The West Australian

Front page of The West Australian on 12 December 2005
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Owner	West Australian Newspapers Limited
Editor	Paul Armstrong
Founded	1833
Headquarters	50 Hasler Road, Osborne Park, WA, Australia
Website: www.thewest.com.au

The West Australian (often simply called The West) is Perth's only locally edited daily newspaper, and is owned by ASX-listed West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd. It is the second-oldest continuously produced newspaper in Australia, having been published since 1833. It currently has a weekday circulation of 200,000, and a weekend circulation of 370,000 with its Saturday edition.^[1] The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times the News Limited production. The West is politically populist, with strong conservative leanings.

Content

The newspaper contains international, national and local news. Contemporary columnists include Paul Murray (previously an Editor of the newspaper) and Danny Katz (a Melbourne-based columnist for The Age newspaper whose column is also bought by The West). The paper also publishes the WestWeekend Magazine which is inserted in the Saturday edition.

History

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.^[2] It was at first published on Saturdays, but changed to Fridays in 1864. Eventually renamed The Perth Gazette and published by Arthur Shenton, it ran until 26 June 1874, when it was bought out by a syndicate who renamed it The Western Australian Times and increased production to two editions a week. On 18 November 1879, the paper was relaunched as The West Australian. In October 1883, production was increased to three a week, and two years later it became a daily. The proprietors of the West Australian at the time also started up the Western Mail in 1885. Initially, delivery of the paper beyond settled areas was a major problem, but the growth and development of the rural railway system in the early 1900s facilitated a wider circulation.

Notable former journalists

West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd

West Australian Newspapers Holdings is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: WAN) with the largest current single shareholder being Seven Network Limited with 17.3% equity. As well as the newspaper as its major asset, the company holds a number of other strategic and important media outlets.

• The free-ad A4 format and web-based classified advertising paper, The Quokka.^[3]
• 22 regional newspapers and magazines across the State, and three commercial printing plants.
• A regional radio network covering the northern half of the State including Broome, Karratha, Port Hedland and Geraldton.
• 50% interest in the Hoyts Cinemas Group which operates 55 cinemas in Australia and New Zealand with Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.^[4] It also owns Hoyts Film Distribution and Val Morgan Cinema Advertising.

2007 Controversy

In May 2007, the state Attorney-General 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. ^[5] The exchange was prompted by a caption below a photograph in the 24 January 2007 edition of the paper showing a female patient, incorrectly described as elderly and lying across three seats in a casualty waiting room at one of Perth's public hospitals which McGinty saw as portraying an incorrect impression of the health system. Canvassing by the Australian media industry for the removal of restrictions on free speech in the national 'Right to Know' campaign is currently underway and state legislation supporting the national legislative changes is seen as essential in making the new federal laws workable. Some of the comments made by McGinty and the Premier, Alan Carpenter alluded to a threat of withholding the required state legislation unless the newspaper addressed the Government's complaints.^[6]

See also

• List of newspapers in Australia
• www.thewest.com.au

References

Further reading

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Perth Gazette

• Haig, Ross (ed) (1984). The Years of News from The West Australian and Perth Daily News. Perth, Western Australia: St George Books. ISBN 0-86778-016-9. 
• (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