The Daily Telegraph Hit With Defamation Suit Over Latest Annette Sharp Column
Sydney criminal lawyer Chris Murphy has launched defamation proceedings against News Corp’s The Daily Telegraph. He alleges the outlet as being “ravaged by age” and unfit to practise.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports lawyers for Murphy filed Federal Court proceedings last week over an October 10 column, in which Telegraph columnist Annette Sharp reported on the breakdown of his 25-year marriage to artist Agnes Bruck.
According to the Nine Entertainment outlet, it represented the second time Murphy has launched proceedings against the Telegraph over a column by Sharp, with a 2017 case settled before a trial.
In this latest case, Murphy is not reportedly suing over the reporting of his personal life, but over a paragraph that asserts the lawyer, 72, “continues to battle with the ravages of age and with it the associated deafness that has kept him from representing his clients in court during the past year”.
Murphy’s lawyers say the column conveys five false and defamatory imputations, including that “despite holding himself out as a competent lawyer, [he] was in fact so ravaged by age and deafness as to be unfit to practice”, or to represent his clients in court, The Herald reports.
Moreover, they allege that the publications suggests Murphy has “physically deteriorated” enough “that he is no longer fit” to practise law, and that he was “incapable of representing his clients’ interests” due to the so-called ravages of age.
According to The Herald, Murphy is seeking damages that include aggravated damages, and orders that the offending article be removed from the Telegraph’s website. He is also seeking that the newspaper and Sharp be permanently restrained from repeating the statements.
Murphy’s lawyers allege both the Telegraph and Sharp acted with malice.
Featured image source: iStock/sabthai
Latest News
Ogilvy Australia CEO David Fox To Head Middle East & North Africa Office
Ogilvy has announced David Fox will be promoted to the role of CEO for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, effective March 1, 2021. Based in Dubai the new role encompasses responsibility for nine countries and 10 offices across the region. The move to a new regional position follows six and a half […]
Vic Gov Chooses QMS For Its Holidaymaker Fire Warnings
Holiday goers leaving Melbourne are being reminded to check Fire Danger Ratings (FDRs) to ensure they are fire safe and ready as they head out of the city and into regional Victoria. As part of the annual Victorian Fire Season campaign, the Victorian Government’s (Vic Gov) latest outdoor campaign harnesses the dynamic capability of digital […]
Marketers, Digital Experts, Podcasters & Bloggers Among 2021’s “Jobs On The Rise”
LinkedIn has unveiled its annual Jobs On The Rise report and – despite the usual suspects – it’s good news for those workers who possess digital skills and can work remotely. You can read the report in full here. As you’d expect, the report was headed by the always in-demand occupations such as health care […]
Have We Entered Peak Podcasting? 2021 Predictions
Henrik Isaksson is the regional managing director at Acast AU & NZ. In this opinion piece, he gives his top prediction on what 2021 will bring for the podcasting world. Despite a volatile media environment in 2020, podcasting has continued to grow from strength to strength. We have seen record listen numbers month-on-month and advertising […]
Lenovo Turns Aussie Tech Review Into A Death Metal Song
Lenovo has released a new campaign that applies a surprising creative twist to reviews of its products, combining them to form death metal songs. Yes, you read that correctly. The works come from Omnicom-owned Swedish agency Ehrenstrale, in a bid to target gamers, which Ad Age reports are an important audience for the brand, and […]
Bastion Collective Launches New Interactive Experience agency Bastion Interactive
Bastion Collective launches new arm, Bastion Interactive, which is a specialist interactive experience agency headed up by ex DDB Tribal Managing Director.
Major US Networks ‘Boycott’ Trump Farewell Address
Outgoing and twice impeached President Donald Trump released a pre-recorded farewell as he departed Washington. But many of the US’ major networks didn’t show it. Trump was banned from Facebook and Twitter in the wake of his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January. His personal account on YouTube has also been suspended […]
Facebook Journalism Program Helps News Publishers Find New Subscribers
New data from Facebook shows that an initiative aimed at supporting local news publishers is showing early signs of success. Australian and New Zealand publishers participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Reader Revenue Accelerator in 2019 and through 2020 secured more than 24,000 new paying subscribers and more than 160,000 new loyal readers (whether through […]
Kate Langbroek Returns To Melbourne’s Chapel Street For ‘Support Local’ Campaign
Radio personality and comedian Kate Langbroek has returned from Italy to rediscover Melbourne’s iconic Chapel Street Precinct, which has seen a post-lockdown renaissance of business over summer. Langbroek has stitched the words ‘Support Local’ on her sleeve, making visits to many Chapel Street Precinct businesses with a film crew capturing each of the business owners […]
Sky News Australia Will Be Live From Washington During Biden, Harris Inauguration
Sky News Australia to air all of tomorrow's presidential inauguration. Tune in from 4am to see all the gritted teeth.
