6 News Australia

6 News Australia
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ownership
OwnerAtelier Puglisi Pty Ltd[1]
History
Launched20 March 2019
FounderLeonardo Puglisi
Former namesHMV Local News (2019−2020)
Links
Website6newsau.com

6 News Australia (also known simply as 6 News) is a streaming news channel based in Melbourne, Australia. The channel is known for a large portion of its journalists being teenagers.[2][3]

History

6 News was founded in 2019 as HMV Local News by Leonardo Puglisi, who was 11 years old at the time. The channel changed its name to 6 News on 1 January 2020.[4]

In August 2021, the channel was suspended by YouTube for a week after uploading a video of then-MP George Christensen, which violated YouTube's policy against COVID-19 misinformation. The suspension was overturned after it was determined "there was sufficient context" to allow the video to be published.[5]

The channel gained national media attention in early 2022 during the federal election campaign, after conducting interviews with then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then-Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.[6]

After Labor senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor to support recognising the State of Palestine, 6 News was the first news outlet to interview her.[7][8]

Basil Zempilas controversy

In January 2024, Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas was captured on a hot mic apparently referring to the Australian Open women's final as a "reserve game", prior to a press conference announcing he was joining the Liberal Party. A clip of the comment was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by 6 News.[9]

Zempilas later said that he was taken out of context, and that he was referring to a "derby" between reporter Michael Genovese and his partner hosting the news on different channels, which Genovese later confirmed.[10] 6 News deleted their post and Puglisi stated that the channel's practices would be reviewed.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Review of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code" (PDF). treasury.gov.au. Public Interest Journalism Initiative.
  2. ^ "The 14-year-old political journalist covering the upcoming federal election". ABC News. 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ "How Melbourne's Leonardo, boy journalist, scooped the big guns". The Age. 18 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Scott Morrison, Bob Katter and juggling school: the story behind teen journos at 6 News". The Feed.
  5. ^ "YouTube bans another Australian news organisation". TV Blackbox.
  6. ^ "Prime Minister Scott Morrison clashed with teen reporter over lying allegations". news.com.au.
  7. ^ "Senator Fatima Payman Defends Crossing the Floor on Gaza Vote". WAMN News. 27 June 2024.
  8. ^ Jervis-Bardy, Dan (28 June 2024). "Fatima Payman: PM expects rogue senator to toe the line as she hints at more pro-Palestine protests". The Nightly. Seven West Media. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Basil Zempilas: 6 News Australia to review practices after online storm erupts over fake news". The West Australian. 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024.
  10. ^ Trigger, Rebecca (2024-01-27). "Basil Zempilas defends himself after viral tweet causes outrage". ABC News.