View source for The Age

{{Short description|Melbourne daily newspaper}}
{{About|the Australian newspaper|other uses|Age (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name         = The Age
| logo         = Age-logo-blue.svg
| image        = The Age, front cover, May 11 2020.png
| caption      = Front page of ''The Age'' (11 May 2020)
| type         = [[Daily newspaper]]
| format       = [[Compact (newspaper)|Compact]]
| owners       = [[Nine Entertainment]]
| editor       = Patrick Elligett
| founded      = {{Start date and age|1854|10|17|df=yes}}
| headquarters = [[Melbourne]], Australia
| readership   = Total 4.55&nbsp;million September 2024
| ISSN         = 0312-6307
| website      = {{URL|theage.com.au}}
}}

'''''The Age''''' is a daily newspaper in [[Melbourne]], Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by [[Nine Entertainment]], ''The Age'' primarily serves [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], but copies also sell in [[Tasmania]], the [[Australian Capital Territory]] and border regions of [[South Australia]] and southern [[New South Wales]]. It is delivered both in print and digital formats. The newspaper shares some articles with its [[sister paper]] ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''.

''The Age'' is considered a [[newspaper of record]] for Australia,<ref name="FrostWeingarten2017">{{cite book|author1=Corey Frost|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rGhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|title=The Broadview Guide to Writing: A Handbook for Students|author2=Karen Weingarten|author3=Doug Babington|author4=Don LePan|author5=Maureen Okun|date=30 May 2017|publisher=Broadview Press|isbn=978-1-55481-313-1|edition=6th|pages=27–|access-date=9 March 2020|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629112957/https://books.google.com/books?id=7rGhDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}</ref> and has variously been known for its investigative reporting, with its journalists having won dozens of [[Walkley Awards]], Australia's most prestigious journalism prize. {{As of|2020|March}}, ''The Age'' had a monthly readership of 5.4&nbsp;million. {{As of|2024|September}}, this had fallen to 4.55&nbsp;million.

==History==
=== Foundation ===
''The Age'' was founded by three Melbourne businessmen: brothers John and Henry Cooke (who had arrived from New Zealand in the 1840s) and Walter Powell. The first edition appeared on 17 October 1854.

===Syme family===
The venture was not initially a success, and in June 1856 the Cookes sold the paper to [[Ebenezer Syme]], a Scottish-born businessman, and James McEwan, an ironmonger and founder of McEwans & Co, for £2,000 at auction. The first edition under the new owners came out on 17 June 1856. From its foundation the paper was self-consciously liberal in its politics: "aiming at a wide extension of the rights of free citizenship and a full development of representative institutions", and supporting "the removal of all restrictions upon freedom of commerce, freedom of religion and—to the utmost extent that is compatible with public morality—upon freedom of personal action".<ref name="Purpose and Objectives of The Age">{{cite web |url= http://about.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=93 |title= The History of The Age |work= About us |publisher= [[Fairfax Media]] |year= 2011 |access-date= 5 July 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110709070845/http://www.about.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=93 |archive-date= 9 July 2011}}</ref>

Ebenezer Syme was elected to the [[Victorian Legislative Assembly]] shortly after buying ''The Age'', and his brother [[David Syme]] soon came to dominate the paper, editorially and managerially. When Ebenezer died in 1860 David became editor-in-chief, a position he retained until his death in 1908, although a succession of editors did the day-to-day editorial work.

In 1882 ''The Age'' published an eight-part [[Exposé (journalism)|series]] written by journalist and future physician [[George Ernest Morrison|George E. Morrison]], who had sailed, undercover, for the [[New Hebrides]], while posing as crew of the brigantine [[slave ship]], ''Lavinia'', as it made cargo of [[Kanakas]]. By October the series was also being published in ''The Age''{{'}}s weekly companion magazine, the ''Leader''. "A Cruise in a Queensland Slaver. By a Medical Student" was written in a tone of wonder, expressing "only the mildest criticism"; six months later, Morrison "revised his original assessment", describing details of the schooner's [[blackbirding]] operation, and sharply denouncing the slave trade in Queensland. His articles, letters to the editor, and newspaper's editorials, led to expanded government intervention.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kroeger |first1=Brooke |title=Undercover Reporting: The Truth About Deception |date=31 August 2012 |publisher=[[Northwestern University Press]] |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ys61DGpIc9EC&pg=PA33 |isbn=9780810163515 |access-date=9 January 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118032029/https://books.google.com/books?id=ys61DGpIc9EC&pg=PA33 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1891, Syme bought out Ebenezer's heirs and the McEwans and became sole proprietor. He built up ''The Age'' into Victoria's leading newspaper. In circulation, it soon overtook its rivals ''The Herald'' and ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]'', and by 1890 it was selling 100,000 copies a day, making it one of the world's most successful newspapers.
[[File:The Age first edition, Melbourne Museum.jpg|left|thumb|A copy of the first edition of ''The Age'']]

Under Syme's control ''The Age'' exercised enormous political power in Victoria. It supported liberal politicians such as [[Graham Berry]], [[George Higinbotham]] and [[George Turner (Australian politician)|George Turner]], and other leading liberals such as [[Alfred Deakin]] and [[Charles Henry Pearson|Charles Pearson]] furthered their careers as ''The Age'' journalists. Syme was originally a [[free trade]]r, but converted to [[protectionism]] through his belief that Victoria needed to develop its manufacturing industries behind [[tariff]] barriers. During the 1890s ''The Age'' was a leading supporter of [[Federation of Australia|Australian federation]] and of the [[White Australia policy]].

