This week, our round-up of Australian PR industry moves includes a couple of attention-grabbing exits, one relaunch and several appointments. Changes afoot at Edelman and WPP The big news in PR this week was Edelman CEO Tom Robinson calling it a day after almost four years in the top job. Robinson took over the Australian arm of the global agency in mid-2022 from Michelle Hutton, having previously worked at Medicorn for 11 years.    Robinson told Mumbrella, “I’m proud of all that our team and leadership have achieved together. However, the time feels right for a new leader to shape the next phase of the business, and I look forward to taking on a new challenge.” His last day will be May 15 and the agency is now recruiting a replacement.  Shortly before Robinson’s departure, the boss of WPP’s PR arm, Tom Horn, took to LinkedIn to announce he was also moving on. In a week where everybody was expressing concern about My

Roberts-Smith breaks silence as war-crimes fight escalates Ben Roberts-Smith has issued his first public statement since being charged, condemning the AFP’s arrest as an “unnecessary spectacle” and vowing to fight the allegations. Several papers also report his legal team is weighing a bid to permanently halt proceedings, sharpening debate about due process, public interest and the handling of high-profile war-crimes cases. Covered by: Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Courier Mail, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The West Australian, The Advertiser. Budget pressure builds: Chalmers flags red-tape cuts and tax reform Treasurer Jim Chalmers is signalling a May budget focused on lifting productivity by cutting regulation, while also keeping broader reform ambitions alive despite global economic shocks. At the same time, reporting suggests the government is considering winding back the post-1999 capital gains tax discount—an explosive move with major implica

Georgie Gardner has ended her near-25 year career with Nine with a classy farewell as she struggled to fight back tears in her final broadcast. “From that moment Brian Henderson welcome me into the 6pm news studio, it has never been lost on me that this role comes with duty, a duty to be accurate, impartial and informative, but also to be human and sincere and respectful,” she said. Gardner joined Nine in 2002 as a weather presenter on Nine News in Sydney, as well as hosting afternoon updates. She became a news presenter on Today in 2006 and then added Nine News Sydney weekend presenter in 2009. In 2014, she departed Today but returned to the show as co-host in 2018. She filled that role for two years before returning to presenting Nine News Sydney on Friday and Saturdays. News' Annette Sharp claimed Gardner was let go amidst Nine cost-cutting, a claim Nine has denied. Below if the full transcript of Gardner's final broadcast "I'm blown away an

As The Sydney Morning Herald marks 195 years, a new anniversary video features some of its highest-profile journalists and editorial staff reflecting on the impact of their journalism and the role it continues to play. Political and International Editor Peter Hartcher puts the case bluntly: “We tell truth in an era of lies.” The video also features investigative reporter Kate McClymont recalling how the jailing of Eddie Obeid brought her to tears, Peter FitzSimons remembering how he chased down George Bush Sr., and photographer Kate Geraghty reflecting on her coverage of the Iraq war. Running through it is a shared view that journalism begins with curiosity and ends in public service. “Curiosity is what we’re all about,” Geraghty says, while McClymont calls the work “a complete privilege” because it allows journalists to “try to make society actually a better place”. Peter Hartcher, Political & National Editor “We t

Editor of Wellington, New Zealand newspaper The Post, Tracy Watkins is departing to take on the role of director of communications at business advocacy group BusinessNZ. Watkins has led The Post and Sunday Star-Times for the past three years, after a decade at Stuff's political editor. In an announcement, Watkins said: "“This has been the hardest decision of my life because this has honestly been the best job in journalism. “But after such a long media career, I am ready for a change. Can you call it a mid-career pivot after 40 years?” Stuff Owner and Publisher Sinead Boucher praised Watkin's tenure, with Stuff claiming The Post is now one of New Zealand's fastest growing news brands. “Tracy has set The Post up as a truly influential national brand, a must-read for political and business leaders with more than 70% of its high-powered readership now outside of the Wellington region,” Boucher said. “Her successor will inherit a

  Rejimon Kuttappan was earning less than Rs 15,000 a month at the Indian Express in Bangalore when a senior colleague called from Oman with an offer that was hard to refuse. The salary, converted from Omani riyals, worked out to over Rs 70,000. He had never left India. He Googled the country and saw the golden buildings, the good roads, the festivals. He thought: why not. That was 2006. By 2017, he had been deported. In the years between, he had become the chief reporter at the Times of Oman, one of the Gulf's most widely read English newspapers. He had spent nearly a decade inside the world of migrant labour, rescuing stranded domestic workers, attending ILO workshops in Jordan and Morocco, briefing Human Rights Watch, building a network of contacts that stretched from New Delhi to Kathmandu to Nairobi. And then he spent months carefully mapping the trafficking routes used to move South Asian domestic workers across Gulf borders without the knowledge of any embassy, doc