{"id":843555,"date":"2025-04-25T20:12:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/25\/a-tale-of-two-stories-how-rival-outlets-covered-the-leaked-ben-roberts-smith-tapes\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T20:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:12:03","slug":"a-tale-of-two-stories-how-rival-outlets-covered-the-leaked-ben-roberts-smith-tapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/25\/a-tale-of-two-stories-how-rival-outlets-covered-the-leaked-ben-roberts-smith-tapes\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two stories: How rival outlets covered the leaked Ben Roberts-Smith tapes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This week, Sky News Australia\u2019s Sharri Markson dropped an \u201cexclusive\u201d, airing recordings of Nine investigative journalist Nick McKenzie in conversation with a witness to the Ben Roberts-Smith trial, described as \u201cexplosive confessions\u201d of \u201cunethical behaviour\u201d on McKenzie\u2019s part.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the recording, McKenzie is heard speaking to a witness, trying to convince them to give evidence for Nine as part of the proceedings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKenzie is heard telling the witness that Roberts-Smith\u2019s ex-wife, Emma Roberts, and her friend, Danielle Scott, were \u201cactively briefing\u201d him about the legal strategy Roberts-Smith\u2019s team were taking concerning the witness. He goes on to say \u201cI shouldn\u2019t tell you\u201d, then describes that disclosure as him having \u201cbreached my fucking ethics\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Albanese\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\u201cIf Dean knew that and Peter knew that, I\u2019d get my arse fucking handed to me on a platter,\u201d McKenzie says, referring to MinterEllison lawyer Dean Levitan and partner Peter Bartlett, who led Nine\u2019s successful defence team in the trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MinterEllison, including Levitan and Bartlett, are also retained by Crikey<\/em> as legal counsel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crikey<\/em> makes no suggestion that MinterEllison or its lawyers were aware of any privileged information being accessed or that McKenzie or journalists from Nine improperly dealt with privileged information.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKenzie is also heard discussing a \u201csensitive ongoing police investigation\u201d involving Roberts-Smith with the witness.<\/p>\n

The marathon trial, the most significant in Australian defamation history, was dubbed the \u201ctrial of the century\u201d and resulted in findings to a civil standard in the Federal Court that Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and the most decorated living Australian soldier, was a war criminal, a murderer and a bully<\/a>. Roberts-Smith has appealed those findings, with a judgement reserved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did Sky News Australia run the story?\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Sky News Australia ran the digital headline: \u201cExplosive confessions from star Nine reporter caught on secret tapes expose tricks against Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes trial<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Markson also describes McKenzie\u2019s remarks as \u201cdevastating comments from Nine\u2019s most celebrated journalist\u201d. She later speculates that the \u201cshocking audio recording \u2026 raises questions\u201d about the findings of a separate<\/a> court case Roberts-Smith lost against his ex-wife in 2022 over claims she accessed confidential emails.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Markson then wrote the recording \u201cwill rock the legal fraternity, media circles and could even have ramifications for the so-called \u2018defamation case of the century\u2019\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Moira\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

She also received anonymous comment from a \u201csenior, experienced solicitor\u201d who suggested it called into question \u201cnot only the entire case, but the evidence under oath of several important witnesses\u201d, and that McKenzie \u201ccould have jeopardised a sensitive police investigation, including the safety of undercover officers, by speaking about it to a third party\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In April 2021, the same year as the recording was made, the Nine papers published an article<\/a> (authored by McKenzie alongside two colleagues) about the existence of an AFP investigation into Roberts-Smith and the use of burner phones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Markson concluded the article with questions over whether McKenzie \u201ccrossed the line\u201d in his reporting as well as discussing the use of secret recordings in journalism produced by McKenzie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Markson herself is no stranger to the use of covert recordings in her own work, with \u201csecret\u201d recordings<\/a> taken of Brittany Higgins\u2019 lawyers speaking to her now-husband David Sharaz aired on Markson\u2019s program in 2023. The recordings were later submitted to the Federal Court in Higgins\u2019 former colleague Bruce Lehrmann\u2019s defamation battle with Channel 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.<\/p>\n

How did The Nightly run the story?\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The Nightly<\/em>\u00a0was significantly more reserved in how its story was conveyed, but was the only outlet at the time of writing to\u00a0even touch\u00a0the Markson exclusive, barring a rewrite in\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, a Sky stablemate.<\/p>\n

It included none of Markson\u2019s added commentary, and avoided superlatives beyond the description of the story as containing \u201cbombshell revelations\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Nightly<\/em> being the only other media company to follow the story is significant owing to its ownership. It is owned by Seven West Media, with whom Roberts-Smith has a significant relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberts-Smith joined Seven in 2012 and, after being discharged from the Australian Army in 2013, became<\/a> deputy general manager of Seven Queensland before taking on<\/a> the role of general manager in 2015. He stood down in 2021 and then resigned in 2023 following the outcome of the initial trial against Nine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Ahead\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Billionaire media mogul Kerry Stokes, who serves as chair of the Seven Group, bankrolled<\/a> Roberts-Smith\u2019s legal case against Nine, which cost an estimated<\/a> $35 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stokes also served<\/a> on the Australian War Memorial Council from 2007 to 2022, including as chair from 2015, and was criticised throughout his tenure for his relationship<\/a> with Roberts-Smith as well as his activities<\/a> on the board, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the maintenance and continued upgrading of the memorial itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What do Nine have to say about it?\u00a0<\/h2>\n

A spokesperson for Nine told Crikey<\/em> in a statement that \u201chaving reviewed the audio clip, with support from external counsel, we can confirm there is no breach of legal privilege or ethical concerns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNine has full confidence in the reporting and actions of Nick McKenzie, an award-winning reporter who enjoys the respect and admiration of his editors and colleagues in the newsroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKenzie, a 16-time Walkley winner, last week won the Melbourne Press Club\u2019s 2025 Graham Perkins Journalist of the Year award, as well as the Gold Quill \u2014 the first person to receive the former award three times in the history of the Quill Awards.<\/p>\n

Have something to say about this article? Write to us at le*****<\/span>@********<\/span>om.au<\/span><\/a>. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey\u2019s<\/i> Your Say<\/a>. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, Sky News Australia\u2019s Sharri Markson dropped an \u201cexclusive\u201d, airing recordings of Nine investigative journalist Nick McKenzie in conversation with a witness to the Ben Roberts-Smith trial, described as \u201cexplosive confessions\u201d of \u201cunethical behaviour\u201d on McKenzie\u2019s part.\u00a0 In the recording, McKenzie is heard speaking to a witness, trying to convince them to give evidence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":843556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23485,4004],"tags":[6603,8857],"class_list":{"0":"post-843555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rival","8":"category-stories","9":"tag-rival","10":"tag-stories"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}