He began as a journalist working for The Bulletin magazine and The National Times newspaper in 1972 before being appointed editor in 1980.[3] During this period, he oversaw publication of the articles by David Hickie, which detailed long-suppressed allegations of corruption against former New South Wales premier Robert Askin. The first article, headlined "Askin: friend of organised crime", was famously published on the day of Askin's funeral in 1981.[citation needed]
In 1980 Marr published his first book, Barwick, a hostile biography of Chief Justice Sir Garfield Barwick. It won the NSW Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction,[6] but was received poorly by its subject, who accused the author of fabricating quotes.[7]
Marr was a reporter on the ABC TV program Four Corners (1985, 1990–91), a role in which he won a Walkley Award, and presenter of Radio National's Arts Today program (1994–1996). From 2002 to 2004, he hosted the ABC TV program Media Watch.[3] He was a frequent guest on ABC TV's Insiders program. During his term as presenter of Media Watch he played a key role in exposing the ongoing cash for comment affair, which Media Watch had first raised in 1999, concerning radio commentators Alan Jones and John Laws. In 2004 the program's exposé of Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) head David Flint – who had written letters of support to Jones at a time when Jones was being investigated by the ABA – played a significant role in forcing Flint's resignation.[citation needed]
In 2002 Marr stated on Media Watch that conservative newspaper columnist Janet Albrechtsen had misquoted a French psychiatrist, Jean-Jacques Rassial[fr], and claimed that she had done this deliberately to make it look as though violence and gang rape were institutionalised elements of the culture of Muslim youths.[8] Albrechtsen did not deny the misquote, but responded by accusing Media Watch of inherent left-wing bias and of deliberately leading a witch-hunt against contrary views. When the Minister for Communications, Senator Helen Coonan, appointed Albrechtsen to the board of the ABC in February 2005, Marr publicly questioned whether she was qualified for such a position in light of what he described as "breaches of proper conduct as a commentator and as a journalist".[9]
In 2008 Marr was named by Same Same as one of the 25 most influential gay and lesbian Australians for his coverage of the Bill Henson case.[10][11]
Marr has advocated drug-law reform and has written candidly about his life experiences: "I've had a lot of fun on drugs ... I've had a lot of marvellous experiences. I've danced a lot. I've had a great time. I'm not ashamed of it. And I don't see what's wrong with it."[12]
Marr resigned from The Sydney Morning Herald on 13 July 2012, saying "People underestimate what a deeply conventional person I am. I'm turning 65 and that feels like the right time to go."[13] However, in April 2013, Marr joined Guardian Australia.[14][15]
In 2013 Marr penned the essay (later expanded to a book) The Prince: Faith, Abuse and George Pell about Cardinal Pell's dealing with Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.[16] In 2020 Marr appeared in episode 3 of ABC's series Revelation. Pell, wrongfully convicted of sexual abuse in 2019, was acquitted in 2020.[17]
Marr appeared as a semi-regular panellist on the ABC television programs Q&A and Insiders until 2020.[citation needed]
In May 2024 it was announced that Marr will replace Phillip Adams as host of ABC Radio National's Late Night Live after Adams’ last show on 27 June 2024.[18]
Christopher "Chris" Wayne Masters PSM is a multiple Walkley Award–winning and Logie Award–winning Australian journalist and author.
William Richard Shorten is an Australian politician and former trade unionist serving as the current Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. Previously, Shorten was leader of the opposition and leader of the Labor Party (ALP) from 2013 to 2019. A member of parliament (MP) for the division of Maribyrnong since 2007, Shorten also held several ministerial portfolios in the Gillard and Rudd governments from 2010 to 2013.
Don Watson is an Australian author, screenwriter, former political adviser, and speechwriter.
Robert Duncan Drewe is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer.
Karen Hitchcock is an Australian author and medical doctor who published her first book of short stories in 2009. She has published in both medical and literary journals, including a publication in the "Best Australian Short Stories" and "Best Australian Essays" anthologies.
Antony Loewenstein is a Jewish Australian-German freelance investigative journalist, author, and film-maker.
Amanda Frances Lillian Lohrey is an Australian writer and novelist.
Peter Hartcher is an Australian journalist and the Political and International Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. He is also a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based foreign policy think tank.
Chloe Melisande Hooper is an Australian author.
Griffith Review is a quarterly publication featuring essays, reportage, memoir, fiction, poetry and artwork from established and emerging writers and artists. The publication was founded in 2003 by Griffith University in Australia, and was initially published by ABC Books. In 2009, Text Publishing became the Review's publishing partner and distributor. Therefore, the magazine has bases in both Brisbane and Melbourne. Julianne Schultz was the founding editor and has been publisher since 2018, when Ashley Hay was appointed editor.
George Megalogenis is an Australian journalist, political commentator and author.
Felicity Plunkett is an Australian poet, literary critic, editor and academic.
Tony Birch is an Aboriginal Australian author, academic and activist. He regularly appears on ABC local radio and Radio National shows and at writers’ festivals. He was head of the honours programme for creative writing at the University of Melbourne before becoming the first recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship at Victoria University in Melbourne in June 2015.
Laura Margaret Tingle is an Australian journalist and author.
The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island is a 2008 book by Chloe Hooper. It is about the events surrounding the death in custody of Aboriginal Australian man, Cameron Doomadgee. It won numerous awards and was shortlisted for many others in 2009.
Anna Krien is an Australian journalist, essayist, fiction and nonfiction writer and poet.
Lisa Gorton is an Australian poet, novelist, literary editor and essayist. She is the author of three award-winning poetry collections: Press Release, Hotel Hyperion, and Empirical. Her second novel, The Life of Houses, received the NSW Premier's People's Choice Award for Fiction and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction (shared). Gorton is also the editor of Black Inc's anthology Best Australian Poems 2013.
Erik Jensen is an Australian journalist and author, known for his 2014 biography of artist Adam Cullen, Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen, and as founding editor of The Saturday Paper.
Louise Milligan is an Australian author and investigative reporter for the ABC TV Four Corners program. As of March 2021, she is the author of two award-winning non-fiction books. Her first novel, Pheasants Nest, was published in 2024.
Jennifer Down is an Australian novelist and short story writer. She won the 2022 Miles Franklin Award for her novel Bodies of Light.
1 2 Sydney Church of England Grammar School; Shore Old Boys Union (1994), Sydney Church of England Grammar School register, 1889–1994, Shore Old Boys Union, ISBN978-0-646-19369-4
1 2 3 Who's Who in Australia – entry on David Marr
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
