Sophie Black

Editor in Chief at Crikey

Editor in chief, Crikey. Journalist, superb fairy wren.

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Articles

Crikey is running for Parliament. No, actually. Here’s why.

1 month ago | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

Every election cycle, we report on the perks, privileges and loopholes afforded to aspiring political candidates. A lot of these are taken for granted by political operatives and insiders who’ve worked in the system for years. But to voters, they stink. So, Crikey is running for Parliament. Well, technically, we’ve landed a name on the ballot for the Victorian Senate seat (“Crikey for PM” is our name on the campaign material).
Trump and RFK Jr commit to Make America Sick Again

Feb 13, 2025 | inkl.com | Sophie Black

One of the foundational elements of Donald Trump’s appeal is that he can restore the United States to a partly remembered, partly mythical past where it dominated a whiter, safer, more protected world. It is a hazy era that combines the brief unipolar moment of the post-Cold War 1990s with the protectionism of the 1930s and 1940s, a place safe for white men, even mediocre white men, unthreatened by competition or equality.
Trump and RFK Jnr commit to Make America Sick Again

Feb 13, 2025 | inkl.com | Sophie Black

One of the foundational elements of Donald Trump’s appeal is that he can restore the United States to a partly remembered, partly mythical past where it dominated a whiter, safer, more protected world. It is a hazy era that combines the brief unipolar moment of the post-Cold War 1990s with the protectionism of the 1930s and 1940s, a place safe for white men, even mediocre white men, unthreatened by competition or equality.
You there, Gina? Australia’s MAGA fans awfully silent on Trump’s tariffs

Feb 12, 2025 | inkl.com | Sophie Black |Glenn Dyer |Bernard Keane

While the media is having conniptions about Mad King Donald’s on-again-off-again-exempted-unexempted steel and aluminium tariffs, some obvious questions are going unasked. For example, where are Australia’s diehard MAGA supporters when it comes to defending Australia’s economic interests? How about billionaire heiress Gina Rinehart, perhaps our highest-profile Trump fan? Has she criticised the possible imposition of tariffs on Australia’s exports?
How will Crikey cover Donald Trump 2.0?

Feb 11, 2025 | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

Ever since the firehose of new Donald Trump alerts kicked off on inauguration day, we’ve been asking ourselves the same questions in every morning news meeting: how do we cover this story? And should we cover it at all? For the reasons laid out in countless think pieces, Trump will always be tempting for any news outlet — if not for clicks, then at least a well-meaning effort to debunk his latest claim.
Here's how much gambling money is worth to Crikey, and why we won't take it

Aug 21, 2024 | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

This article is an instalment in a new series, Punted, on the government’s failure to reform gambling advertising. Bill Shorten said the quiet part out loud last week on Q+A:We got ourselves in this wicked situation where now some of the free-to-air media need gambling ad revenue … in order just to stay afloat … free-to-air media is in diabolical trouble. That’s the discussion we’re not having. He needs to read Crikey more closely. “This is not a story about gambling.
On the ground at the 2024 Republican National Convention

Jul 15, 2024 | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

“A photo like that, it’s worth more than 100 million in campaign ads.”So said Brett. Brett was a good-natured oil and gas lobbyist from Colorado, and I was sitting next to him on our flight from Denver to Milwaukee, en route to the 2024 Republican National Convention, the day after Thomas Matthew Crooks took his fateful shots. Brett pulled out his phone. “I never thought I’d get an email that says ‘In light of the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump…’” he muttered.
Crikey relies on our readers — and there's never been a better time to back us

Mar 6, 2024 | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

Dear Crikey readers,By now you will know that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, will stop paying publishers for news and shut down its news tab in Australia next month. Facebook (and Google) signed multimillion-dollar deals with publishers in 2021 to dodge negotiating for content under Australia’s news media bargaining code. Now, as expected, the tech giant is backing out.
Insider: Tell us what you still need to know about the Voice to Parliament

Oct 3, 2023 | crikey.com.au | Sophie Black

With less than two weeks from voting day on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, it’s worth pausing to reread the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The statement stands out for its clarity and generosity, and is presented both as an invitation and an opportunity. Last week, leading No campaigner Nyunggai Warren Mundine labelled it a “symbolic declaration of war against modern Australia”.
How do Pezzullo's texts stack up against the public service code of conduct?

Sep 25, 2023 | crikey.com.au | Michael Bradley |Sophie Black

Let’s not muck around here: unless the thousand-plus messages that Home Affairs Department secretary Mike Pezzullo reportedly sent to Liberal powerbroker Scott Briggs are forgeries, he’s gone a million. Pezzullo is an agency head as defined by the Public Service Act 1999, the law that primarily governs the conduct of Commonwealth public servants. The act starts with the “APS values”, which agency heads are required to uphold and promote.