"I was always suppressing my natural tabloid instincts at The Oz. The best newspapers regardless of whether they are broadsheets or tabloids are about having the best ideas. My aim at the start of every day is to own the daily news agenda in Sydney, and given the city's importance, the nation as well. The Daily Telegraph dominates a number of news areas and I want to make political coverage lively, relevant and entertaining for our readers. It is very important to have a good mix of stories... The Daily Telegraph led the national news agenda on the so-called Malaysian refugee swap after revealing that 800 asylum seekers due to be sent to Kuala Lumpur were likely to face corporal punishment. Our reports by Gemma Jones in Canberra and Geoff Chambers in Malaysia changes the way many Australians thought about our treatment of refugees when confronting the reality of the rattan. We also led the coverage of the Federal Budget...by identifying that so-called 'rich' families' benefits were being reduced after the freezing of indexation for family tax benefits and other government assistance payments. This came as they faced a flood levy and a looming carbon tax. The cost of living pressure is the number one issue for our readers."
- Paul Whittaker, editor, The Daily Telegraph, News Limited, speaking to Mediaweek, July 11, 2011, on the stories he's been proudest to publish this year. Whittaker says his daily agenda is giving people "a compelling reason to pick up the paper in terms of its content and display". Since taking on the editorship of the Sydney tabloid, after editing News Limited's national broadsheet The Australian, he has also become well acquainted with the social diaries of Lara Bingle, Brian McFadden and Kyle Sandilands.
2 comments:
I remember as a cadet reporter coming up against Paul while hunting down a story about a fishing boat sinking off Hervey Bay. He was working for the Courier Mail, me for the local paper. He had a fire in his belly for news then that I never had! Give me fashion, beauty and features any day!
"So-called 'rich' families' benefits" er, not so-called at all.
Post a Comment