Phillip Adams claims he was sacked by The Australian after his long-running column in the News Corp paper’s weekend magazine came to an end, leaving the paper without what he described as its “licensed lefty”.
The 86-year-old broadcaster, author and former advertising executive said he was not given a reason for his departure from the Weekend Australian Magazine when his editor called to inform him, other than that the paper was “changing direction”.
“Here I am. I’m deceased, defenestrated, rejected, ejected. First the Chairman’s Lounge,
then the ABC, now the f–king Australian,” Adams said on Monday afternoon, days after the first column from veteran journalist Steve Waterson appeared in his old slot.
Adams praised the broadsheet for giving him broad freedom of speech during his long years writing for the paper.
“It can’t be politics because, I must say to its credit, The Australian has never censored me. I’ve been the licensed lefty allowed to give the illusion of pluralism.”
“I’ve fought them on every editorial policy, from climate change to Palestine – never been touched.”
Adams suggested the decision may have been triggered by budgetary constraints. “I wasn’t cheap, and I am sure The Australian, like every other masthead has revenue problems.”
After a flirtation with the Communist Party as a teenager, Adams became a prominent ad man credited with enduring campaigns such as “slip, slop, slap” to encourage sunscreen use and Qantas’ “spirit of Australia” tagline.
In the 1970s, Adams became crucial to the development of Australia’s film industry. He was involved in the creation of the Australia Council, now part of Creative Australia, and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
A long-time broadcaster on the ABC’s Radio National, Adams departed Late Night Live in 2024 but continued his weekly column in the national broadsheet. His work has appeared in The Australian on and off over six decades – almost the entirety of the paper’s history – firstly as a TV critic.
He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2025, for “eminent service to broadcast media, to journalism, to the arts, to cultural leadership, and to the community”.
On Monday, Adams said:“The paper is not exactly overwhelmed with left wing opinion. I always thought they’d leave me alone because I know I seem to be some sort of useful idiot that represented the left.”
In his first piece filling Adams’ slot, Waterson penned a tribute to his predecessor.
“Finally, let me return to Phillip Adams,” Waterson wrote. “There’s no chance I will collect even one of the many doctorates he has accumulated, nor the series of civil honours bestowed upon him. But if I can entertain people half as well as he has, and last a quarter as long, I will consider myself amply rewarded.”
The Australian’s editor-in-chief Michelle Gunn, its weekend magazine editor Elizabeth Colman and a spokesperson for the newspaper were approached for comment.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via Twitter or email.
