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Rita PanahiColumnist and Sky News host

Rita is a senior columnist at Herald Sun, and Sky News Australia anchor of The Rita Panahi Show and co-anchor of top-rating Sunday morning discussion program Outsiders.Born in America, Rita spent much of her childhood in Iran before her family moved to Australia as refugees. She holds a Master of Business, with a career spanning more than two decades, first within the banking sector and the past ten years as a journalist and columnist.

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Rita Panahi

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opinionRita Panahi

US President Donald Trump pumps his fist after speaking during election night in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, early on November 4, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

Predictions of a blue wave proved laughably wrong

The 2020 presidential election has showcased just how out of touch the political, media and celebrity class is with the wider community, writes Rita Panahi.

opinionRita Panahi

A protester wearing a Black Panther jacket and holding a "Black Lives Matter" flag faces off with riot police in Rochester, New York, on September 5, 2020, on the fourth night of protest following the release of video showing the death of Daniel Prude. - Prude, a 41-year-old African American who had mental health issues, died of asphyxiation after police arrested him on March 23, 2020, in Rochester. (Photo by Maranie R. STAAB / AFP)

Riots expected if ‘party of civility’ doesn’t get their way

Businesses across America are boarding up their shopfronts, terrified that the so-called party of tolerance will riot if their candidate doesn’t win the US Election, writes Rita Panahi.

opinionRita Panahi

OPA LOCKA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 01: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his campaign event at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on November 1, 2020 in Opa Locka, Florida. President Trump continues to campaign against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leading up to the November 3rd Election Day. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Why I was wrong about Trump

In 2016 I didn’t think Donald Trump was a real conservative, up to the job or had a realistic chance of winning, but I’ve been proven wrong, writes Rita Panahi.

opinionRita Panahi

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he walks to Marine One prior to departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 27, 2020, as he travels on a 3-day campaign trip. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Other issues trump coronavirus in US election

Polling shows that coronavirus is far from the number one issue for the majority of Americans, writes Rita Panahi.

OpinionRita Panahi

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 2, 2020, as he heads to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, after testing positive for Covid-19. - President Donald Trump will spend the coming days in a military hospital just outside Washington to undergo treatment for the coronavirus, but will continue to work, the White House said Friday (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Media misses the mark on COVID reality in US

If you believed most media reporting you’d think the US COVID response was the worst in the world and it’s all down to Donald Trump. But blaming him for what happened in the worst-affected states is like blaming Scott Morrison for what happened in Victoria, writes Rita Panahi.

OpinionRita Panahi

A person uses a fire extinguisher to put out a burning barricade in Philadelphia on October 27, 2020, during a protest over the police shooting of 27-year-old Black man Walter Wallace. - Hundreds of people demonstrated in Philadelphia late on October 27, with looting and violence breaking out in a second night of unrest after the latest police shooting of a Black man in the US. The fresh unrest came a day after the death of 27-year-old Walter Wallace, whose family said he suffered mental health issues. On Monday night hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets, with riot police pushing them back with shields and batons. (Photo by Gabriella AUDI / AFP)

BLM protesters use death as an excuse to cause mayhem

BLM protesters have unleashed mindless violence masquerading as social justice activism after a man wielding a knife charged at police and was shot dead, writes Rita Panahi.

OpinionRita Panahi

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NCA NewsWire Photos October 26, 2020: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media during a press conference in Melbourne, Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

Victorians are at breaking point, Premier. Don’t fail again

The Premier is not very good at governing and Victorians have paid the price. Incompetence and arrogance are a dangerous mix and we’ve had plenty of both in Victoria during the past seven months, writes Rita Panahi.

opinionRita Panahi

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 20: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media during a press conference on October 20, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria has recorded one locally acquired COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours. Coronavirus restrictions have eased further in Victoria as of 11:59 on Sunday 18 October, with Melbourne residents are now able to travel up to 25km from their homes, and no limits on the time people spend outside their homes exercising. People must continue to stay at home unless for the four permitted reasons Ã¢â¬â to shop for food and other necessary goods; for care or compassionate reasons; for work or education; for exercise or social interaction, and from Monday, people can also now go to the hairdresser. Up to 10 people from two households can also now meet outdoors, while tennis, golf, bocce and skate parks are now able to open. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Dan’s disturbing disdain for women who challenge him

It can make for uncomfortable viewing as the Premier switches from the jovial, matey tone he reserves for male journalists to the barely concealed disdain he appears to have for the contingent of women who’ve challenged him, writes Rita Panahi.

opinionRita Panahi

MIRAMAR, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Wearing a face mask to reduce the risk posed by the coronavirus, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden waves to supporters during a drive-in voter mobilization event at Miramar Regional Park October 13, 2020 in Miramar, Florida. With three weeks until Election Day, Biden is campaigning in Florida. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Dangerous new era of censorship as big tech stifles Biden story

Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter have always favoured the Left, but until this week that bias was exercised in a more subtle fashion than flat-out suppression of a major news story, writes Rita Panahi.

Blog Post

World renowned epidemiologist slams Victoria’s destructive lockdown

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University Medical School, a physician, epidemiologist, health economist, and public health policy expert focusing on infectious diseases has slammed governments that adopt harsh lockdowns as the primary strategy for tackling COVID-19.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/journalists/rita-panahi/page/47