Mushroom trial spores toxic media hot takes after Erin Patterson’s guilty verdict | Weekly Beast

Coverage ranges from psychedelic gifs to ‘full-on Walking Dead-style zombie stuff’. Plus: is the ABC really listening?

The media were constrained in what they could report during Erin Patterson’s 10-week trial. But after the mushroom trial guilty verdict was handed down on Monday, all bets were off.

The extraordinary photographs of the triple murderer in a prison van in May were published by every media outlet, bought from the wire agency AFP for more than $1,500 each or a discounted rate for the set of six.

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‘Fungi fatale’ and ‘death cap stare’: how the world’s media reported Erin Patterson’s guilty verdict

For more than two months, the Australian mushroom triple-murder trial has gripped the world – here’s how it finished up on the front page

The murder trial has spawned podcasts, documentaries, thousands of column inches, viral social media posts – and a rapt global audience.

After a week of deliberation, a supreme court jury found Victorian woman Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder after three guests died and one almost died after eating her homemade beef wellington lunch.

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ABC investigates defence correspondent for allegedly not disclosing trip paid for by German shipbuilder

Andrew Greene, who has worked for the public broadcaster for more than 10 years, filed a story from Germany about business booming at naval shipyards

The ABC is investigating “serious allegations” that its defence correspondent Andrew Greene filed a story about a German shipbuilder without disclosing that he had traveled to Germany courtesy of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, which is hoping to win Australian navy contracts.

Media Watch revealed that Greene filed a story last week for ABC radio’s The World Today about how business is booming at German shipyards. The report, which has since been taken down, allegedly failed to disclose that the journalist had been a guest of the defence company.

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ABC confirms Q+A to be axed amid wider changes including about 40 redundancies

Political and current affairs discussion program being cut alongside the ABC’s Innovation Lab

The ABC’s Q+A program has been cancelled after 18 years, the broadcaster has confirmed, and another major restructure of screen, digital and audio content will result in scores of redundancies across the public broadcaster.

The savings from staff cuts will be “reinvested directly into more content and services for audiences”, the managing director, Hugh Marks, has told staff.

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ABC expected to axe Q+A in fresh round of cuts

Managing director Hugh Marks to unveil changes at public broadcaster on Wednesday

The ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, is expected to unveil his first tranche of changes at the public broadcaster on Wednesday morning, including a new round of redundancies and the axing of Q+A after 18 years.

The weekly flagship discussion program was launched in 2007 by executive producer Peter McEvoy and host Tony Jones and was highly influential in its early years.

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Albanese says footage of Nine journalist Lauren Tomasi being shot by LA police with rubber bullet is ‘horrific’

The PM says he has expressed his concern to the US government over the incident that occurred during protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles

Full report: Pentagon deploys 700 US marines to LA amid immigration protests
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Anthony Albanese says footage of the Nine correspondent Lauren Tomasi being shot by a rubber bullet live on air is “horrific” and he has expressed his concern to the US government.

Tomasi was shot while reporting on protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, with the incident caught live on camera. Footage showed an officer taking aim in the direction of Tomasi and her camera operator and then firing.

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Australian reporter shot with rubber bullet while covering anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement declaring that ‘all journalists should be able to do their work safely’

An Australian reporter has been shot with a rubber bullet while reporting on protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, with the incident caught live on camera.

US authorities, including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and national guard troops, clashed with demonstrators on Sunday. They were protesting against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

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Channel Ten cancels The Project after 16 years with new current affairs show to fill primetime slot

Groundbreaking commercial news and entertainment program to air final time on 27 June

Channel Ten’s The Project, a groundbreaking news and entertainment program which made a success of “news done differently” in prime time has been cancelled by the network after 16 years and 4,500 episodes.

It will air for the last time on Friday 27 June and will be replaced by a new national one-hour 6pm news, current affairs and analysis show after Channel Ten’s local 5pm news bulletin.

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SBS’s Insight accused of betraying people living with chronic fatigue syndrome who appeared on program

Broadcaster receives hundreds of negative comments including claims it presented a potentially harmful and unscientific narrative

People living with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome who appeared on SBS’s Insight program have accused the broadcaster of betraying them in the final cut, which presented what they claim is a potentially harmful and unscientific narrative and favoured a person who said she had “cured herself” by “listening to her body”.

The SBS ombudsman is investigating their individual complaints, as well as one from Emerge Australia, the national advocacy body for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

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ABC doing ‘all the heavy lifting’ as commercial networks abandon local kids’ TV drama

Just $1.75m spent on genre across free-to-air networks as advocates warn of ‘broader erosion’ of cultural investment

Australian commercial television networks have all but given up on creating local children’s drama, advocates say, with just $1.75m spent on the genre across all commercial free-to-air networks in 2023-24.

But that’s $1.75m more than the previous year, according to the latest report card by the communications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma).

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New Australian free-to-air TV rules could allow alcohol ads from 10am, even on weekends and school holidays

Media authority mulls Free TV Australia’s proposed revised code of practice to expand daytime hours when M programming is permitted

Free-to-air broadcasters want classification rules changed to allow an additional 800 hours of alcohol ads every year despite one in three children already being exposed to liquor commercials on television.

Despite laws banning alcohol marketing during children’s viewing hours, broadcasters have a “sports loophole” in their code of practice, which permits the airing of alcohol ads during televised sporting events.

