Alan Reid (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Alan Douglas Reid nicknamed the Red Fox
, was an Australia
n political journalist
, who worked in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery
from 1937 to 1985. He his noted for his role in the Australian Labor Party split of 1955
and his coinage of the term "36 faceless men" to describe the Australian Labor Party National Executive
.
, London, and grew up in poverty. His father, a New Zealand-born sea captain, emigrated to Sydney when Alan was eleven after an accident that ended his career. He did several odd jobs in the outback
regions of New South Wales
and Queensland
, until he was hired as a copy boy for The Sydney Sun, Sydney's afternoon newspaper, by Robert Clyde Packer
.
Reid became interested in politics after being inspired by the speeches of the state Labor Party leader Jack Lang
. In 1937, he was posted to Canberra as a political reporter for The Sydney Sun. He commented favourably on Prime Minister John Curtin
's decisiveness after the Attack on Pearl Harbor
, and had a close relationship with both Curtin and the Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley
. In 1949 Robert Menzies
, the founder of the Liberal Party of Australia
, became Prime Minister in a coalition with the Country Party
. Reid initially resented his efforts to limit media access to sensitive information, and in 1954 he published an article claiming that the announcement of the Petrov Affair
was orchestrated to coincide with Labor leader H. V. Evatt
's absence from Canberra. In September 1954, Reid published an exposé in The Sydney Sun about B. A. Santamaria
. He wrote of him that:
.
In 1954, Reid moved to The Daily Telegraph
, owned by Frank Packer
, son of Robert Clyde Packer and Menzies' staunchest ally among media proprietors. Despite working with Packer, Reid continued to be a member of the Labor Party until he was dismissed in 1957. Menzies' relationship with Reid became closer after his move to The Daily Telegraph, and on the eve of the 1961 federal election
, Reid advised Menzies to make a public pledge to restore full employment, after his economic credibility was dinted due to a recession earlier that year. In March 1963, Reid commissioned a photograph of Labor leader Arthur Calwell
and his deputy Gough Whitlam
standing outside a conference of the Australian Labor Party National Executive
, waiting to find out their party's policy towards an American military base in Australia. The iconic photograph and the attached story, which showed the leaders' lack of involvement in the policy decisions of their own party, damaged the party's image. Menzies' subsequent use of Reid's phrase "the thirty-six faceless men" to describe the National Executive of the Labor Party helped him win the 1963 federal election.
After Harold Holt
drowned in 1967, Packer wanted William McMahon
to succeed him as Liberal Party leader. However the Country Party vetoed this idea and The Daily Telegraph supported his eventual successor, John Gorton
. In his book The Power Struggle, Reid alleged that Governor-General Richard Casey
had improperly intervened in political affairs by preventing McMahon from becoming Prime Minister after Holt's death. Reid broke many of the stories that led to Gorton's downfall as Prime Minister and his replacement with McMahon in 1971.
Reid opposed the policies of Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and in a column for The Bulletin
, he insisted that the Labor Party was in the thrall of "trendies", led by the government advisor H. C. Coombs
. He retired due to illness in 1985 and died from lung and stomach cancer, related to his smoking habit, in 1987, at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife and three children. In June 2010, Reid's biography, Alan 'The Red Fox' Reid: Pressman Par Excellence, by Ross Fitzgerald
and Stephen Holt, with a foreword by Laurie Oakes
, was published.
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n political journalist
Political journalism
Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power....
, who worked in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery
Canberra Press Gallery
The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament...
from 1937 to 1985. He his noted for his role in the Australian Labor Party split of 1955
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
and his coinage of the term "36 faceless men" to describe the Australian Labor Party National Executive
Australian Labor Party National Executive
The National Executive is the highest elected body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. The Executive is elected by the party's National Conference, held every three years, and represents the party's state and territory branches. Many of its members are...
.
Biography
Reid was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, London, and grew up in poverty. His father, a New Zealand-born sea captain, emigrated to Sydney when Alan was eleven after an accident that ended his career. He did several odd jobs in the outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
regions of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, until he was hired as a copy boy for The Sydney Sun, Sydney's afternoon newspaper, by Robert Clyde Packer
Robert Clyde Packer
Robert Clyde Packer was the founder of Australia's Packer media dynasty, which used to own Publishing and Broadcasting Limited now owns Consolidated Press Holdings and Crown Limited....
