While readers on the Gold Coast apparently find Labor MP Tony Burke an acceptable face, just an hour north, in Brisbane, the home affairs minister is a turn-off. How else to explain the different choices made by two of News Corp Australia’s Queensland newspaper editors on Tuesday?

The Gold Coast Bulletin editor, Tyla Harrington, published a front-page headline “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” with a picture of the five members of the Iranian women’s football team with Burke, who had just granted them humanitarian visas.

“Iranians in Daring Gold Coast Defection” was chosen by the Courier Mail editor, Chris Jones, for his front page, with the same picture of the five young women. Except that Burke was removed from the Courier version using photo editing software. No explanation was given and the doctored photograph was erroneously attributed to the Department of Home Affairs.

Weekly Beast has confirmed none of the official pictures supplied to the media by Burke’s office featured the players without the minister. It was a good news story for the government after all, and they wanted a smiling minister in the pics.

The digital disappearing trick was apparently the work of the Courier Mail. The readers were not alerted to the fact that the official photograph was digitally altered, as is the usual practice. We asked the Courier Mail why they removed Burke, why they didn’t disclose the use of editing software to their readers and why they attributed a doctored photograph to the department. We received no response.

Last month, Nine Entertainment announced the Australian Financial Review, along with the Age, will no longer be printed and distributed in Tasmania. It followed a decision in 2024 to stop printing in Western Australia. Printing newspapers is an expensive exercise, especially when you only sell a few print copies.

On Friday came the news that Nine has made more cuts. It has canned Review, a standalone section in the AFR which was promoted as a guide to the world of issues, ideas and opinion. A small note in Friday’s edition noted the change and promised that the “best of long form” would appear elsewhere in print and online. There was nothing of the kind in that edition of the Fin, anyway.

Subscribers pay about $800 a year, so it’s not unreasonable to........

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