Crikey

Crikey is an independent Australian electronic magazine comprising an open access website and an email newsletter available to subscribers. Well known in Australian political, media and business circles, Crikey was described by former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular website in Parliament House" in the The Latham Diaries. It has reported on unpopular opinions and broken stories not found in more mainstream media outlets.

History

Crikey was founded by activist shareholder Stephen Mayne, a journalist and former staffer of then Liberal Victorian premier Jeff Kennett. It developed out of Mayne's "jeffed.com" website, which in turn developed out of his abortive independent candidate campaign for Kennett's seat of Burwood. Longstanding Crikey political commentators/reporters include former Liberal insider Christian Kerr (who originally wrote under the pseudonym 'Hillary Bray'), Guy Rundle, Charles Richardson, Bernard Keane, Mungo MacCallum and Hugo Kelly.

In 2003 Stephen Mayne, the then proprietor, was forced to sell his house in order to settle defamation cases brought by radio presenter Steve Price and former ALP senator Nick Bolkus over comments posted about them by Crikey.

Staff of then Treasurer Peter Costello banned Crikey from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Budget 'lock ups', in which financial journalists are shown the Federal Budget papers some hours...
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