After David Syme's death, the paper remained in the hands of his three sons, and his eldest son Herbert became general manager until his death in 1939.

David Syme's will prevented the sale of any equity in the paper during his sons' lifetimes, an arrangement designed to protect family control, but which had the unintended consequence of starving the paper of investment capital for 40 years.

Under the management of Sir Geoffrey Syme (1908–42), and his editors, [[Gottlieb Schuler]] and Harold Campbell, ''The Age'' was unable to modernise, and gradually lost market share to ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]'' and the tabloid ''[[The Sun News-Pictorial]]'', with only its classified advertisement sections keeping the paper profitable. By the 1940s, the paper's circulation was lower than it had been in 1900, and its political influence had also declined. Although it remained more liberal than the extremely conservative ''Argus'', it lost much of its distinct political identity.

The historian Sybil Nolan writes: "Accounts of ''The Age'' in these years generally suggest that the paper was second-rate, outdated in both its outlook and appearance. Walker described a newspaper which had fallen asleep in the embrace of the Liberal Party; 'querulous', 'doddery' and 'turgid' are some of the epithets applied by other journalists. It is inevitably criticised not only for its increasing conservatism, but for its failure to keep pace with innovations in layout and editorial technique so dramatically demonstrated in papers like ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' and ''The Herald''."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091006132540/http://www.ejournalist.com.au/v1n2/nolan.pdf "Half a century of obscurity – ''The Age'', 1908–1964"] by Sybil Nolan, Australian Media Traditions Conference 2001</ref>

In 1942, David Syme's last surviving son, Oswald, took over the paper, and began to modernise the paper's appearance and standards of news coverage, removing classified advertisements from the front page and introducing photographs long after other papers had done so.

In 1948, after realising the paper needed outside capital, Oswald persuaded the courts to overturn his father's will and floated David Syme and Co. as a public company, selling £400,000 worth of shares. This sale enabled a badly needed technical upgrade of the newspaper's antiquated production machinery, and defeated a takeover attempt by the [[Fairfax family]], publishers of the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]''.

This new lease on life allowed ''The Age'' to recover commercially, and in 1957 it received a great boost when ''The Argus'', after twenty years of financial losses, ceased publication.

===1960–present===
[[File:TheAgeNov111975.jpg|thumb|Front page of ''The Age'' reporting [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|the dismissal of the Prime Minister]] on 11 November 1975]]
Oswald Syme retired in 1964 and his grandson [[Ranald Macdonald (journalist)|Ranald Macdonald]] was appointed managing director at the age of 26 and two years later he appointed [[Graham Perkin]] as editor; to ensure that the 36-year-old Perkin was free of board influence, Macdonald took on the role of editor-in-chief, a position he held until 1970. Together they radically changed the paper's format and shifted its editorial line from rather conservative liberalism to a new "left liberalism" characterised by attention to issues such as race, gender, the disabled and the environment, as well as opposition to White Australia and the death penalty.

It also became more supportive of the [[Australian Labor Party]] after years of having usually supported the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]]. The Liberal [[Premier of Victoria]], [[Henry Bolte]], subsequently called ''The Age'' "that pinko rag" in a view conservatives have maintained ever since. Former editor Michael Gawenda in his book ''American Notebook'' wrote that the "default position of most journalists at ''The Age'' was on the political Left".<ref>{{cite news | url = http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22108313-7582,00.html?from=public_rss | title = Leunig off line: ex-editor | access-date = 22 July 2007 |author=[[Caroline Overington]]| date = 21 July 2007 | publisher = News Limited | work = [[The Australian]]}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 1966, the Syme family shareholders joined with Fairfax to create a 50/50 voting partnership which guaranteed editorial independence and forestalled takeover moves from newspaper proprietors in Australia and overseas. This lasted for 17 years, until Fairfax bought controlling interest in 1972.

Perkin's editorship coincided with [[Gough Whitlam]]'s reforms of the Labor Party, and ''The Age'' became a key supporter of the Whitlam government, which came to power in [[1972 Australian federal election|1972]]. Contrary to subsequent mythology, however, ''The Age'' was not an uncritical supporter of Whitlam, and played a leading role in exposing the [[Loans Affair]], one of the scandals which contributed to the demise of the Whitlam government. It was one of many papers to call for Whitlam's resignation on 15 October 1975. Its editorial that day, "Go now, go decently", began, "We will say it straight, and clear, and at once. The Whitlam government has run its course." It would be Perkin's last editorial; he died the next day.

