News Corp Release Official Statement On Bill Leak’s Death

News Corp Release Official Statement On Bill Leak’s Death

News Corp has released an official statement following the shock death of cartoonist Bill Leak, 61, from a heart attack on Friday morning.

It comes on news today that the The Cartoonist of the Year award at News Corp Australia’s News Awards has been renamed after Leak.

LEAK-Bill

The statement read in full:

“It is with immense sadness News Corp Australia announces the passing of The Australian cartoonist Bill Leak today in Gosford Hospital. He was 61.

The Australian Editor-In-Chief Paul Whittaker said: “It is with huge sadness and shock that I share the news of Bill Leak’s passing today.

“We will miss him dreadfully and our hearts go out to his wife Goong, his step-daughter Tasha and his sons Johannes and Jasper.

“Bill was a giant in his field of cartooning and portraiture. He was a towering figure for more than two decades as The Australian’s editorial cartoonist. Our friend Bill is simply irreplaceable.

“Bill’s last public event on Wednesday night to launch his new book was a great triumph. He spoke with his trademark wit and wisdom to a room filled with friends, colleagues and fans, all of whom wished him well and expressed great appreciation of his strength and his unwavering commitment to free speech and true Australian values.”

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said: “Bill was a man of extraordinary talent – one of the premier cartoonists of his generation but also a highly accomplished portrait painter and writer.

“His stature in our industry among contemporary cartoonists was unsurpassed and in my opinion, he was at the pinnacle of his long career.

“Few can match Bill’s career achievements: two News Awards for cartoonist of the year, nine Walkley awards for excellence in journalism, 19 Stanley Awards from the Australian Cartoonists’ Association and an Archibald Prize finalist 12 times.

“His portraits of Bob Hawke and Bill Hayden hang in Canberra’s Parliament House and his portraits of Sir Donald Bradman, Dick Woolcott and Robert Hughes are in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

“But most of all Bill was Bill: a man with a unique talent for understanding the most complex of issues and cutting through the smokescreens to focus Australians on the real issues no matter how confronting.

“He was brave and insightful, provocative, at times outrageous, irreverent but always clear and brilliant – and most of all passionate. He was one of Australia’s greatest champions of freedom of speech.

“However what really set Bill apart and made him an industry legend was that he was incredibly funny. We will never forget the humour in his work and his wit and laughter as a person.”

 




Please login with linkedin to comment

Advertising Standards Bureau bill leak Emaling

Latest News

Fast 10: Scoundrel’s Tim Bullock Explains What Shane Warne & Salt-N-Pepa Have In Common
  • Advertising

Fast 10: Scoundrel’s Tim Bullock Explains What Shane Warne & Salt-N-Pepa Have In Common

In this latest instalment of the Fast 10 series, Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham chats with Tim Bullock, director and founder of production house Scoundrel. You know Bullock’s work, even if you don’t know his name, having directed huge spots for the likes of VB and Toyota, working with creative agencies such as The Monkeys and Saatchi […]

Outbrain Snatches Chris Oxley From Foxtel Media
  • Advertising

Outbrain Snatches Chris Oxley From Foxtel Media

Outbrain has appointed Chris Oxley as the country manager for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Bringing over 18 years of experience in digital media, Oxley will lead the charge in driving the expansion of Outbrain’s advertising business across ANZ and Singapore. In his role, Oxley will oversee the development and implementation of Outbrain’s commercial strategy […]

oOh!media & POLY Partner With Greening Australia For OOH Awareness Campaign
  • Campaigns

oOh!media & POLY Partner With Greening Australia For OOH Awareness Campaign

To mark oOh!media’s community partnership with Greening Australia, creative and innovation hub, POLY has developed a two-phase campaign that leverages weather triggers and dynamic digital executions to drive brand awareness and donations. Greening Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation with over 40 years of experience restoring Australia’s diverse landscapes and protecting biodiversity. oOh! announced its […]

Are Media Cares For The Carers In Its Latest Social Change Campaign
  • Campaigns

Are Media Cares For The Carers In Its Latest Social Change Campaign

Are Media together with Carers Australia and a coalition of carer support and advocacy groups, are joining forces to call on both the Federal Government and the Opposition to add superannuation to the fortnightly Carers Payment. Last month, The Inquiry into Unpaid Carers recommended the Australian Government consider options to incentivise and recognise the impact […]

In A Fragmented World, Engagement Is King
  • Partner Content

In A Fragmented World, Engagement Is King

Media executives from Australia’s top agencies sat down with B&T TV to discuss how media fragmentation is impacting advertising spend. Few will deny that measurement is key when it comes to deciding where to allocate ad dollars. With media more fragmented than ever, which metrics to use is less clear. As Nik Doble, Mindshare’s national […]

Partner Content

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]