6 News Australia
 | |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Atelier Puglisi Pty Ltd[1] |
| History | |
| Launched | 20 March 2019 |
| Founder | Leonardo Puglisi |
| Former names | HMV Local News (2019−2020) |
| Links | |
| Website | 6newsau |
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[edit]
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]
Basil Zempilas controversy[edit]
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.[7]
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.[8] 6 News deleted their post and Puglisi stated that the channel's practices would be reviewed.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "Review of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code" (PDF). treasury.gov.au. Public Interest Journalism Initiative.
- ^ "The 14-year-old political journalist covering the upcoming federal election". ABC News.
- ^ "How Melbourne's Leonardo, boy journalist, scooped the big guns". The Age.
- ^ "Scott Morrison, Bob Katter and juggling school: the story behind teen journos at 6 News". The Feed.
- ^ "YouTube bans another Australian news organisation". TV Blackbox.
- ^ "Prime Minister Scott Morrison clashed with teen reporter over lying allegations". news.com.au.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Trigger, Rebecca (2024-01-27). "Basil Zempilas defends himself after viral tweet causes outrage". ABC News.