Alan Jones: The Daily Telegraph has been telling it straight for 140 years

For 140 years, The Daily Telegraph has been telling it straight to the people of NSW. Not only is the Telegraph the voice of “Sydney and NSW”, it’s the voice of the people. The fair-dinkum people … Not the latte-drinking tree huggers of the left, writes Alan Jones.

• The Daily Telegraph looks back over 140 years: 1900-1909
• The Daily Telegraph looks back over 140 years: 1887-1889

I’m not too sure, when it comes to our schools, that students are getting the full story in a whole range of subjects. They’re told climate change is going to see Bondi ending up in Bathurst, and when it comes to our history, they think Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth are a law firm, and that Captain Cook only does coffee cruises on Sydney Harbour.

So The Daily Telegraph is to be congratulated — firstly on reaching the milestone of its 140th birthday, and secondly on giving its readers this special anniversary feature.

The Telegraph, rightly, describes itself as “the voice of Sydney and NSW”.

No other newspaper does that.

And not only is the Telegraph the voice of “Sydney and NSW”, it’s the voice of the people. The fair-dinkum people. The people I describe as coming from Struggle Street. Not the latte-drinking tree huggers of the left that churn out the bile in some other newspapers.

Now not only do we get the news and the sport in The Tele, we also get the opinions of the people we want to hear from.

2GB Radio Broadcaster Alan Jones. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

People like Miranda Devine, Andrew Bolt, Piers Akerman and the very funny Tim Blair.

People who tell you what they’re thinking, but without you feeling you’re getting preached at or dictated to. A lot has changed in ­Sydney since The Tele first appeared in 1879.

The newspaper that costs $1.90 now would set you back one penny when it first hit the newsstands — if indeed they had newsstands back then.

From a population around 237,000 then we’ve grown to a city now of well over five million. I’m not sure all that growth has been for the best, but that’s a ­debate for another day.

The year 1879, in addition to when the first edition of the Telegraph rolled off the press, also saw the Sydney Riot occur.

I’ve seen it described as “an instance of civil disorder that occurred at an early inter­national cricket match”. I guess some things never change. Sydney in 1879 also played host to the Sydney International Exhibition — the first time the World’s Fair had come to the Southern Hemisphere.

And the first Dymocks bookstore opened in Market Street, later ­moving to George Street, where you’ll still find it today. But enough of the history.

That’s why the Telegraph has Troy Lennon, and I don’t want to be stealing his thunder!

For me — The Daily Telegraph is Sydney. It knows the city and it knows its people. It tells us what’s happened, how it happened, and what’s going to happen.

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It takes us across our city but also across our state, across the country and indeed around the world.

And in these hi-tech days, with websites and apps, we can carry the paper with us without having it tucked up under our arm.

So to everyone at the Telegraph — from Ben English down — my heartiest congratulations as you ­celebrate your 140th birthday.

The world is changing, the media is changing, but The Tele has always been there and, I hope, will always continue to be there.