Source : THE AGE NEWS
Guardian Australia is in turmoil ahead of a crucial federal election after its two most senior political journalists hurled allegations of workplace misconduct at each other, amid a staff exodus.
A mainstay in Australian media since its 2013 launch, the local outpost of the British giant is now one of country’s most-read websites, building its reputation through strong federal politics coverage in its early days. Yet after its former politics editor Katharine Murphy defected to the prime minister’s office last year, the majority of its Canberra bureau followed her out the door.
Trouble in Canberra for Guardian Australia.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
In late 2024, Canberra-based Guardian staff were interviewed as part of an HR investigation after political editor Karen Middleton made a complaint against chief political correspondent Paul Karp, three sources with knowledge of the process, not authorised to speak publicly, told this masthead. Karp also made a counter-claim against Middleton.
Karp leaves Guardian Australia this week and has taken a post at The Australian Financial Review in Sydney.
Guardian journalist Paul Karp.Credit: Guardian website
“I’m leaving with my head held high and with a clean record,” he said in a farewell speech to all staff last Friday, according to those in attendance.
Crikey also reported that Karp said: “And my final message is somewhat cliched, but nevertheless important. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. If you see something, say something. This will only remain a good place to work if you make it so.”
Middleton did not respond to a request for comment. Karp declined to comment. Guardian Australia said it has long been its practice to not publicly comment on operational matters. Several other current and former staffers declined to comment on the process.
In the nine months since Middleton replaced Katharine Murphy (now Albanese’s press secretary), the culture at Guardian Australia has become the talk of the Canberra press gallery. In the final months of 2024, political reporters Amy Remeikis, Daniel Hurst and veteran political photographer Mike Bowers all departed in quick succession. Karp then flagged his own move to Nine-owned masthead The Australian Financial Review in December, meaning all but two of its Canberra staff had left in the past year.
It is also looking for a new economics correspondent after veteran Peter Hannam quit in December. All cited different reasons for their departures.
Guardian journalist Karen Middleton.Credit: Guardian website
The Guardian spokesperson said it has a great team in place to cover the imminent federal election, after hiring two new journalists to the bureau.
However, Karp’s public comments in the lead-up to his own exit added extra fuel to the fire, writing on social media platform BlueSky that he was sad to be joining colleagues in leaving within a few months, adding he had pushed for “positive culture change” at the bureau.
“I’m proud to have stood up for what I think is right including by successfully pushing for positive cultural change internally. I wish them all the best with the substantial task of rebuilding the Canberra bureau.”
In the new year, Karp then posted the advertisement for his own position, saying it would be an “excellent job for anyone who wants to work with the Canberra team and Karen Middleton”, before later omitting the political editor’s name from his speech to colleagues last Friday, while heaping praise on Murphy, attendees said.
A Reddit “Ask Me Anything” interview with Karp, scheduled for Monday afternoon, in his final week as a Guardian employee was then cancelled on the same day.
Karp’s social media activity and remarks irked some current staff, surprised to see him draw attention to the situation on his way out, some senior staffers told this masthead.
Middleton arrived at Guardian Australian in March last year from The Saturday Paper, replacing Murphy, who was one of the central figures in the publication’s growing footprint in Australian media, joining in 2013 at its establishment.
In the second half of 2024, after reports of discontent in the bureau made their way to the publication’s Sydney headquarters, a new position of Canberra chief of staff was created and added to political reporter Josh Butler’s remit. This included more administrative duties, such as attending the daily news conference.
A recent gossip item from Daily Mail Australia’s Peter van Onselen cited the three departed political journalists as having been beaten to the political editor role. However, neither Remeikis nor Hurst applied for the role, five sources confirmed to this masthead, speaking on condition of anonymity. Karp had applied for and interviewed for the role, however.
While Guardian Australia made several hires to replace its departed journalists, and is looking to replace Karp, observers have been keen to note the significant drop in experience, crucially with a federal election mooted for April this year. The scale of the exits has impacted morale across the publication’s other bureaus, this masthead was told.
Bowers’ exit also came after the publication was scaling back its own output, replacing a significant portion of his work with that from newswire AAP, this masthead reported in November.
In the most recent report from ratings agency Ipsos, Guardian Australia was the country’s sixth-most read news outlet, with an audience of 7.2 million. The Sydney Morning Herald was fourth, while The Age was ninth.
Guardian Australia doubled its profits in the 2024 financial year to $1.27 million.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
