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Front page of The West Australian on 12 December 2005
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Owner	West Australian Newspapers Limited
Editor	Paul Armstrong
Founded	1833
Headquarters	50 Hasler Road, Osborne Park, WA, Australia
Website: www.thewest.com.au

The West Australian (often simply called The West) is Perth's only locally edited daily newspaper, and is owned by ASX-listed West Australian Newspapers Limited. The second-oldest continuously produced newspaper in Australia, it has been published since 1833. It currently has a weekday circulation of 200,000, and a weekend circulation of 370,000 with its Saturday edition. ^[1] Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata West_Australian_front_page_12-12-2005. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. ... Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $100,900 (4th)  - Product per capita  $50,355/person (3rd) Population (December 2006)  - Population  2,050,900 (4th)  - Density  0. ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the urban area of Perth, Western Australia. ... The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange in Australia. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The newspaper had a relative balance of international, national and local news prior to the changes brought about by television, the internet and 'local throw-away' or free community based newspapers. As is traditional with Western Australian newspapers, The West is published in tabloid format, like the state's other newspaper, The Sunday Times the News Limited local production. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Sunday Times masthead The Sunday Times is a News Corporation owned Sunday tabloid newspaper distributed throughout Western Australia. ...

Contemporary columnists of The West Australian include Paul Murray (previously an Editor of the newspaper) and Danny Katz (a Melbourne-based columnist for The Age newspaper whose column is also bought by The West). Paul Murray was the morning presenter on Perth radio station 6PR until March 2006, when he failed to reach agreement with station management on a new contract. ... 1. ...

A critique within some sections^{[citation needed]} of the Perth community accuses The West Australian of having an insular and conservative outlook, and an editorial policy that gives greater prominence to stories which are likely to provoke reactions from people of a parochial and broadly conservative political persuasion. This view has been reinforced^{[citation needed]} during the tenure of the current editor, Paul Armstrong. Recent targets of editorial campaigns^{[citation needed]} have included controversy over the Introduction of a new education system, security issues, and controversy over new transport systems and their budget. Despite its editorial support^{[citation needed]} of the Australian Labor Party during the 1989 state election, figures, such as Geoff Gallop and Bob Hawke have claimed the newspaper is heavily biased towards conservative parties^{[citation needed]}. The newspaper allows sex workers to advertise their services in its pages by means of its long running and highly lucrative Personal Column, a significant source of the newspaper's revenue. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is Australias oldest political party. ... Dr. Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) has been the Premier of Western Australia since 2001. ... Robert James Lee Bob Hawke AC (born 9 December 1929) is a former Australian trade union leader turned politician who became the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. ...

History

The West Australian traces its origins to The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal, the first edition of which appeared on 5 January 1833. Owned and edited by Perth postmaster Charles Macfaull, it was originally a four page weekly. Eventually renamed The Perth Gazette, it ran until 3 July 1874, when it was bought out by a syndicate who renamed it The Western Australian Times and increased production to two editions a week. On 18 November 1879, the paper was relaunched as The West Australian. In October 1883, production was increased to three a week, and two years later it became a daily. January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the urban area of Perth, Western Australia. ... If you are looking for different meanings of this word, see Postmaster (disambiguation) A postmaster is a term used in post offices to denote the head or master of the office. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Selective Coverage of News Issues

The West Australian has in recent times expanded its Letters to the Editor section. Although migrants - many of whom are non Caucasian - make an important economic contribution to Australia at a time of severe labor shortages, many letters to the editor decry what some readers perceive as the Asianization of Australia. The newspaper has come under fire from foreign-born migrants in Western Australia who accuse it of fanning the flames of racism and intolerance by giving a voice to those who are aggrieved by the arrival of non-caucasian migrants in Western Australia.

Many in Perth's growing Japanese community have expressed misgivings about the strong anti-whaling stance of the West Australian. Most Japanese-Australians do not eat whale meat and fear a backlash against them as a consequence of the West Australian's inflammatory coverage of an isssue that would not ordinarily affect Perth residents.

The West Australian has also taken a strong stance on a medical condition known as Attention Deficit Disorder. Medical Reporter Cathy O'Leary has taken a strong stance against the diagnosis and treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder. Many sufferers of Attention Deficit Disorder have complained that they have been stigmatized by the West Australian's selective use of statistics which trivialize the suffering of people with this condition and their need for medication.

Despite the many criticisms that the newspaper has received, editorial staff have worked hard to make the West's readers aware of the plight of Aboriginal people in the state. The newspaper has reported widely on the failure of successive governments to better the lives of indigenous Australians.

The booming Western Australian economy is dominated by mining companies which receive considerable coverage in the West Australian. Newspapers have a responsibility to encourage a transparent business environment and to report not only what company directors say but also what they do. The West Australian has not responded to the criticism that it should regularly let its readers know if directors, particularly those in charge of speculative companies, are buying or selling shares in listed companies.

See also

• The Sunday Times - Western Australia's Sunday newspaper
• Catherine Ellen Martin
• List of newspapers in Australia
• Constable Care

The Sunday Times masthead The Sunday Times is a News Corporation owned Sunday tabloid newspaper distributed throughout Western Australia. ... Catherine Martin was a journalist for The West Australian newspaper from 1957, specialising in medical reporting. ... This is a list of Australian newspapers - see also * Australian Newspapers Online. ... Constable Care is a community awareness mascot, employed by the Western Australia Police to inform primary school children about basic safety issues. ...

References

April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ...

External link

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Perth Gazette

• The West Australian online