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Australia news live: Erin Patterson’s daughter says her mother was a ‘very good cook’; PM’s department boss quits

Erin Patterson’s daughter’s pre-recorded video evidence is being played to the jury in Patterson’s triple murder trial. Follow today’s news live

‘I want to harness all the talent in my team’

“We do need to reflect a modern Liberal party,” Sussan Ley says. She is speaking on Sunrise before the Liberals’ party room meeting on Tuesday, when they will select a new leader:

It’s about making sure that I am listening to my colleagues and … demonstrate to them we want a strong approach that includes everyone. I want to harness all of the talent in my team, take it forward under my leadership and meet the Australian people where they are because, clearly we didn’t do that at the last election. But we do need to reflect a modern Liberal party, meeting modern Australians in every single walk of life across the country.

On the weekend, we suffered a significant election defeat and since then, I have been having many conversations with my colleagues, members of the community, with members of the party, indeed the Coalition, with everyday Australians. I have listened. We got it wrong. We need to do things differently, going forward, and we do need a fresh approach. So, on Tuesday morning when the Liberal party room meets in Canberra, I will be putting myself forward for the position of leader of the federal party.

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Nine journalist Nick McKenzie allegedly told of Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife’s planned legal action

Roberts-Smith argues his unsuccessful defamation case against McKenzie and Nine newspapers should be retried because of a ‘miscarriage of justice’

The Nine journalist Nick McKenzie was told about a legal action Ben Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife planned to take against the war veteran ahead of his defamation trial, a court has heard, with the informant allegedly telling him “it’s always good to be on the front foot”.

On Tuesday the federal court of Australia heard that a friend of Emma Roberts had told McKenzie that Roberts-Smith was planning to notify and write to the Commonwealth director of public prosecutions (CDPP) about an alleged “breach” and to “restrain any further publications being made”.

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This article was amended on 2 May 2025. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Nick McKenzie was told Emma Roberts planned to contact the CDPP. McKenzie was told that Ben Roberts-Smith planned to do this.

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‘Game on’: Kim Williams has ‘no doubt’ a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC

ABC chair backs public broadcaster after Peter Dutton’s comments warning it would need to demonstrate ‘excellence’

The chair of Australia’s public broadcaster says he has “no doubt” a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, but that the organisation has nothing to apologise for in its quest for “excellence” and “efficiency”.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt within the event of Mr [Peter] Dutton acceding to office that there would be a very early call for an efficiency and, apparently, an excellency review for what the ABC does. Game on,” Kim Williams said during a speech at the Melbourne Press Club on Thursday.

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Ben Roberts-Smith demands defamation retrial citing alleged recording of Nine investigative journalist

Federal court hears Nick McKenzie allegedly told a witness that Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife and her friend were ‘actively briefing us on his legal strategy’

Ben Roberts-Smith has argued his case should be retried because there was a “miscarriage of justice” caused by the alleged “misconduct” of Nick McKenzie, the Nine journalist whom Roberts-Smith unsuccessfully sued for defamation.

In an interlocutory application, published by the federal court in Sydney on Monday, Roberts-Smith claimed that McKenzie “engaged in wilful misconduct in the proceedings by improperly and unlawfully obtaining and retaining information concerning [Roberts-Smith’s] legal strategy concerning the trial that was confidential and privileged”.

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Lehrmann inquiry head Walter Sofronoff to challenge finding he engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’

Lawyers for former judge say he has filed application with federal court disputing lawfulness of ACT Integrity Commission report

The former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff will challenge findings that he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” by leaking his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann to two journalists before it was made public.

The Australian Capital Territory Integrity Commission’s report, released on Wednesday, found Sofronoff’s conduct fell within “several elements of the definition of ‘corrupt conduct’”, through his disclosures to two journalists: Janet Albrechtsen at the Australian and Elizabeth Byrne at the ABC.

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Lehrmann inquiry head Walter Sofronoff engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’ , review finds

Investigation by ACT integrity commission finds Sofronoff’s disclosure of confidential material to journalists amounted to corrupt conduct

The former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”, the ACT integrity commission has found, after reviewing his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

The report marks the latest development after Brittany Higgins went public with allegations that Lehrmann had raped her in Parliament House. The alleged incident has spawned a series of investigations and protracted legal battles.

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Staff at the Age protest over Trumpet of Patriots gender ad as Newcastle Herald apologises for running it

Australian Community Media, publisher of the Newcastle Herald, removes ad promoting Clive Palmer’s party from digital edition, saying it does not meet the company’s values

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The Newcastle Herald has apologised for publishing a front page ad from Clive Palmer’s new Trumpet of Patriots party which says “there are only two genders”, as journalists at the Age say they are “furious” the Melbourne newspaper has apparently accepted the same ad for publication.

In the past week the Age has published Palmer’s anti-immigration and anti-welcome to country advertisements, which have also appeared in News Corp publications.

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Voice referendum normalised racism towards Indigenous Australians, report finds

Complaints detailing distressing incidents of racism reveal 2023 referendum one of Australia’s ‘darker moments’, author says

Warning: this article contains distressing descriptions of racism

A report examining racism towards Indigenous Australians found one fifth of all complaints contained reference to the failed voice to parliament referendum, in what authors say was one of the nation’s “darker moments”.

The report, titled If You Don’t Think Racism Exists Come Take a Walk With Us, was released on Thursday. Undertaken by the University of Technology Sydney’s Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research and the National Justice Project, it is the second annual report about racism targeting First Nations people and is based on 453 validated reports of racism made to the Call it Out register in the 12 months to 20 March 2024.

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Lattouf says unlawful termination case exposes ‘systemic racism and rot at heart of ABC’

In closing submissions, broadcaster proposes ‘modest’ payout to journalist if it loses high-stakes battle

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Antoinette Lattouf says her protracted legal fight with the national broadcaster has revealed “the systemic racism and rot at the heart of the ABC”.

In an emotional press conference outside Sydney’s federal court at the conclusion of the case, Lattouf said of her dismissal from the ABC and the fallout: “This saga has undoubtedly been the most difficult of my entire life.”

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