.
Reid became interested in politics after being inspired by the speeches of the state Labor Party leader Jack Lang
Jack Lang (Australian politician)
John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
. In 1937, he was posted to Canberra as a political reporter for The Sydney Sun. He commented favourably on Prime Minister John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
's decisiveness after the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, and had a close relationship with both Curtin and the Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
. In 1949 Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, the founder of the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, became Prime Minister in a coalition with the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
. Reid initially resented his efforts to limit media access to sensitive information, and in 1954 he published an article claiming that the announcement of the Petrov Affair
Petrov Affair
The Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
was orchestrated to coincide with Labor leader H. V. Evatt
H. V. Evatt
Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ , was an Australian jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1948–49 and helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
's absence from Canberra. In September 1954, Reid published an exposé in The Sydney Sun about B. A. Santamaria
B. A. Santamaria
Bartholomew Augustine "B. A." Santamaria, otherwise 'Bob' , was an Australian political activist and journalist and one of the most influential political figures in 20th century Australian history...
. He wrote of him that:
"In the tense melodrama of politics there are mysterious figures who stand virtually unnoticed in the wings, invisible to all but a few of the audience, as they cue, Svengali-like, among the actors out on the stage."Evatt's panicked reaction to that piece led to the Australian Labor Party split of 1955
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
.
In 1954, Reid moved to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
, owned by Frank Packer
Frank Packer
Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer, KBE , was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network.-Biography:...
, son of Robert Clyde Packer and Menzies' staunchest ally among media proprietors. Despite working with Packer, Reid continued to be a member of the Labor Party until he was dismissed in 1957. Menzies' relationship with Reid became closer after his move to The Daily Telegraph, and on the eve of the 1961 federal election
Australian federal election, 1961
Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, Reid advised Menzies to make a public pledge to restore full employment, after his economic credibility was dinted due to a recession earlier that year. In March 1963, Reid commissioned a photograph of Labor leader Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
and his deputy Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
standing outside a conference of the Australian Labor Party National Executive
Australian Labor Party National Executive
The National Executive is the highest elected body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. The Executive is elected by the party's National Conference, held every three years, and represents the party's state and territory branches. Many of its members are...
, waiting to find out their party's policy towards an American military base in Australia. The iconic photograph and the attached story, which showed the leaders' lack of involvement in the policy decisions of their own party, damaged the party's image. Menzies' subsequent use of Reid's phrase "the thirty-six faceless men" to describe the National Executive of the Labor Party helped him win the 1963 federal election.
After Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
drowned in 1967, Packer wanted William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
to succeed him as Liberal Party leader. However the Country Party vetoed this idea and The Daily Telegraph supported his eventual successor, John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. In his book The Power Struggle, Reid alleged that Governor-General Richard Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
had improperly intervened in political affairs by preventing McMahon from becoming Prime Minister after Holt's death. Reid broke many of the stories that led to Gorton's downfall as Prime Minister and his replacement with McMahon in 1971.
Reid opposed the policies of Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and in a column for The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, he insisted that the Labor Party was in the thrall of "trendies", led by the government advisor H. C. Coombs
H. C. Coombs
Herbert Cole H.C. "Nugget" Coombs was an Australian economist and public servant.-Early years:Coombs was born in Kalamunda, Western Australia, Australia, one of six children of a country railway station-master and a well-read mother.Coombs's political and economic views were formed by the Great...
. He retired due to illness in 1985 and died from lung and stomach cancer, related to his smoking habit, in 1987, at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife and three children. In June 2010, Reid's biography, Alan 'The Red Fox' Reid: Pressman Par Excellence, by Ross Fitzgerald
Ross Fitzgerald
Ross Fitzgerald is an Australian academic, historian, novelist, secularist, and political commentator.Author of 35 books, in 2009 Professor Fitzgerald co-authored "Made in Queensland: A New History", published by University of Queensland Press and also "Under the Influence, a history of alcohol in...
and Stephen Holt, with a foreword by Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....
, was published.