After Perkin's death, ''The Age'' returned to a more moderate liberal position. While it criticised [[Australian constitutional crisis of 1975|Whitlam's dismissal]] later that year, it supported [[Malcolm Fraser]]'s Liberal government in its early years. However, after 1980 it became increasingly critical and was a leading supporter of [[Bob Hawke]]'s reforming government after 1983. But from the 1970s, the political influence of ''The Age'', as with other [[broadsheet]] newspapers, derived less from what it said in its editorial columns (which relatively few people read) than from the opinions expressed by journalists, cartoonists, feature writers and guest columnists. ''The Age'' has always kept a stable of leading editorial cartoonists, notably [[Les Tanner]], [[Bruce Petty]], [[Ron Tandberg]] and [[Michael Leunig]].

In 1983, Fairfax bought out the remaining shares in David Syme & Co., which became a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Co.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116406623?searchTerm=fairfax%20extends%20control%20of%20David%20syme%20and%20co%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=|title=Fairfax Extends Control of David Syme and Co.|newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]]|date=15 September 1983|access-date=24 February 2019|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809002807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116406623?searchTerm=fairfax%20extends%20control%20of%20David%20syme%20and%20co%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=|url-status=live}}</ref> Macdonald was criticised by some members of the Syme family (who nevertheless accepted Fairfax's generous offer for their shares), but he argued that ''The Age'' was a natural partner for Fairfax's flagship property, ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. He believed the greater resources of the Fairfax group would enable ''The Age'' to remain competitive. By the mid-1960s a new competitor had appeared in [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s national daily ''[[The Australian]]'', which was first published on 15 July 1964. In 1999 David Syme & Co. became The Age Company Ltd, finally ending the Syme connection.

[[File:The Age Headquarters.jpg|thumb|Previous headquarters of ''The Age'']]
[[File:The Age Collins St 2010.jpg|thumb|Previous headquarters in [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins Street]], completed 2009, vacated 2019]]
''The Age'' was published from offices in [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins Street]] until 1969, when it moved to 250 [[Spencer Street]] (hence the nickname "The Spencer Street Soviet" favoured by some critics). In 2003, ''The Age'' opened a new printing centre at [[Tullamarine]]. The headquarters moved again in 2009 to Collins Street opposite [[Southern Cross railway station|Southern Cross station]]. Since acquisition by Nine Entertainment, the headquarters moved to the former's 717 [[Bourke Street]].

