6 News Australia

6 News Australia

Headquarters	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ownership
Owner	Leo Puglisi [1]
History
Launched	20 March 2019
Founder	Leo Puglisi
Former names	HMV Local News & HMV News (2019−2020)
Links
Website	6newsau.com

6 News Australia (also known simply as 6 News, formerly known as HMV Local News and formerly on videos as HMV News or HMV-6) is a streaming news channel based in Melbourne, Australia. The channel is known for a large portion of its journalists being teenagers. ^{[2] [3]}

History

6 News was founded in 2019 as HMV Local News by Leo Puglisi, who was 11 years old at the time. The channel changed its name to 6 News on 1 January 2020. ^[4]

In August 2021, the channel was suspended by YouTube for a week after uploading a video of then-MP George Christensen, which violated YouTube's policy against COVID-19 misinformation. The suspension was overturned after it was determined "there was sufficient context" to allow the video to be published. ^[5]

The channel gained national media attention in early 2022 during the federal election campaign, after conducting interviews with then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then-Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese. ^[6]

After Labor senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor to support recognising the State of Palestine, 6 News was the first news outlet to interview her. ^{[7] [8]}

In July 2026, the ownership of 6 News transferred from Atelier Puglisi Pty Ltd to Leo Puglisi. ^{[1] [9]}

Basil Zempilas controversy

In January 2024, then-Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas was captured on a hot mic apparently referring to the Australian Open women's final as a "reserve game", prior to a press conference announcing he was joining the Liberal Party. A clip of the comment was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by 6 News. ^[10]

Zempilas later said that he was taken out of context, and that he was referring to a "derby" between reporter Michael Genovese and his partner hosting the news on different channels, which Genovese later confirmed. ^[11] 6 News deleted their post and Puglisi stated that the channel's practices would be reviewed. ^[10]

References

1. "Current details for ABN 80 567 347 345". ABN Register. Archived from the original on 23 July 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
2. "The 14-year-old political journalist covering the upcoming federal election". ABC News. 4 May 2022.
3. "How Melbourne's Leonardo, boy journalist, scooped the big guns". The Age. 18 June 2020.
4. "Scott Morrison, Bob Katter and juggling school: the story behind teen journos at 6 News". The Feed. 15 April 2022.
5. "YouTube bans another Australian news organisation". TV Blackbox. 12 August 2021.
6. "Prime Minister Scott Morrison clashed with teen reporter over lying allegations". news.com.au.
7. "Senator Fatima Payman Defends Crossing the Floor on Gaza Vote". WAMN News. 27 June 2024.
8. Jervis-Bardy, Dan (28 June 2024). "Fatima Payman: PM expects rogue senator to toe the line as she hints at more pro-Palestine protests". The Nightly. Seven West Media. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
9. "Review of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code" (PDF). treasury.gov.au. Public Interest Journalism Initiative.
10. "Basil Zempilas: 6 News Australia to review practices after online storm erupts over fake news". The West Australian. 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024.
11. Trigger, Rebecca (27 January 2024). "Basil Zempilas defends himself after viral tweet causes outrage". ABC News.