, across the road from the Palace Hotel
, was a prominent landmark in the life of the city and state for over 50 years. It was vacated in the mid-1980s as part of the ill-fated "Westralia Square" redevelopment. The newspaper's editorial staff was temporarily relocated in rented office space nearby in St George's Terrace. Recognised as part of an important heritage precinct, Newspaper House was scheduled for preservation and refurbishment. In 1988, larger and more modern accommodation for the paper's printing presses was commissioned in Osborne Park
. Ten years later, the editorial operations also moved to the Osborne Park complex.
as "a disgrace to reasonable objective journalism". Academic Peter van Onselen
substantiated this attack, identifying 10 pro-Opposition front page headlines in the leadup to the 2005 state election
, but no pro-Government headlines.
In May 2007, then attorney-general and health minister Jim McGinty
described the newspaper as "the nation's most inaccurate and dishonest newspaper". He went on to attack the editor, Paul Armstrong, saying that "the board of West Australian Newspapers needs to sack the editor. It is personally driven by a particular individual". Armstrong responded by saying he "could not give a fat rat's arse" about Mr McGinty's comments and was then virulently attacked by premier Alan Carpenter
On 15 February 2008, The West reported that McGinty's staff had banned its reporters from attending his press conferences. The West continued to denigrate Carpenter's government until its defeat at the 2008 election
in September.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and is owned by ASX
Australian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (Western Australia)
The Sunday Times, owned by News Limited, is a tabloid Sunday newspaper printed in Perth and distributed throughout Western Australia.-History:...
, a News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
publication. It is the second-oldest continuously-produced newspaper in 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...
, having been published since 1833. The West has strong conservative leanings, and has consistently supported the Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
.
Circulation
Based on surveys to June 2010, the proprietors claimed a weekday circulation of 203,304 and a Saturday-edition circulation of 333,768. The weekday average is significantly boosted by an enlarged classified-advertising section for motor vehicles each Wednesday.In October 2010, the paper ended its long-term policy of not directly competing for Sunday readership and advertising by re-branding its former Saturday editions as "a weekend read" under the masthead
Masthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
The Weekend West. In consequence, The West Australian was reduced to weekdays-only circulation.
A digital archive subscription enables past editions from July 2004 to be accessed for $220 per month or $2,200 p.a.
Content
The newspaper contains international, national and local news. Opinion columnists include Zoltan KovacsZoltán Kovács
Zoltán Kovács is a retired Hungarian footballer who used to play as a striker.Kovács was the captain, and fan's favourite for Újpest...
, Paul Murray and a variety of writers syndicated from Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
including Gerard Henderson
Gerard Henderson
Gerard Henderson is a conservative Australian newspaper columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.. He is also Executive Director of the Sydney Institute, a privately funded current affairs forum. His wife Anne Henderson is Deputy Director.-Education:Henderson attended the Jesuit Xavier College in...
, Danny Katz and Brian Toohey .
The paper publishes a supplement titled WestWeekend Magazine which is included as an insert in The Weekend West. The publisher also operates a "breaking news" website (thewest.com.au). In April 2008, the website was expanded to include a video news service called West TV, to compete with similar services from Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
and News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
.
Corporate ownership
The West Australian was owned by the publicly-listed company West Australian Newspapers Ltd from the 1920s. In 1969, the Melbourne based The Herald and Weekly Times LtdThe Herald and Weekly Times Ltd
The Herald and Weekly Times Limited is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, who purchased HWT in 1987.-Newspapers:...
bought WAN and published the paper until 1987 when it was sold to Robert Holmes à Court
Robert Holmes à Court
Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court was an entrepreneur who became Australia's first businessman worth over a billion dollars before dying suddenly of a heart attack in 1990.Holmes à Court was one of the world's most feared corporate raiders through the 1980s, having built his empire...
's Bell Group in 1987 when the remainder of H&WT was bought by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. The following year Alan Bond
Alan Bond (businessman)
Alan Bond is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district of London, England, and emigrated to Australia with his...
