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Next month, The Sydney Morning Herald will turn 195. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. For almost 200 years, it has played a crucial role in this country’s evolution − as witness, investigator and conscience.
Back in 1831, the first editorial of the paper, then known as The Sydney Herald, contained a pledge that it would be balanced (“we have no wish to mislead; no interest to gratify by unsparing abuse or indiscriminate approbation”) and would be conducted according to the principles of “candour, honesty and honour”.
Those first editions were inky newsletters sold by urchins on street corners. Today, we send news straight to your phone, in real time. We bring it alive via photographs, videos and interactive graphics. As technology advances, we find new ways to tell stories. It has never been a more exciting time to be a reader.
Yet one thing that has not changed in those 195 years is the centrality of that original pledge. The Herald is still guided by the principles of candour (volunteering uncomfortable truths), honesty and honour.
The famous quote from that first editorial has been turned into a painting. It hangs on our newsroom wall as the north star that unites the Herald’s journalists, ties us to our heritage and guides our decisions. It’s a perennial reminder of the standard that you, our readers, expect from us.
I remember staring at that painting when I first arrived in the newsroom as a cub reporter in 2005, feeling inspired and slightly terrified.
I’d been desperate to work for the Herald since I was a teenager. I’d pore over the broadsheet papers and memorise the bylines. Finally, I was in the newsroom, and those printed names became real people, who were gruff, irreverent, funny, quirky, gossipy, knowledgeable and enormously (intimidatingly) clever. These were the great writers, editors and thinkers of their era. I learnt the craft at their feet.
The names at the top of the stories have changed (some, such as Kate McClymont, Peter Hartcher and Ross Gittins, remain). New generations of reporters now power the Herald, and they are just as passionate, just as brilliant and just as driven by those core values of candour, honesty and honour as those who went before them.
I have learnt so much from my remarkable colleagues over the years. Now, it is my turn to lead. This week is my first as the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. I am deeply conscious of the responsibilities that come with being the custodian of this masthead. I’m also proud. Old print journalists talk about having ink in their veins; while I have worked at different mastheads over the years, I have Herald ink in mine.
I take the reins at a challenging time. Sydney is recovering from the worst terrorist attack in its history. Fraying social cohesion is being examined by a royal commission. Decades-long political alliances are being redrawn, and the far right is rising. The old world order and Australia’s assumptions about its security are dissolving. As the war in the Middle East continues, our Europe correspondent David Crowe and chief photographer Kate Geraghty will lead our coverage on the ground. Fearless, independent and insightful journalism has never been so important.
It’s also an exciting time. Sydney is beginning a historic transformation; the push for new housing means it’s literally being rebuilt. It’s in the pages of the Herald that Sydneysiders can be part of the debate about what kind of city we want for our children, what’s worth keeping and, with tight budgets, what infrastructure we should prioritise.
Our role as a source of quality information is also more crucial than ever. Families who want to support their child’s schooling turn to our education journalists. As their suburbs change, they turn to our urban affairs team. As the cost of living climbs, they want our economics, business and political reporters to make sense of wages, interest rates, inflation and productivity.
We welcome your feedback, and use it to shape our decisions. You, our readers, have told us that you want accurate news, fast. We know you want us to break down complicated events, tell stories creatively, ask the hard questions, introduce you to the powerbrokers, give you expert analysis and find the story behind the story. We will renew our focus on pulling back the curtain to reveal how this city really works.
We also know that you’re not looking for easy answers. The Herald stands for balance, rigour and evidence in an increasingly polarised world. We, like you, value nuance and curiosity over simplicity and certainty. We publish different perspectives because we believe civilised debate is essential to a healthy democracy. We will stick to these principles because we know that our readers are educated, intelligent and will use our reporting and analysis to make up their own minds.
As the Herald looks to the future − to our 200th birthday, and beyond − we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. As I take the baton this week, I thank deputy editors Nick Ralston and Liam Phelan, who have steered the newsroom through one of the most tragic, traumatic periods in Sydney’s history with their characteristic grace and good temper. I also thank my predecessor Bevan Shields, who was a tireless advocate for the Herald and its journalists. He will return as a senior writer on Monday.
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