Guardian struggles to fill political editor role eight months after Middleton exit
By Calum Jaspan
Guardian Australia is back on the hunt for a political editor, eight months since its top Canberra role became vacant and several months after pausing interviews to fill the flagship position.
Senior editors conducted a fresh round of interviews this week after earlier efforts to land a suitable candidate were halted.
The federal press gallery is in the midst of a talent merry-go-round.Credit: Glen McCurtayne
The West Australian’s Canberra bureau chief Katina Curtis is tipped as a possible frontrunner, with The Saturday Paper’s special correspondent Jason Koutsoukis also in the race, after the position was readvertised recently. Both declined to comment.
A Guardian spokesperson confirmed it has recommenced its search.
The Guardian interviewed candidates between April and July, but then opted to pause the process, as it continued the hunt for a high-profile journalist who can break news stories and write a weekly column, two sources with knowledge of the process told this masthead.
Karen Middleton is yet to be replaced.Credit: Guardian website
The UK-owned digital news publisher is trying to replace veteran press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, who officially left The Guardian in March after a year in the role. She had been on extended leave since December and her time in the role coincided with a period of significant change in the outlet’s parliament bureau.
Middleton replaced Katharine Murphy, who joined Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office as press secretary in early 2024. Murphy left the PM’s office after 18 months, following this year’s election.
Middleton’s departure from The Guardian followed an HR process where she and then-chief political correspondent Paul Karp made counterclaims of workplace misconduct against each other in late 2024. Karp later told colleagues in a farewell speech that he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
He subsequently joined The Australian Financial Review and was replaced at The Guardian by Tom McIlroy, previously the AFR’s Canberra bureau chief.
Katharine Murphy on the set of the ABC’s Insiders in 2017, when she was Guardian Australia’s political editor.Credit: Meredith O’Shea
The refreshed hiring process at The Guardian comes amid a period of significant change across the press gallery, instigated when the ABC’s political editor for the 7.30 program, Laura Tingle, left the program to become global affairs editor. She has been replaced by the broadcaster’s chief digital correspondent, Jacob Greber.
Last week, ABC News boss Justin Stevens informed staff that Clare Armstrong, currently The Daily Telegraph’s national political editor, had been appointed the ABC’s chief digital political correspondent.
Several high-profile senior reporters have left the Canberra press gallery in the past 18 months for different reasons. Apart from Murphy and Tingle, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief political correspondent David Crowe has recently started as the Europe correspondent for the mastheads. Following Crowe’s departure from the gallery, the papers owned by Nine Entertainment have appointed Paul Sakkal as chief political correspondent and James Massola as chief political commentator.
Meanwhile, News’ national masthead The Australian recently appointed Geoff Chambers as its new political editor, replacing Simon Benson, who has moved into a commentary role. The newspaper’s Canberra bureau chief, Greg Brown, has replaced Chambers as chief political correspondent.
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