Truth (Melbourne newspaper)

Truth was a Melbourne tabloid newspaper established in 1902 as a subsidiary of Sydney's Truth.[1] It was "a sensational weekly paper with a large circulation, delighting while shocking its readers with its frequent exposure of personal scandal and social injustice. Detailed police and court reports, illustrated by drawings and photographs of prosecutors and defendants."[2]

Truth
Copy of the header of the Weekend Truth newspaper, 22 September 1984.
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Owen Thomson & Mark Day
Founded1902
Ceased publication1993
HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
Circulation400,000 (peak)

History

In its early years Truth was left-leaning, and painted itself as the voice of the working class. Before 1945 it had a style of journalism that was high pitched, sensational and melodramatic. The newspaper from its earliest days was based on scandal, particularly based on the records of the divorce courts, which were not subject to restrictions on reporting.

Truth broke stories involving Agent Orange and Vietnam veterans, as well as the whole story of what happened at Maralinga with the A-bomb tests.[3] In 1967, Richard L'Estrange broke the scandal surrounding the Melbourne-Voyager collision. Evan Whitton's report on police protection of abortion care providers led to an inquiry into the abortion protection racket of the 1960s, and the jailing of several officers.[4]

In December 1958, Ezra Norton and the other shareholders of its holding company, Truth and Sportsman Ltd, sold their shares to the Fairfax group, which sold it on to Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd.[5] The late Owen Thomson and Mark Day were the final owners of the paper before it folded. It is said that Dame Elisabeth Murdoch (Rupert's mother) took a dim view of the scandal sheet, which was later passed on to Thomson and Day.

In its final years, the newspaper was noted for its eclectic coverage, which combined photos of women with bare breasts on page 3 (recycled from The Sun (United Kingdom) newspaper[3]), and tongue-in-cheek humour with hard-edged reporting, as well as the racing liftout form guide, Truform. It also had a Dorothy Dix segment page called, Heart Balm. It was last published on the 15th of May 1993.[6]

Sensationalist headlines

In 1987 one-time Liberal Party leader Sir Billy Snedden died in unusual circumstances. Snedden died of a heart attack in the Rushcutter Travelodge, possibly whilst having sexual intercourse with a mystery woman whose identity has never been revealed.[7][8] As Wright and Nader point out, Snedden was known for his 'extra-curricular' activities,[9] and in the words of his son, Drew Seddon, Billy Snedden "got around a lot."[10] The Truth published an article under the tongue-in-cheek headline "Snedden Died on the Job - Police Seeking Deathbed Girl" to announce his death.[9]

Circulation

At its peak in the mid-1960s, the Truth sold 400,000 copies per week.[3][11]

Notable journalists and columnists

At one time or other, many of Australia's respected journalists worked on the paper:

  • Stanley Cecil (Sol) Chandler
  • Jack "Ace" Ayling
  • Geoffrey Hawthorne, former editor (1984)[12]
  • Mark Hawthorne, later Victorian Publisher of Fairfax Media[13]
  • Richard L'Estrange
  • John Norton
  • Adrian Tame
  • Owen Thomson, former Publisher
  • Tim Blair
  • Evan Whitton

Digitisation

The paper's 1914-1918 issues have been digitised as part of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program project of the National Library of Australia.[14]

See also

References
  1. Cannon, Michael. "Norton, John (1858–1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
  2. Stuart, Lurline (July 2008). "Truth Newspaper". eMelbourne : The City Past & Present. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. Negus, George (19 July 2004). "Adrian Tame – former editor, Truth". ABC2 GNT History. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. McKnight, David (27 August 2005). "The post war roots of the investigative tradition in Australian journalism". David McKnight. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  5. Lawson, Valerie. "Norton, Ezra (1897–1967)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  6. Stuart, Lurline (July 2008). "Truth Newspaper". eMelbourne : The City Past & Present. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  7. "Biography - Sir Billy Mackie Snedden - Australian Dictionary of Biography".
  8. "Sir Billy and son 'shared mystery lover'". Archived from the original on 23 July 2017.
  9. Tony Wright and Carol Nader (5 September 2009). "Sex and the not so private lives of politicians". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  10. "Sir Billy and son 'shared mystery lover'". Archived from the original on 23 July 2017.
  11. Whitton, Evan. "Getting It In: The Life and Times of a Newspaperman" (PDF). Mens Journal. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  12. "Magistrates' Court on 8 May". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 2 May 1984. p. 15.
  13. "Nine for Brands - Where Australia Connects".
  14. "Truth (Melbourne ed.) (Vic. : 1914 - 1918)". Trove. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
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