• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Set For Life
      • Thunderball
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Media

Rupert Murdoch’s son sues website for defamation and publication wants their day in court

“Crikey will not be silenced"

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2022-08-24 08:43
in Media, News
Credit:PA

Credit:PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch is suing Australian news website Crikey in a Sydney court for defamation over an opinion piece about last year’s storming of the US Capitol.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s son filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court on Tuesday, a day after Crikey publisher Private Media’s chairman, Eric Beecher, and managing editor, Peter Fray, put their names to an advert in The New York Times inviting Lachlan Murdoch to sue.

The publication isn’t backing down.

Lachlan Murdoch threatened to sue us for publishing public interest journalism.

We believe in media freedom. So today we’re standing up to Murdoch and publishing the legal letters from his lawyer to show you how abuse of media power works in Australia.https://t.co/QBUtWvLXQu

— Crikey (@crikey_news) August 22, 2022

We're also taking the unusual step of asking a very rich and powerful media owner to sue us.

In open letters published in this morning’s New York Times and tomorrow’s Canberra Times, we're making a simple case: put up or shut up.

Read the letters here:https://t.co/0PUUNGw7Ix

— Crikey (@crikey_news) August 22, 2022

“We await your writ so that we can test this important issue of freedom of public interest journalism in a courtroom,” the two media executives said in an open letter to Lachlan Murdoch, which was also published in Australia’s The Canberra Times newspaper on Tuesday.

Occupy Democrats’ Twitter account made their feelings clear.

The Murdochs can dish it — but sure can't take it. https://t.co/Xll3XMXNbH

— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) August 23, 2022

Suing

Murdoch is suing Private Media, a private company, Fray, who is also the website’s editor-in-chief, and Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane.

Australia Murdoch Sues
Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch is suing Australian news website Crikey in a Sydney court for defamation over an opinion piece about last year’s storming of the US Capitol (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Murdoch claims he was defamed by Keane’s column about the US congressional investigation into the January 6 insurrection which Crikey published on June 29 under the headlines: “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”

US cable news giant Fox News is accused in suits filed in the US of airing false claims linking two election technology companies, Dominion and Smartmatic, to a conspiracy to steal votes from former president Donald Trump in the 2020 election, which was won by Joe Biden.

Crikey welcomed the Murdoch action, saying “Crikey will not be silenced” in a statement published on Wednesday.

RelatedPosts

BBC Gaza doc ‘breached editorial guidelines’, report finds

Donald Trump crashes Chelsea’s Club World Cup trophy lift 

UK must be prepared for war with Russia by 2030, former British Army chief warns

Donald Trump to be ‘denied access to Parliament’ on state visit

Lachlan Murdoch’s office confirmed the defamation proceedings have been filed but declined to make further comment.

Private Media chief executive Will Hayward said in a statement: “We are determined to fight for the integrity and importance of diverse, independent media in Australian democracy.”

No court hearing date has yet been set. Murdoch has not proposed a monetary sum should he win damages in court.

Crikey removed the contentious article from its website when it received a letter from Murdoch’s lawyers a day after the article was published. After further letters were exchanged between lawyers, Crikey published the article again last week.

Crikey attracts an audience of at least 175,000 unique readers a month and has at least 15,000 paid subscribers, according to court documents.

Related: A ‘satirist’s dream’: Express journalists walk out on strike

Tags: Rupert Murdoch

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

← Truss ready to unleash nuclear weapons as prime minister ← TUC’s surprise announcement leaves people feeling short changed
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

-->