In 2004, editor Michael Gawenda was succeeded as editor by British journalist [[Andrew Jaspan]], who was in turn replaced by Paul Ramadge in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 September 2008|title=Paul Ramadge appointed Age editor-in-chief|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/paul-ramadge-appointed-age-editorinchief-20080912-4fi4.html|access-date=12 August 2022|website=www.smh.com.au|language=en-AU|archive-date=12 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812140815/https://www.smh.com.au/national/paul-ramadge-appointed-age-editorinchief-20080912-4fi4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Age'' has been known for its tradition of [[investigative reporting]]. In 1984, the newspaper reported what became known as "The Age Tapes" affair, which revealed recordings made by police of alleged corrupt dealings between organised crime figures, politicians and public officials and which sparked the [[Stewart Royal Commission]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=McClymont|first=Kate|author-link=Kate McClymont|date=21 July 2017|title=Lionel Murphy: Nation's most enduring judicial scandal reignited after 31 years|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lionel-murphy-nations-most-enduring-judicial-scandal-reignited-after-31-years-20170721-gxfxla.html|access-date=1 November 2020|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108023302/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lionel-murphy-nations-most-enduring-judicial-scandal-reignited-after-31-years-20170721-gxfxla.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The paper's extensive reporting on malpractice in Australia's banking sector led to a Royal Commission being announced by the [[Turnbull government]] into the financial services industry,<ref name=letts2019>{{Cite web|date=1 February 2019|title=The three amigos who forced the banking royal commission|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-01/how-the-banking-royal-commission-was-born/10758404|access-date=1 November 2020|website=ABC News |first1= Stephen |last1=Letts |language=en-AU|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102025121/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-01/how-the-banking-royal-commission-was-born/10758404|url-status=live}}</ref> and with ''The Age's'' journalist [[Adele Ferguson]] awarded the [[Gold Walkley]].<ref name=walkley2016>{{Cite web|date=13 August 2016|title=Gold Walkley award winners Mario Christodoulou (L) and Adele Ferguson, at the Walkleys Awards, December 4, 2014.|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-13/gold-walkley-winners-at-podium/7731440|access-date=1 November 2020|website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|language=en|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820003316/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-13/gold-walkley-winners-at-podium/7731440|url-status=live}}</ref> A series of stories in ''The Age'' between 2009 and 2015 about alleged corruption involving subsidiaries of Australia's central bank, the [[Reserve Bank of Australia|Reserve Bank]], led to Australia's first ever prosecutions of companies and businessman for foreign bribery.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 November 2018|title=Bribery scandal results in record $21m in fines for Reserve Bank companies|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-28/rba-subsidiaries-securency-note-printing-record-fines-bribery/10561542|access-date=1 November 2020|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108131935/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-28/rba-subsidiaries-securency-note-printing-record-fines-bribery/10561542|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Letts|first=Stephen|date=28 November 2018|title=How the RBA scandal unfolded|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-28/reserve-bank-note-printing-scadal-timeline/10561826|access-date=1 November 2020|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|archive-date=6 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206163231/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-28/reserve-bank-note-printing-scadal-timeline/10561826|url-status=live}}</ref>  ''The Age's'' reporting of the [[Unaoil]] international bribery scandal led to investigations by anti-corruption agencies in the UK, US, across Europe and Australia and several businessmen pleading guilty for paying bribes in nine countries over 17 years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=31 October 2019|title=Unaoil executives admit paying multimillion-dollar bribes|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/31/unaoil-executives-admit-paying-multimillion-dollar-bribes|access-date=1 November 2020|website=[[The Guardian]]|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004084500/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/31/unaoil-executives-admit-paying-multimillion-dollar-bribes|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2007, ''The Age's'' editorial section argued that Australian citizen David Hicks should be released as a prisoner from [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo Bay]], stating that Mr Hicks was no hero and "probably downright deluded and dangerous" but the case for releasing him was just, given he was being held without charge or trial.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/lets-bring-david-hicks-home-20051112-ge182q.html |title=Let's bring David Hicks home |date=12 November 2005 |website=The Age |language=en |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121110/https://www.theage.com.au/national/lets-bring-david-hicks-home-20051112-ge182q.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-image-david-hicks-family-hopes-will-set-him-free-20070205-ge45f3.html |title=The image David Hicks' family hopes will set him free |last=Debelle |first=Penelope |date=5 February 2007 |website=The Age |language=en |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119174259/https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-image-david-hicks-family-hopes-will-set-him-free-20070205-ge45f3.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/david-hicks-is-no-hero-but-the-case-for-freeing-him-is-just-20071230-ge6k20.html |title=David Hicks is no hero but the case for freeing him is just |date=30 December 2007 |website=The Age |language=en |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121239/https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/david-hicks-is-no-hero-but-the-case-for-freeing-him-is-just-20071230-ge6k20.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, ''The Age'' suspended its columnist [[Michael Backman]] after one of his columns condemned Israeli tourists as greedy and badly behaved, prompting criticism that he was [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]]. A [[Australian Press Council|Press Council]] complaint against ''The Age'' for its handling of the complaints against Backman was dismissed.<ref name=Press>{{cite news |title=Complaint against The Age dismissed |newspaper=The Age |publisher=Fairfax Media |date=26 April 2009 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/complaint-against-ithe-agei-dismissed-20090426-ajeh.html |access-date=5 July 2011 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103054242/http://www.theage.com.au/national/complaint-against-ithe-agei-dismissed-20090426-ajeh.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014 ''The Age'' put a photograph of an innocent man, Abu Bakar Alam, on the front page, mistakenly identifying him as the perpetrator of the [[2014 Endeavour Hills stabbings]]. As part of the settlement the newspaper donated $20,000 towards building a mosque in nearby [[Doveton, Victoria|Doveton]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Trounson|first=Andrew|title=''Age'' sorry to victim of snap slip|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/age-sorry-to-victim-of-snap-slip/story-fn9ymmvo-1227245407178|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

{{As of|2012}}, three editions of ''The Age'' are printed nightly: the NAA edition, for interstate and country Victorian readers, the MEA edition, for metropolitan areas and a final late metropolitan edition.

