The Australian Press Council is probably one of the least well known and understood institutions in the country, but it’s played a significant role in undermining the public’s faith in the news media.
How so? Well, it’s generally pretty reluctant to fulfil its core mission, which is to regulate the print media. The reason why becomes more apparent when you realise it’s actually an entirely voluntary organisation that is self-funded by media outlets it’s supposed to regulate. While Australia has ACMA, which regulates TV and radio, and the eSafety Commission, which regulates social media, there is no government regulation over digital and print media.
A big reason for that is because the major print media companies, especially News Corp, fund the Press Council and argue no further regulation is needed.
So how effective is it? Well, since the beginning of 2025, it’s only made five adjudications, including one last week, which caught our eye because of the subject matter involved and the determination the Press Council made.
The Press Council’s determination related to a cartoon by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald’s Cathy Wilcox published in January. It depicted an alliance of Australian right-wing figures including Liberal and National MPs, John Howard, Jillian Segal and Rupert Murdoch marching to the beat of a drum banged by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
