For many of us,the first thing that springs to mind is on October 14. Others might cite the on March 25. You can bet Premier Chris Minns would. Some might even list the on May 6.
However,forHerald subscribers,our most read story of the year was the awful on June 11. At about 11.30pm,a bus taking home the wedding guests of Maddy Edsell and Mitchell Gaffney overturned on a roundabout near Greta,killing 10 people and injuring 25 others.
Driver with 10 counts each of dangerous driving and negligent driving causing death,nine counts each of dangerous driving and negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm,and 25 counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct. He has yet to enter pleas to the charges.
This horrible crash captured the attention of not just NSW residents,but the nation and even readers outside Australia. It was an event that gave us all pause for thought,how a moment of joy and love can instantly turn to heartbreak and horror.
As news of the accident spread,our newsroom quickly raced to respond,with reporters,photographers,designers,editors and producers all swinging into action. These events involve a team effort across our entire newsroom.
They are also a real-time balancing act of catering to our readers’ desire for every snippet of information about what happened,while at the same time making sure we do not intrude on people’s grief and overstep the mark in terms of privacy. I recall a rival organisation got an extraordinary close-up photograph of the bus wreckage,but they obtained it by sneaking past a police cordon into an area that was unsafe and potentially part of a crime scene.
Our reporters and photographers followed the rules and still brought you fast,accurate and insightful coverage. You can read the extraordinary report by our chief reporter Jordan Baker,written the day after the crash.
Our combination of fast and accurate live blogging and thoughtful news and analysis is what sets us apart as a media organisation,and we are proud of the work we did covering what turned out to be the most read news story of the year.
While tragedies like the Hunter Valley crash happen infrequently (thank goodness) and cannot be planned for,other big news events involve hours of careful planning and research.
Our coverage of was the second-most read news story for subscribers and kept our team of state political reporters,led by and bolstered by the rest of the newsroom,on their toes. We kept a close eye on key seats involved,tried to burst the politicians’ natural inclination to spin and focused on issues we know you care about.
The was arguably the most important national political story of the year and attracted our biggest single daily general audience for,which started before polls opened and continued throughout the day and well into the night.
However,while the blog was popular with subscribers,you actually read more of our news stories and analysis. You can read Peter Hartcher’s excellent.
While our top-performing stories tend towards the serious and the tragic,it’s important to note that we offer a wide range of content at theHerald,and other top yarns include at the Women’s World Cup and.
We think this year has also been a bit of a milestone for theHerald in terms of producing groundbreaking investigative journalism that has had a profound impact for the better on Australian society. You should have received a newsletter last week about “The stories that made a difference” in 2023.
These stories include the. This landmark civil law case followed by Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters into the actions of Roberts-Smith as a member of the SAS in Afghanistan.
The fact the judge ruled in favour of our journalism and found that,on the balance of probabilities,we had proven that Roberts-Smith was a war criminal involved in the killings of Afghan civilians sent a loud message across the media landscape.
If you meticulously research your stories,focus on facts and avoid sensationalism,it’s still possible to produce journalism that holds the most powerful people in our society to account and raises important matters of public interest. Roberts-Smith hasou can rest assured we will continue to defend our journalism robustly,both in the courts and out.
Another McKenzie highlight of 2023 was the that led to and to which exposed shortcomings in the immigration system.
On the sporting field,Tom Decent’s expose on Wallabies coach Eddie Jones just before the World Cup in France showed extraordinary courage in the face of Jones’ belligerent and frequent denials. If you haven’t seen it,check out the video compilation of. However,history proved us right and the great is required reading.
Our chief investigative reporter produced two huge investigations this year. First was her that revealed the harm he has done to numerous patients. McClymont copped a significant backlash for taking on Teo,but the subsequent disciplinary hearings and. Teo was found to have lacked insight and judgment,and to have failed to properly explain the risks of his work to his patients.
Just this month,we published McClymont’s major investigation into powerful broadcaster Alan Jones,airing the claims of multiple people who. Our initial investigation encouraged. Jones has denied all the claims and is threatening legal action against theHerald,but we stand by our work.
Another significant result of our journalism has been the Minns government’s introduction of in NSW. While Labor didn’t go as far as the Liberal Party,which made an election promise to go straight to mandatory cashless gaming,nonetheless it’s true to say it’s extremely unlikely this trial would have happened without our “” series of articles,published before the state election.
As well as focusing on the local – you can look forward to some great Sydney series coming next year – we are also committed to national and international coverage.
Foreign affairs correspondent Matthew Knott and award-winning photographer Kate Geraghty have had a busy 2023,making a trip together to the Middle East to
Our newsroom also has a focus on sport,culture,lifestyle,food and travel. This year we added both and to our home page,which means we’re able to better showcase lighter,less serious stories.
The most popular food story of the year was a fun piece by dietician Suzie Burrell that rated all the that abound these days. Our top travel story was a list of. Let’s hope many of you are either in those towns or heading there shortly.
This is our last editor’s note for 2023. We will be back in January to give you the inside running on what our priorities are for the new year,how our newsroom operates and some of the debates and decisions we make behind the scenes.
We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable break (bear in mind our newsroom and will keep rolling,even on Christmas) and we look forward to keeping you informed and engaged in 2024. Happy holidays!
Bevan Shields and Liam Phelan.