In March 2013, ''The Age'' moved from its traditional broadsheet format to the smaller [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] (or [[compact (newspaper)|compact]]) format, along with its Fairfax stablemate ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenslade |first1=Roy |title=Aussie broadsheets go tabloid |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/mar/04/newspaper-formats-australia |access-date=5 January 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 March 2013 |archive-date=5 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105144527/https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/mar/04/newspaper-formats-australia |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2016, editor-in-chief Mark Forbes was stood down from his position pending the result of a sexual harassment investigation and was replaced by Alex Lavelle, who served for four years as chief editor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/age-editorinchief-mark-forbes-stood-down-after-sexual-harassment-allegation/news-story/9acd5255129772391e28397a00e9ca98|title=''Age'' editor-in-chief Mark Forbes stood down after sexual harassment allegation|author=[[Darren Davidson]]|work=[[The Australian]]|date=2 December 2016|access-date=13 June 2023|archive-date=13 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613015504/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/age-editorinchief-mark-forbes-stood-down-after-sexual-harassment-allegation/news-story/9acd5255129772391e28397a00e9ca98|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Josh|date=18 June 2020|title=''Age'' editor Alex Lavelle departs less than a week after staff voiced discontent|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/18/age-editor-alex-lavelle-departs-staff-questioned-direction|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024203715/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/18/age-editor-alex-lavelle-departs-staff-questioned-direction|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2020, it was announced that ''The Age''{{'}}s former Washington correspondent [[Gay Alcorn]] would be appointed editor, the first woman to hold the position in the paper's history.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bailey|first=Samantha|date=11 September 2020|title=Gay Alcorn to edit ''The Age''|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/gay-alcorn-to-edit-the-age/news-story/8f863aea077d3c056416ca13784aa9be|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref> Alcorn left the position in December 2022 and was succeeded by Patrick Elligett in January 2023.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/patrick-elligett-appointed-editor-of-the-age-20230119-p5cdqo.html|title=Patrick Elligett appointed editor of ''The Age''|author=Zoe Samios|date=19 January 2023|access-date=13 June 2023|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|archive-date=13 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613014002/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/patrick-elligett-appointed-editor-of-the-age-20230119-p5cdqo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Headquarters==
''The Age''{{'}}s purpose-built former headquarters, named Media House, was located at 655 Collins Street. After acquisition by Nine, ''The Age'' moved to 717 Bourke Street to be co-located with its new owners.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-age-breaks-50-years-of-spencer-street-history-20190410-p51cyv.html |title=The Age breaks 50-years of Spencer Street |publisher=Fairfax Media |year=2019 |access-date=13 December 2019 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213004940/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-age-breaks-50-years-of-spencer-street-history-20190410-p51cyv.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Masthead==
''The Age''{{'}}s [[Nameplate (publishing)|masthead]] has received a number of updates since 1854. The most recent update to the design was made in 2002. The current masthead features a stylised version of the [[royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom]] and "The Age" in [[Electra (typeface)|Electra]] bold type. The coat of arms features the French motto {{lang|fr|Dieu et mon droit}} ({{lit|God and my right}}). According to ''The Age''{{'}}s art director, Bill Farr: "No one knows why they picked the royal crest. But I guess we were a colony at the time, and to be seen to be linked with the Empire would be a positive thing."{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} The original 1854 masthead included the Colony of Victoria crest. In 1856, that crest was removed and in 1861, the royal coat of arms was introduced. This was changed again in 1967, with the shield and decoration altered and the lion crowned. In 1971, a bold typeface was introduced and the crest shield rounded and less ornate. In 1997, the masthead was stacked and contained in a blue box (with the logo in white). In 2002, in conjunction with an overall revamp of the paper, the masthead was redesigned in its present form.<ref name="Evolution of a masthead">{{cite journal |last=Johnstone |first=Graeme |title=Evolution of a masthead |journal=The Age Extra |date=March 2009 |issue=4 |pages=4–5 |url=http://inside.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=123&intversion=3 |access-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706112848/http://inside.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=123&intversion=3 |archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref>

==Readership==
{{As of|2020|March}}, ''The Age'' had a monthly readership of 5.4&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|date=31 May 2020|title=News media delivers record readership as news brands reach 18.2m Australians – emma data|url=https://newsmediaworks.com.au/news-media-delivers-record-readership-as-news-brands-reach-18-2m-australians-emma-data/|access-date=30 July 2020|website=NewsMediaWorks|language=en-AU|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809011919/https://newsmediaworks.com.au/news-media-delivers-record-readership-as-news-brands-reach-18-2m-australians-emma-data/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{As of|2024|September}}, this had fallen to 4.55&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nineforbrands.com.au/media-release/the-age-maintains-its-lead-against-its-competitor-nationally-2/#:~:text=The%20Age%20has%20once%20again,released%20by%20Roy%20Morgan%20today | title=The Age maintains its lead against its competitor nationally }}</ref>

==Awards==
===Walkleys===
''The Age'' journalists have won many [[Walkley Awards]], Australia's most prestigious journalism prize,<ref>{{Cite web|date=6 May 2020|title=Walkley Foundation appoints Adele Ferguson as a director|url=https://mumbrella.com.au/walkley-foundation-appoints-adele-ferguson-as-a-director-627248|access-date=1 November 2020|website=[[Mumbrella]]|language=en-US|archive-date=30 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830130235/https://mumbrella.com.au/walkley-foundation-appoints-adele-ferguson-as-a-director-627248|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Michael Bachelard and Kate Geraghty|url=https://www.walkleys.com/award-winners/michael-bachelard-and-kate-geraghty-gold-walkley/|access-date=1 November 2020|website=The Walkley Foundation|language=en-AU|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927002613/https://www.walkleys.com/award-winners/michael-bachelard-and-kate-geraghty-gold-walkley/|url-status=live}}</ref> including:
*2016: Adele Ferguson, [[Gold Walkley]], for her reporting on malpractice in Australia's banking sector<ref name=letts2019/><ref name=walkley2016/>
*2017, Michael Bachelard, deputy editor, Gold Walkley, for ''The Age's'' reports on the liberation of Mosul after the defeat of [[Islamic State]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 November 2017|title=Fairfax Media wins 11 Walkley Awards, including the top prize for excellence in journalism|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/fairfax-media-wins-nine-walkley-awards-including-the-top-prize-for-excellence-in-journalism-20171129-gzvj0m.html|access-date=1 November 2020|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034954/http://www.smh.com.au/national/fairfax-media-wins-nine-walkley-awards-including-the-top-prize-for-excellence-in-journalism-20171129-gzvj0m.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Other awards===
In March 2024, David Swan, technology editor of ''SMH'' and ''The Age'', won the 2023 Gold Lizzie for Best Journalist of the Year at the IT Journalism Awards. He also won  Best Technology Journalist and Best Telecommunications Journalist, and was highly commended in the Best Technology Issues category.<ref name=lizziesmi3>{{cite web | title=2024 Australian IT Journalism Awards winners revealed | website=Mi3 | date=25 March 2024 | url=https://www.mi-3.com.au/26-03-2024/2024-australian-it-journalism-awards-winners-revealed | access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Sydney Morning Herald, The Age journalists win key IT awards | website=The Age | date=24 March 2024 | url=https://www.theage.com.au/technology/sydney-morning-herald-the-age-journalists-win-key-it-awards-20240324-p5fet6.html | access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref> With ''The Age'', SMH also won Best Consumer Technology Coverage and were highly commended in the Best News Coverage category.<ref name=lizziessi>{{cite web | title=2024 Australian IT Journalism Awards Winners Announced | website=StreetInsider.com | date=25 March 2024 | url=https://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/2024+Australian+IT+Journalism+Awards+Winners+Announced/22970886.html | access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref>

