‘Just try me’: The text messages that sparked News24’s on-air clash

October 30, 2026 — 2:00am

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In this week’s On Background, a News24 journo joins One Nation’s naughty list; Senator Sarah Henderson’s clarification; and a former interview subject of Karl Stefanovic gets convicted of harassing journalists.

Behind One Nation’s blacklist

On Tuesday night this week, viewers of News24 saw the unusual spectacle of its highest-profile presenters tearing shreds off each other.

Political editor Andrew Clennell was clearly upset. He went onto Peta Credlin’s program with a pre-written statement and couldn’t wait for the host to get to the topic he really wanted to address: One Nation’s national director James Ashby.

What was it that got Clennell’s goat? Was it being called a “dickhead” by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson via Ashby over SMS on Monday morning? Maybe. Was it Credlin not challenging Ashby when she had him on her show that night and he doubled down? That probably contributed, too.

Cease and desist! ABC demands One Nation stop casting Bluey in its cartoons

But it’s also likely that in the full text exchange between Clennell and Ashby – which has been seen by On Background – he tried to stand up to Ashby after his access to Hanson was pulled, and it hasn’t worked. Moreover, none of his colleagues publicly stood up for him after Ashby told Credlin that he, too, thinks Clennell is a dickhead, as do a number of people “within News24”. That must sting.

The messages reveal some of the power dynamics playing out in Canberra, but also how One Nation’s growing journalistic naughty list gets made.

All it took initially was Clennell pointing out that the party’s Please Explain cartoons depicting violence, specifically ones like those showing Hanson running over Lidia Thorpe, are “unhelpful”, particularly in the context of the Helen Haines attack.

Look, “unhelpful” isn’t exactly a hosing down. But it was enough for Clennell to receive an early morning text message from Ashby saying the leader of the nation’s second most popular party thinks he is a “dickhead”, and as such, she wouldn’t be appearing on his show as planned that day.

The text messages show the subsequent pushback from Clennell left him stranded in the same spot as the ABC and The Guardian have been this year, struck off from access to One Nation’s leader. Other journalists in the gallery have also copped individual bans from Ashby.

“You might be able to intimidate other........

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