The Latest Breaking News from Age

Crikey founder Stephen Mayne has spent two decades taking shots from Australia’s media barons, and praises the ‘crazy-brave’ tactic of taking on Lachlan Murdoch.

Crikey says it has published the correspondence between its lawyers and those of Murdoch in order to show how media power is abused in Australia.

There is no better example of how Australia’s defamation laws enable the rich and powerful to intimidate their critics than Lachlan Murdoch suing Crikey.com over a comment piece concerning Fox News, Donald Trump and the Washington insurrection of January 6 2021.

Mistrust in the media is widespread among Australians, but this view becomes particularly antagonistic at the far-right fringe where mainstream media are typically viewed as “traitors” and the “enemy of the people”. This post from an Australian user on the far-right, social media platform Gab captures this common sentiment:

Despite a few notable gaps in coverage here in Australia, Crikey’s decision to encourage Lachlan Murdoch’s legal action against us is getting a lot of attention around the globe.

The first stage of Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop should be built even if the rest of the project is never completed, the state government says.

Legal defamation cases like Google v Defteros are often exercises in splitting hairs that rely on outmoded analogies. We need greater clarity.

The High Court has found Google was not the publisher of the defamatory article written by The Age about a Victorian lawyer for underworld figures.

The High Court has found Google was not the publisher of the defamatory article written by The Age about a Victorian lawyer for underworld figures.

This isn’t a resurgence of violent Islamism. No, it’s just another screwed-up young American man, the figure of our age.

Follow the day’s news, live