Peter Fray: Former Sydney Morning Herald editor convicted of drink driving

A high-profile and outspoken Australian media figure has appeared in court for drink-driving while on his way to an ANZAC Day Dawn Service. See what happened in court

Peter Fray outside Manly Local Court. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

One of Australia’s most controversial and outspoken journalists and editors has been convicted of drink-driving on his way to an ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Sydney.

Peter Fray, a former editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Age and editor-in-chief of the online news site Crikey, was pulled into a police RBT site near his Mosman home at 4.55am on April 25.

The 61-year-old, the only occupant of the Honda SUV, said he had finished a bottle of red wine the night before.

Fray told police at the RBT on Spit Rd that he was on his way to the annual Dawn Service at Dee Why Beach.

He blew 0.091 at North Sydney police station, Manly Local Court heard on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one count of mid-range drink driving.

Peter Fray, Professor of Journalism Practice at UTS in 2016. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

“On ANZAC morning I did a stupid, reckless and dangerous act, which I will regret for the rest of my life,” Fray wrote in a letter to the magistrate.

He wrote that he had been “under an amount of stress over recent months”.

Peter Fray during a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) Freedom of the Press inquiry in Sydney in 2019. Picture: Joel Carrett

Fray, who also edited The Canberra Times, was deputy editor of The Australian, and Professor of Journalism Practice and Head of Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), has been in the headlines in recent times.

In March he was made redundant by Private Media, the publisher of Crikey amid a legal dispute with News Corp co-chairman and Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch. On April 20, Mr Murdoch dropped the defamation case against Crikey.

In a written submission to the court, Fray’s solicitor, Josh McKenzie, wrote that Fray, on the night before he was charged, had been drinking to “celebrate the resolution of a long term source of stress in his life”.

“He had been experiencing a difficult time in his life, including significant stress associated with legal proceedings whilst he had been the editor-in-chief- of Private Media,” Mr McKenzie submitted.

Crikey editor-in-chief Peter Fray tweets after a Walkley Foundation executive attempted to silence his heckling during the Walkley’s event. He later apologised for the posts. Source: Twitter

In November last year, Fray apologised for heckling ABC journalists at the 2022 Walkley journalism awards ceremony. The ABC journalists had won a Gold Walkley Award for a Four Corners story about the role of public guardians and trustees in the lives of up to 50,000 Australians.

The then SMH editor-in-chief Peter Fray leaving Fairfax offices in Sydney on the day Fairfax Media announced plans to cut 1900 jobs across the company. Picture: News Corp

Crikey had reported on the same topic in March 2021 and September 2022.

He also tweeted on the night that ‘Crikey wins gold Walkley for ABC’ and that the national broadcaster was ‘a fraud’. He subsequently deleted the tweets.

Fray, who has set up his own editorial strategy and digital consultancy, also wrote to the court that he was in the “process of rebuilding my career”.

“(And) I am exploring ways of better dealing with stress. I learnt a lasting lesson on ANZAC morning. It will stay with me the rest of my life.”

Magistrate Robyn Denes convicted Fray, disqualified him from driving for three months and fined him $750.