Last month, The Australian solemnly reported on the “the ‘church and state’ rule, governing the relationship between the executive and editorial arms”. This, they wrote, was alive and well.

Since then, The Australian has made much of the apparent failure of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to live up to their slogan – Independent. Always. – in pursuing a story about Nine Entertainment’s departed head of television news, Darren Wick. Nine publishes the Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review.