Who we are
Council structure
The Australian Press Council has 23 members, comprising
- the independent Chair and nine “public members”, who have no affiliations with a media organisation;
- nine nominees of media organisations which are "constituent bodies" of the Council (see below under Constituent bodies);
- four independent journalist members, who are not employed by a media organisation.
The independent Chair is chosen by the Council and has always been a judge or university professor. The public members and independent journalist members are appointed by the Council on the nomination of the Chair. The nominees of publishers are chosen by the media organisations which have agreed to support the Council and be subject to its complaints system. All members are expected to act and vote as individuals, not as representatives of any organisation or interest.
For further details, see the Press Council's Constitution.
Council membership
Chair of the Council
(biography)
- Prof Julian Disney AO
Public Members
(biographies)
- John Fleetwood
- Julian Gardner
- Prof Ron Grunstein
- Julie Kinross
- Andrew Podger AO
- Robyne Schwarz AM
- Melissa Seymour-Dearness
- Philippa Smith AM
Industry Nominee Members
(biographies)
- Hal Crawford (ninemsn)
- John Dunnet (Country Press Association)
- Tony Gillies (Australian Associated Press)
- Alan Kennedy (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance)
- Garry Linnell (Fairfax Media)
- Bob Osburn (Community Newspapers Association)
- Campbell Reid (News Ltd)
- Pam Walkley (ACP Magazines)
- Steve Zeppa (APN News and Media)
Independent Journalist Members
(biographies)
- Warren Beeby
- Prue Innes
- Adrian McGregor
- Gerard Noonan
Staff
(biographies)
The Council secretariat is based in Sydney and is headed by an Executive Director appointed by the Council. The current staff members are
- Dr Derek Wilding (Executive Director)
- Georgina Dridan (Deputy Executive Director)
- Paul Nangle (Director of Complaints)
- Imogen Selley (Director of Standards)
- Alicia Sammy (Complaints and Communications Officer)
- Alanna Harper (Research and Programs Officer)
- Shamim Islam (Office Manager)
Previous Chairs
- Sir Frank Kitto AC, KBE, PC (1976-82)
- Prof Geoffrey Sawer AO (1982-84)
- Hon Hal Wootten AC (1984-86)
- Prof David Flint AM (1987-97)
- Prof Dennis Pearce AO (1997-2000)
- Prof Ken McKinnon AO (2000-09)
Constituent bodies
The "constituent bodies" of the Council are publishers and other organisations in the media industry which have agreed to provide funding for the Council, to cooperate with the Council's consideration of complaints against them and to publish any resultant adjudications. They also select the industry nominees on the Council.
News Limited, Fairfax Media and the other publishers of newspapers and magazines that are members of the Council are responsible for about 90% of all print media sales in Australia. Most of the major news websites are also members of the Council, as are a number of other online publishers and the principal union for employees in the media industry.
For further details, see Constituent Bodies and their Publications.