== Roster of journalists ==

=== Current journalists ===
The below is a list of The Age's current journalists.
{{Incomplete list|date=July 2023}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Role
!Other roles
!Start year at Nine / Fairfax
|-
|Emma Breheny
|co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Emma Breheny |url=https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/by/emma-breheny-h29n1a |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Good Food |language=en |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703123131/https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/by/emma-breheny-h29n1a |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|
|-
|Ellen Fraser
|co-editor of The Age Good Food Guide 2024<ref name=":0" />
|
|
|-
|Nick McKenzie
|investigative journalist
|
|
|-
|[[Besha Rodell]]
|anonymous chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Weekend<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Besha Rodell |url=https://www.smh.com.au/by/besha-rodell-h29n0x |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703125140/https://www.smh.com.au/by/besha-rodell-h29n0x |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|
|-
|Paul Sakkal
|federal politics reporter
|Same role at the SMH

|-
|Lisa Visentin
|federal politics reporter
|Same role at the SMH
|
|}

==Photography==
Though Hugh Bull was appointed the newspaper's first full-time photographer as early as 1927,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Press Photography in Australia: Hugh Bull|url=https://ppia.esrc.info/website/hbull.html|access-date=13 June 2023|website=ppia.esrc.info|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207131220/https://ppia.esrc.info/website/hbull.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it was comparatively late in the history of ''The Age'' that photographs were used on the front page as a matter of course,<ref>Anderson, F. (2014) "Chasing the Pictures: Press and Magazine Photography", in Media International Australia, No. 150, pp. 47–55</ref> but they became, especially under the editorship of Graham Perkin and his successors,<ref>Matthew Ricketson, 'Life in Australia seen through lenses of genius', ''The Age'', 24 March 2007</ref> a vital part of its identity, with picture credits for staff photographers, and their images, often uncropped, run across several columns.

A photographer of the rival ''[[Herald Sun]]'' Jay Town distinguishes the 'house style'; "There's a big difference between the set-up, cheesy, tight and bright ''Herald Sun''-type [photograph] and then the nice, broadsheet picture–well, back when the Age was a fantastic broadsheet that could really showcase their photographers' work."<ref>Town quoted in {{Citation |author1=Anderson, Fay |title=Shooting the picture : press photography in Australia |date=2016 |publisher=The Miegunyah Press, an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing Limited |isbn=978-0-522-86856-2 |author2=Young, Sally |author3=Henningham, Nikki |author4=EBSCOhost}}</ref> This distinction was to start to break down in 1983 with the pooling of photographers across all Fairfax publications, and the paper's change in format from broadsheet to 'compact' in 2007, preceding move to online publication and subscription; 2014 saw Fairfax Media shedding 75 per cent of its photographers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kirkpatrick|first=Rod|date=May 2015|title=Victoria: Fairfax to cut 80 jobs in regions|journal=Australian Newspaper History Group Newsletter|number=82|issn=1443-4962}}</ref>

In its heyday the newspaper was a significant step in the career of notable Australian news photographers and photojournalists, many of whom started as cadets.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Whelan, Kathleen | title=Photography of the Age : newspaper photography in Australia, from glass plate negatives to digital | date=2014 | publisher=Brolga Publishing | isbn=978-1-922175-66-3}}</ref><ref>Fay Anderson (2014) "Photography" in ''A Companion to the Australian Media'', [[Bridget Griffen-Foley]] (ed), Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 337–340</ref> They include:
* Hugh Bull
* Bryan Charlton
* John Lamb
* Ron Lovitt
* Bill McAuley
* Fiona McDougall
* Justin McManus
* Simon O'Dwyer
* Bruce Postle
* [[Michael Rayner (photographer)|Michael Rayner]]
* Sandy Scheltema
* Jason South
* Penny Stephens

