Exclusive: The West appoints first female editor after shock revelations about Seven

The West Australian newspaper has appointed the first female editor in its history, current editor of Seven West’s The Nightly Sarah-Jane Tasker, according to internal company communications seen by The Last Place on Earth. 

Former Australian Editor Christopher Dore moves from an acting role to become editor-in-chief of West Australian Newspapers and The Nightly, as part of an ongoing musical chairs at Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media that comes off the back of a Four Corners investigation last week into alleged cultural issues at the controversial broadcaster.

Staff were informed of the appointment late yesterday by Seven West CEO Maryna Fewster, who described Tasker as a “ground-breaker” with a “brilliant leadership record”.

The promotion of Dore to a permanent role will raise some eyebrows given he left The Australian following allegations of lewd conduct at a company event in California.

Seven West was restructured into three divisions earlier in the year: television, digital and Western Australia.

The ABC’s Four Corners recently interviewed large numbers of current and former Seven television staff and described the broadcaster as a “second chance saloon”. It came after scandalous allegations aired in Federal Court about the conduct of Seven News bosses connected to the Spotlight program.

Fewster’s email described Dore as “the best editor in Australia” who has “already had a big impact across the business since his arrival.”

Dore took over as acting editor of The West Australian and acting editor-in-chief of WA News following the departure of previous Editor-in-Chief Anthony de Ceglie, who took on the role of national Seven News boss in the aftermath of the Spotlight fiasco.

The announcement also said Dore was “known for digital innovation and transformation”. Seven West launched The Nightly earlier this year in an attempt to expand their print and online reach to the east coast. The digital outlet is funded largely by West Australian resources interests including Hancock Resources boss Gina Rinehart, who advertises prominently across the site.

It is understood that Tasker will remain in charge at The Nightly, which shares much of its content and reporting with The West, until a replacement is found for her.

The developments come at a point where, despite falling revenues, WA Newspapers is arguably at the peak of its political influence, given the prospect of overlapping WA and federal election campaigns early next year and the central importance of key WA seats to Labor’s chance of retaining power.

Recently, The West Australian and The Nightly have mounted a sustained campaign against Labor’s ‘Nature Positive’ reforms, which have been repeatedly delayed and diluted, and in recent days has led national political focus on the rejection of a NSW mine on cultural heritage grounds.

Before launching The Nightly, Tasker was the business editor of The West Australian, and previously worked at The Australian. In December last year, she wrote an opinion piece headlined ‘To Hit Net Zero, We Need Gas’ that described “the critical role the fuel has in supporting WA’s transition to net zero emissions.”