, through Bond Corporation, gained control of Bell Group and hence the paper. This ownership structure only survived for a few years until the collapse of Bond Corporation. A newly formed company, West Australian Newspapers Holdings, then purchased the paper from the receivers before being floated
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in an oversubscribed $185 million public offering. Chairman Trevor Eastwood
Trevor Eastwood
Trevor Eastwood AM was the CEO of the large Australian corporation Wesfarmers Ltd from 1984 to 1992 and its chairman from 2002 to 2008. After graduating BEng at the University of Western Australia, he joined Wesfarmers in 1963 as a cadet engineer and was associated with the company for over 45 years...
announced in the annual report that the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
on 9 January 1992. A management fee of $217,000 and underwriting/brokers handling fee of $1,981,136 were paid to companies associated with former short-term directors John Poynton and J. H. Nickson. February 2011: After acquired Seven Media Group, West Australian Newspapers Holding Ltd. became Seven West Media Limited, Australia's largest diversified media business.
History
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
Charles Macfaull
Charles Macfaull
Charles Macfaull was an early settler in the Swan River Colony, now Western Australia. He arrived in Western Australia in 1830, and is credited with having planted the colony's first vineyard, using vines brought from the Cape of Good Hope...
, it was originally a four page weekly. It was, at first, published on Saturdays, but changed to Fridays in 1864. Eventually renamed The Perth Gazette and was published by Arthur Shenton, until 26 June 1874, when it was bought by a syndicate who renamed it The Western Australian Times and increased production to two editions a week. On 18 November 1879, it was relaunched as The West Australian. In October 1883, production was increased to three editions per week; two years later it became a daily publication. (The proprietors of the West Australian at that time also inaugurated the Western Mail
Western Mail (Western Australia)
The Western Mail, or Western Mail, was the name of two weekly newspapers published in Perth, Western Australia.-West Australian newspapers:...
, in 1885.) Initially, delivery of the paper beyond settled areas was problematic, but the growth and development of the rural railway system in the early 1900s facilitated wider circulation.
Locations
Newspaper House, the former office and publishing plant of The West on St Georges TerraceSt Georges Terrace, Perth
St Georges Terrace is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district....
, across the road from the Palace Hotel
Palace Hotel, Perth
The Palace Hotel in Perth, Western Australia is a landmark three-storey heritage listed building located in the city's central business district...
, was a prominent landmark in the life of the city and state for over 50 years. It was vacated in the mid-1980s as part of the ill-fated "Westralia Square" redevelopment. The newspaper's editorial staff was temporarily relocated in rented office space nearby in St George's Terrace. Recognised as part of an important heritage precinct, Newspaper House was scheduled for preservation and refurbishment. In 1988, larger and more modern accommodation for the paper's printing presses was commissioned in Osborne Park
Osborne Park, Western Australia
Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir on Wanneroo Road and was elected to the Perth Road Board , in 1875.The suburb was originally full of market gardens,...
. Ten years later, the editorial operations also moved to the Osborne Park complex.
Editors
- 1833-1846 Charles MacfaullCharles MacfaullCharles Macfaull was an early settler in the Swan River Colony, now Western Australia. He arrived in Western Australia in 1830, and is credited with having planted the colony's first vineyard, using vines brought from the Cape of Good Hope...
- 1847-1871 Arthur Shenton
- 1871-1874 Mercy Shenton
- 1874-1879 Rev. C. G. Nicolay and Roland Jones; Henry Hullock
- 1879-1887 Sir Thomas Cockburn-CampbellThomas Cockburn-CampbellSir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, 4th Baronet was an English-born journalist and politician in Australia.-Early life:...