Data Pooling: What Is It And Why Does It Work?
Nervous about a half pike with twist into the data pool? Tighten the Speedos with this read judged a "perfect 10".
M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Appointed By My Muscle Chef
My Muscle Chef is only surpassed by Carlton Zero as the least stolen item in the B&T office fridge.
“I’m Not Dead!”: Kyle Sandilands Sparks Panic After Not Showing Up To Work
Fears this morning Kyle may have dropped dead. Southern Cross Austereo immediately denies any use of KGB nerve agent.
Kogan Pays $310K For Breaching Spam Laws
Here's a stern lesson for any email spammers out there. Let's just hope those Nigerian billionaires are reading today.
Boomtown Unveils Expanded Education Program For 2021
Has your one & only New Year's resolution left you trying to squeeze back into pants? Improve yourself instantly here.
Koala Conquers COVID Hurdle For New Commercial With 12K Video Shots
Paying homage to the Vincent Desiderio painting ‘Sleep’ and Kanye West’s ‘Famous’ music video, Koala Furniture’s new commercial shows a range of people all comfortably sleeping on their Koala Mattresses. Like the ‘Famous’ music video, the commercial for Koala’s new mattress begins with a close up of a single sleeping person and then slowly pulls […]
Free TV Australia Calls For “Speedy Action” On Media Bargaining Code, As Sorrell Voices Concerns
News Media Bargaining Code continues to prove proverbial hot potato as Sir Martin threatens his own gratin dauphinois.
“Not Cool!” TV Reporter Subjected To Vile Abuse During Live Broadcast
B&T warns this article contains the sort of unsavoury language commonly associated with Australian cricket spectators.
The ‘500 Greatest Songs Of All Time’ To Play On Nine Radio In Feb
B&T tipping 'Run To Paradise' or anything Barnsey to do the business in Nine's ‘500 Greatest Songs Of All Time’.
MediaCom Unveils New Logo & Agency Proposition ‘See The Bigger Picture’
This'll be of more interest to MediaCom's clients. For the rest of us, it's more a passing interest/time filler thing.
Tinder, Bumble Banning US Capitol Rioters
Dating apps have banned the US Capitol rioters. However, that's not to say there's not plenty of loons & psychos left.
PEDESTRIAN.TV Moves Self-Care Festival Online For 2021
Pedestrian Group has announced it will be taking the third iteration of its national self-care festival Selfish online in 2021. Selfish Sessions, running virtually from February 24 – 26, will reflect on what self-worth means to young Aussies, focusing on long-term strategies to improve their intellectual, emotional and creative wellbeing off the back of a […]
The Future Of Corporate Events? ARIA Awards Founder Peter Rix Chats Post-Pandemic, Burning Man + More
2020 certainly did bring a reprieve from the myriad of events. Although, B&T does pine for the networking drinks.
Depositphotos Reveals Visual Trends 2021
It's the first of the visual trends reports for 2021. And it's not good news for wearers of the polka dot or salmon.
Val Morgan Unveils POPSUGAR Editorial Team
The POPSUGAR team revealed, but not before escaping the wilds of the Amazon Basin judging by accompanying press images.
OMA: Outdoor Revenues Plummeted Almost 40% In 2020
Outdoor industry praying the locust plagues & pterodactyls stay away in 2021, as COVID shaves 40% off the bottom line.
DDB Sydney Names Matt Chandler As ECD
DDB's Matt Chandler makes immediate shift from Carlton to those wanky Japanese beers following new year promotion.
Personalised Shopping In 2021 – What’s Changed?
2021 is set to be the year of personalised shopping. To counter that, the Chinese are calling it the year of the ox.
A-League Clubs Partner With Epic Games In New Fortnite Campaign
This week, three A-League clubs will partner with Epic Games to celebrate global football in Fortnite, alongside more than 20 other top clubs from around the world. Starting on Sunday, players can choose from 10 different variants of new “Kickoff Set” outfits to represent their favorite club in-game. Each outfit can be swapped to any […]
