The Press Council promotes freedom of speech and responsible journalism. It also sets standards and responds to complaints about material in Australian newspapers and magazines, as well as a growing number of online-only publications.
The Australian Press Council extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of industry stalwart and trailblazer Bruce Ellen.
The former Country Press Australia (CPA) President and Victorian Country Press Association President dedicated more than four decades of his career to the newspaper industry. In recognition of such outstanding service, he was made a life member of both Country Press Australia and the Victorian Country Press Association in 2022.
Tributes for Bruce have been published widely.
The Australian Press Council (APC) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Helen Dalley as an Independent Journalist Council Member and Bruce Dover as an Industry Adjudication Panel Member.
Helen Dalley is an experienced broadcast journalist. She is currently the creator and host of the podcast Build It. They’ll Come, a Governor of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation, Patron of Healthy Bones Australia (formerly Osteoporosis Australia) and Non-Executive Director on the Board of not-for-profit Aurora Education Foundation.
Helen worked as a reporter at the Nine Network for nearly 20 years before spending 11 years at Sky News Australia as a host, anchor and interviewer. She co-anchored the coverage of four consecutive Federal election campaigns and hosted several national television programs for the Sky News Business channel, including Sunday Business, Business Agenda and News Now with Helen Dalley. She has won a Walkley Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism and recently consulted to The Walkley Foundation over a number of years, providing integrity and fact-checking advice to the judges of The Walkley Awards.
Independent Journalist Council Members have an important leadership and governance role in the operations of the APC.
Bruce Dover is the Managing Director of DCI Media Group, a media consultancy with partners in Sydney, Hong Kong, and London. Bruce is a senior executive with experience spanning 40 years in television, digital media and interactive content development. He was previously the CEO of Australia Network, the Australian Government’s international broadcasting service, operated by the ABC.
Over the course of his extensive career, Bruce has worked as Managing Editor for both CNN International in Hong Kong and News Interactive in Sydney. He was Vice President (China) for News Corporation/STAR TV in Beijing for four years. He has also been a foreign correspondent in Asia, winning the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award (1986).
Industry Adjudication Panel Members are independent of publishers and have an important role in determining whether published material, which has been the subject of a complaint, has breached the APC’s Standards of Practice.
“The APC is delighted to welcome Helen and Bruce. Their experience and perspectives are vital to the balance, relevance and integrity of Council’s processes and decisions,” said APC Chair Neville Stevens AO.
The APC is responsible for promoting freedom of speech through responsible and independent journalism and adherence to high journalistic and editorial standards. Members include most of Australia’s major newspapers, magazines, and online publishers.
For more information, please contact Dorothy Kennedy, APC Media Advisor, at dorothy.kennedy@presscouncil.org.au.
Meta’s decision that it will no longer pay Australian media companies for the news content appearing on its platform once current agreements cease is a major blow to the sustainability of journalism, press freedom and democracy. See link
Hon Michelle Rowland MP and Hon Stephen Jones MP have issued releases in response. See link and link
The Australian Press Council welcomes the Government’s strong and resolute public response to Meta’s announcement and looks forward to the Treasury and ACCC’s advice to Government on next steps.
Congratulations to the winner of the Australian Press Council ‘Ossie’ Award for Journalism Student of the Year, Grace Nakamura, University of Queensland.
This is the major prize at the annual Ossie Awards which is run by the Journalism Education & Research Association of Australia (JERAA).
Congratulations also to this year’s winner of the Australian Press Council ‘Ossie’ Undergraduate Prize for an essay on the topic of media ethics, Felice Lok, Monash University.
The Ossie Awards showcase Australia’s best student journalism. A full list of awards and winners can be found on the JERAA website.
Complaint outcomes are called Adjudications. You can search published Adjudications here.