==Ownership==

In 1972, [[Fairfax Media|John Fairfax Holdings]] bought a majority of David Syme's shares,<ref>{{cite news|last=Ryan|first=Colleen|title=The giants of print yield to evolution|url=https://www.afr.com/politics/the-giants-of-print-yield-to-evolution-20120619-j2jfv|newspaper=[[Australian Financial Review]]|access-date=12 November 2021|date=19 June 2012|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112031542/https://www.afr.com/politics/the-giants-of-print-yield-to-evolution-20120619-j2jfv|url-status=live}}</ref> and in 1983 bought out all the remaining shares.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Westerman |first1=Helen |title=Fairfax chief pans break-up 'rubbish' |url=https://www.theage.com.au/business/fairfax-chief-pans-break-up-rubbish-20061024-ge3eq5.html |website=The Age |access-date=12 November 2021 |date=24 October 2006 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112031542/https://www.theage.com.au/business/fairfax-chief-pans-break-up-rubbish-20061024-ge3eq5.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 26 July 2018, Nine Entertainment Co. and [[Fairfax Media]], the parent company of ''The Age'', announced they agreed on terms for a merger between the two companies to become Australia's largest media company. Nine shareholders will own 51.1 per cent of the combined entity, and Fairfax shareholders will own 48.9 per cent.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/what-does-the-nine-fairfax-merger-mean-20181204-p50k1o.html| title = Nine and Fairfax merger: What does it mean?| date = 7 December 2018| access-date = 28 August 2021| archive-date = 7 December 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211207142627/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/what-does-the-nine-fairfax-merger-mean-20181204-p50k1o.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

==Printing==
''The Age'' was published from its office in Collins Street until 1969, when the newspaper moved to 250 [[Spencer Street]]. In July 2003, the $220&nbsp;million five-storey Age Print Centre was opened at Tullamarine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/landmark-printing-press-site-to-be-sold-20120618-20k8g.html|title=Landmark printing press site to be sold|author=Johanson|first=Simon|date=19 June 2012|newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=13 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708021357/https://www.smh.com.au/business/landmark-printing-press-site-to-be-sold-20120618-20k8g.html|archive-date=8 July 2018}}</ref> The Centre produced a wide range of publications for both Fairfax and commercial clients. Among its stable of daily print publications are ''The Age'', the ''[[Australian Financial Review]]'' and the ''[[Bendigo Advertiser]]''. The building was sold in 2014, and printing was to be transferred to "regional presses".<ref name="smh">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/fairfax-puts-timeline-on-sale-of-printing-presses-20130322-2glby.html|title=Fairfax puts timeline on sale of printing presses|last=Johnason|first=Simon|date=23 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=25 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708015756/https://www.smh.com.au/business/fairfax-puts-timeline-on-sale-of-printing-presses-20130322-2glby.html|archive-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