- 1887-1916 John Winthrop Hackett
- 1916-1927 Alfred Langler
- 1927-1951 Charles Patrick Smith
- 1951-1956 James Edward Macartney
- 1956-1972 W. T. G. (William Thomas Griffith) "Griff" Richards
- 1972-1972 F. B. (Fred) Morony
- 1972-1983 M. C. (Bon) Uren
- 1983-1987 D. B. (Don) Smith
- 1987-1988 R. E. (Bob) Cronin
- 1988-1990 Don Baker
- 1990-2000 Paul Murray
- 2000-2003 Brian Rogers
- 2003-2008 Paul Armstrong
- 2008-2009 R. E. (Bob) Cronin
- 2009–present Brett McCarthy
Controversies
The paper was labelled in February 2005 by former prime minister Bob HawkeBob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
as "a disgrace to reasonable objective journalism". Academic Peter van Onselen
Peter van Onselen
Professor Peter van Onselen is the Contributing Editor at The Australian newspaper where he writes a weekly Saturday Focus column, a Wednesday column for the Business back-page and a fortnightly column in the Higher Education section. He also writes a weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph and...
substantiated this attack, identifying 10 pro-Opposition front page headlines in the leadup to the 2005 state election
Western Australian state election, 2005
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...
, but no pro-Government headlines.
In May 2007, then attorney-general and health minister Jim McGinty
Jim McGinty
James Andrew McGinty is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1996...
described the newspaper as "the nation's most inaccurate and dishonest newspaper". He went on to attack the editor, Paul Armstrong, saying that "the board of West Australian Newspapers needs to sack the editor. It is personally driven by a particular individual". Armstrong responded by saying he "could not give a fat rat's arse" about Mr McGinty's comments and was then virulently attacked by premier Alan Carpenter
Alan Carpenter
Alan John Carpenter is a former Australian politician. He was the 28th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2008. He took office following the resignation of Dr Geoff Gallop...
On 15 February 2008, The West reported that McGinty's staff had banned its reporters from attending his press conferences. The West continued to denigrate Carpenter's government until its defeat at the 2008 election
Western Australian state election, 2008
A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
in September.
Some notable former employees
- Piers AkermanPiers AkermanPiers Akerman is a right-wing commentator and columnist for The Daily Telegraph.-Brief biography:Born in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, Piers Akerman was raised in Perth by his parents, John, an Australian Government doctor, and Eve Akerman , a newspaper columnist and reviewer in Western Australia. He...
- Estelle BlackburnEstelle BlackburnEstelle Blackburn is a journalist who has played a crucial role in the review of some controversial criminal cases in Western Australia.-Early life:...
- Brian BurkeBrian BurkeBrian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...
- Robert DreweRobert DreweRobert Duncan Drewe is an Australian journalist, novelist and short story writer.-Biography:Drewe was born in Melbourne, but moved with his family to Perth, Western Australia at the age of six. He was educated at Hale School, and in his final year was appointed School Captain...
- Sir Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
- Catherine Ellen MartinCatherine Ellen MartinCatherine Martin was a journalist for The West Australian newspaper from 1957, specialising in medical reporting. She was born in the United Kingdom but emigrated to Western Australia and lived there for most of her life....
- Athol Thomas
- David WilliamsDavid Williams (journalist)David Williams was a journalist with The West Australian in Perth, Western Australia. He also worked on the now defunct The Western Mail newspaper....
- Dame Mary DurackMary DurackDame Mary Durack AC DBE was an Australian author and historian. She wrote Kings in Grass Castles and Keep Him My Country.-Childhood:...
(Used the nom-de-plume "Virgilia".)
Further reading
- (1933) West Australian - history of the newspaper, printing techniques and building (Photographs first used in The West Australian on 10 May 1910) West Australian, 5 January 1933, Centenary issue, p. 3,8e,21d
- Western Australian Newspapers: Landmarks at Ketupa.net
External links
- www.thewest.com.au
- www.westtv.com.au
- www.refreshthewest.com.au
- Digitised Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal from the National Library of Australia
- Digitised Perth Gazette, and Independent Journal of Politics and News from the National Library of Australia
- Digitised West Australian Times from the National Library of Australia
- Digitised Perth Gazette & W.A. Times from the National Library of Australia
- Digitised Western Australian Times from the National Library of Australia
- Digitised historic West Australian from the National Library of Australia