Quick Glance: The Witness Who Shook the Roberts-Smith Trial
- Roberts-Smith's authoritative presence in court and Levitan's dedication were pivotal.
- Publishing stories led to backlash, while threats were received from veterans defending Roberts-Smith.
- Brendan Nelson and Kerry Stokes fiercely defended Roberts-Smith, overshadowing the response to allegations.
- The veteran witness Jason Andrews was crucial in proving the war crime allegation.
Quick Glance: Kerry Stokes plans next steps regarding Ben Roberts-Smith
- Stokes expresses concerns about the decision not aligning with his knowledge of Ben Roberts-Smith.
- Reputation is of great importance.
- Stokes, whose family holds the majority ownership of Seven West Media, initially funded the case through the public company before transferring liability to a loan from a private company called Australian Capital Equity.
- Ben remains on leave and will review the judgment with us to make a decision about his future in the near future.
Quick Glance: Inconsistent Media Coverage of Roberts-Smith Despite Extensive Attention
- Australia's domestic media provided more intense coverage, making it perhaps the biggest news event of the year.
- However, the coverage was less uniform in a bitterly divided media landscape, likely due to Roberts-Smith's employment at Seven and financial backing by owner Kerry Stokes.
- News Corp gave the defamation case front-page treatment across the country, despite previously publishing softer stories on Roberts-Smith.
- Seven West Media Group, which employed Roberts-Smith throughout the trial and is controlled by financial backer Kerry Stokes, took a more muted approach.
A judge has ruled that media reports of an elite Australian soldier killing civilians in Afghanistan were ‘substantially true ... Show more
Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a historic defamation case against newspapers which accused him of war crimes. A judge ruled that the soldier murdered unarmed ... Show more
#benrobertssmith
#australia
#afghanistan
#military
#c4news
Quick Glance: Kathleen Folbigg pardoned for conviction in deaths of her four children
- A woman convicted in Australia for the deaths of her four children has been pardoned after a review found reasonable doubt in the original convictions.
- Kathleen Folbigg was convicted in 2003 for the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of a fourth, leading her to be branded 'Australia’s worst female serial killer'.
- A 2019 trial upheld Ms Folbigg’s guilt, but a second inquiry in 2022 examined new evidence suggesting two of the children had a genetic mutation that could have caused their deaths.
- On Monday, Michael Daley, the Attorney General of New South Wales, granted Kathleen Folbigg an unconditional pardon after summary findings from the inquiry found reasonable doubt for each conviction.
Golding's View: Sisyphus in the modern world.
Illustrator: Matt Golding.
Read the letters to the editor here: https://tinyurl.com/mrntbd57
The front page of The Age for Friday, June 2, 2023. Read more news online here: https://www.theage.com.au/
Highly-decorated Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith loses case against media giants amidst grave war crimes allegations
Shivan Chanana brings you this ... Show more
https://www.wionews.com/world/highly-decorated-australian-soldier-loses-case-against-media-giants-amidst-grave-war-crimes-allegations-599163