The Australian
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The first edition of The Australian was published by Rupert Murdoch on 15 July 1964, becoming the third national newspaper in Australia following shipping newspaper Daily Commercial News (1891) and Australian Financial Review (1951). Unlike other original Murdoch newspapers, it is not a tabloid publication. At the time, a national paper was considered commercially unfeasible, as newspapers mostly relied on local advertising for their revenue. The Australian was printed in Canberra, then plates flown to other cities for copying. From its inception, the paper struggled for financial viability, and ran at a loss for several decades.
A Sunday edition, The Sunday Australian, was established in 1971. It was discontinued in 1972, though, because press capacity was insufficient to print The Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday Mirror, and it.
The Australian's first editor was Maxwell Newton, before leaving the newspaper within a year, and was succeeded by Walter Kommer, and then by Adrian Deamer. Under Deamer's editorship, The Australian encouraged female journalists, and was the first mainstream daily newspaper to hire an Aboriginal reporter, John Newfong. During the 1975 election, campaigning against the Whitlam government by its owner led to the newspaper's journalists striking over editorial direction.
Editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell was appointed in 2002 and retired on 11 December 2015; he was replaced by Paul Whittaker, formerly the editor-in-chief of Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
In May 2010, the newspaper launched the first Australian newspaper iPad application.
In October 2011, The Australian announced that it was planning to become the first general newspaper in Australia to introduce a paywall, with the introduction of a $2.95/week charge for readers to view premium content on its website, mobile phone, and tablet apps. The paywall was officially launched on 24 October, with a free 3-month trial.
In September 2017, The Australian launched a Chinese website.
In October 2018, Chris Dore, former editor of The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail, and The Sunday Times (Western Australia) was announced as taking over as editor-in-chief. After Dore resigned in November 2022, the newspaper appointed its first female editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, in January 2023.
The editorial board began investigating a senior editor after allegations of misconduct were raised following events of the papers' Christmas drinks. The senior editor was accused of inappropriate conduct at the event by multiple female employees.
Since 2019, The Australian has published an annual study, called Australia's Richest 250, which ranks the country's wealthiest people from one to 250, in order of their net worth.