AustLit

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PRESS CLUB

The South Australian Press Club is an important forum for local journalists and editors in the state. The club began in 1995 as an initiative of Robert Mayne, then Adelaide correspondent for the now defunct Bulletin, and has continued since with the support of South Australian media organisations and limited commercial sponsorship. It is modelled on the National Press Club in Canberra, meeting monthly in Adelaide and providing a forum for guest speakers of interest to the news media.

Prominent newsmakers who have addressed the club since its inception include businesswoman Janet Holmes à Court, South Australia’s NASA astronaut Andrew Thomas, state Director of Public Prosecutions Steven Polaris QC and South Australian Chief Justice John Doyle. The first president of the South Australian Press Club was the former editor-in-chief of the Adelaide Advertiser, Don Riddell. The current president (in 2014) is Jeremy Pudney, news manager of Network Ten in Adelaide. The club offers an annual scholarship for young journalists to undertake study or work placement in Europe or Asia.

REF: http://www.sapressclub.com.au.

IAN RICHARDS