===Editors===
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2023}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Ordinal !! Editor(s) !! Year appointed !! Year ended !! {{nowrap|Years as editor}} !! Owner(s)
|-
|align=center| {{nts|1}} || T. L. Bright ||rowspan=2 align=center|1854 ||rowspan=2 align=center|1856 ||rowspan=2 align=right| {{age in years|1854|1856}} years ||rowspan=2| {{ubl|John Cooke|Henry Cooke|Walter Powell}}
|-
|align=center| {{nts|2}} || [[David Blair (encyclopedist)|David Blair]]
|-
|align=center| {{nts|3}} || [[Ebenezer Syme]] ||align=center|1856 ||align=center|1860 ||align=right| {{age in years|1856|1860}} years ||{{ubl|Ebenezer Syme|James McEwan}}
|-
|align=center| {{nts|4}} || George Smith ||align=center|1860 ||align=center|1867 ||align=right| {{age in years|1860|1867}} years ||rowspan=4| [[David Syme]]
|-
|align=center| {{nts|5}} || [[James Harrison (engineer)|James Harrison]] ||align=center|1867 ||align=center|1872 ||align=right| {{age in years|1867|1872}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|6}} || [[Arthur Windsor]] ||align=center|1872 ||align=center|1900 ||align=right| {{age in years|1872|1900}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|7}} || rowspan=2|[[Gottlieb Schuler]] ||align=center|1900 ||align=center|1908 ||rowspan=2 align=right| {{age in years|1900|1926}} years
|-
|align=center|1908 ||align=center|1926 ||rowspan=3| Sir Geoffrey Syme
|-
|align=center| {{nts|8}} || Len Briggs ||align=center|1926 ||align=center|1939 ||align=right| {{age in years|1926|1939}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|9}} ||rowspan=2| Harold Campbell ||align=center|1939 ||align=center|1942 ||rowspan=2 align=right| {{age in years|1939|1942}} years
|-
|align=center|1942 ||align=center|1959 ||rowspan=2| {{ubl|Oswald Syme|David Syme and Co.}}
|-
|align=center| {{nts|10}} || Keith Sinclair ||align=center|1959 ||align=center|1966 ||align=right| {{age in years|1959|1966}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|11}} || rowspan=2 |[[Graham Perkin]] ||align=center|1966 ||align=center|1972 ||rowspan=2 align=right|{{age in years|1966|1975}} years || David Syme and Co.
|-
|align=center|1972 ||align=center|1975 ||rowspan=5 | [[John Fairfax and Sons]]
|-
|align=center| {{nts|12}} || [[Les Carlyon]] ||align=center|1975 ||align=center| 1976 ||align=right|{{age in years|1975|1976}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|13}} || Greg Taylor ||align=center|1976 ||align=center|1979 ||align=right|{{age in years|1976|1979}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|14}} || [[Michael Davie]] ||align=center|1979 ||align=center|1981 ||align=right|{{age in years|1979|1981}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|15}} || rowspan=2| [[Creighton Burns]] ||align=center|1981 ||align=center|1987 ||rowspan=2 align=right|{{age in years|1981|1989}} years
|-
|align=center|1987 ||align=center|1989 ||rowspan=2 | {{ubl|[[Warwick Fairfax]]|[[John Fairfax Holdings]]}}
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|16}} || rowspan=2| Mike Smith ||align=center|1989 ||align=center|1990 ||rowspan=2 align=right|{{age in years|1989|1992}} years
|-
|align=center|1990 ||align=center|1992 ||rowspan=3 |{{ubl|John Fairfax Holdings|[[Conrad Black]]}}
|-
|align=center| {{nts|17}} || [[Alan Kohler]] ||align=center|1992 ||align=center|1995 ||align=right|{{age in years|1992|1995}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|18}} || rowspan=2|[[Bruce Guthrie]] ||align=center|1995 ||align=center|1996 ||rowspan=2 align=right|{{age in years|1995|1997}} years
|-
|align=center|1996 ||align=center|1997 ||rowspan=3| John Fairfax Holdings
|-
|align=center| {{nts|19}} || [[Michael Gawenda]] ||align=center|1997 ||align=center|2004 ||align=right|{{age in years|1997|2004}} years
|-
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{nts|20}} ||rowspan=2| [[Andrew Jaspan]] ||align=center|2004 ||align=center|2007 ||rowspan=2 align=right|{{age in years|2004|2008}} years
|-
|align=center|2007 ||align=center|2008 ||rowspan=4| [[Fairfax Media]]
|-
|align=center| {{nts|21}} || [[Paul Ramadge]] ||align=center|2008 ||align=center|2012 ||align=right|{{age in years|2008|2012}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|22}} || [[Andrew Holden]] ||align=center|2012 ||align=center|2016 ||align=right|{{age in years|2012|2016}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|23}} || Mark Forbes ||align=center|2016 ||align=center|2016 ||align=right|{{age in years|2016|2016}} years
|-
|align=center| {{nts|24}} || Alex Lavelle ||align=center|2016 ||align=center|2020 ||align=right|{{age in years|2016|2020}} years || {{ubl|Fairfax Media|[[Nine Entertainment Co]]}}
|-
|align=center| {{nts|25}} || [[Gay Alcorn]] ||align=center|2020 ||align=center|2022 ||align=right|{{age in years|2020|2022}} years ||rowspan=2| Nine Entertainment Co
|-
|align=center| {{nts|26}} || Patrick Elligett ||align=center|2023 ||align=center|''incumbent'' ||align=right|{{age in years|2023}} years
|}

==Endorsements==
{| class="wikitable"
! Election
! colspan="2" | Endorsement
|-
| [[2010 Australian federal election|2010]]
| {{party name with colour|Australian Labor Party}}
|-
| [[2013 Australian federal election|2013]]
| {{party name with colour|Australian Labor Party}}
|-
| [[2016 Australian federal election|2016]]
| {{party name with colour|Coalition (Australia)}}
|-
| [[2019 Australian federal election|2019]]
| {{party name with colour|Australian Labor Party}}
|-
| [[2022 Australian federal election|2022]]
| {{party name with colour|Australian Labor Party}}
|-
| [[2025 Australian federal election|2025]]
| {{party name with colour|Australian Labor Party}}
|}

==See also==
{{portal|Australia|Journalism}}
*[[Journalism in Australia]]
*[[List of newspapers in Australia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Don Hauser, ''The Printers of the Streets and Lanes of Melbourne (1837–1975)'' Nondescript Press, Melbourne 2006.
* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The World's Great Dailies: Profiles of Fifty Newspapers'' (1980) pp.&nbsp;44–50
* C. E. Sayers, ''David Syme'', Cheshire 1965

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.theage.com.au/}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120627062038/http://about.theage.com.au/ about.theage.com.au] – ''The Age'' corporate website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100810175102/http://inside.theage.com.au/ inside.theage.com.au] – ''The Age'' information hub
*[http://www.sirgeoffreysyme.com.au/ Sir Geoffrey Syme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002082708/http://www.sirgeoffreysyme.com.au/ |date=2 October 2008 }} "Sir Geoffrey Syme Journalist & Managing Editor of ''The Age'' from 1908 until 1942"
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC ''The Age''], Google news archive. <small>PDF files of 32,807 issues, dating from 1854 to 1989.</small>
*{{trove newspaper|809|The Age|Melbourne, Victoria : 1854–1954}}

{{Nine Entertainment}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Age, The}}
[[Category:Newspapers published in Melbourne]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1854]]
[[Category:1854 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Fairfax family (publishing)| Fairfax Media]]
[[Category:Australian news websites]]
[[Category:Fairfax Media]]
[[Category:Daily newspapers published in Australia]]
[[Category:Nine Entertainment]]