The Truth was a
newspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
,
AustraliaAustralia , 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...
. It was founded in August 1890 by
William Nicholas WillisWilliam Nicholas Willis was an Australian politician and newspaper proprietor.-Early life:Willis was born in Mudgee, New South Wales and educated in a denominational school at Mudgee and briefly at St Mary's School in Sydney. He left school at nine to support his mother after his father's...
and its first editor was
Adolphus TaylorAdolphus George Taylor was an Australian journalist and politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.-Early life:...
. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth created by the will of the whole people, but from its early days it was mainly a
scandal sheetScandal Sheet is a black-and-white film noir directed by Phil Karlson. The film is based on the novel The Dark Page by Samuel Fuller, who himself was a newspaper reporter before his career in film...
. Subsequent owners included Adolphus Taylor,
Paddy CrickWilliam Patrick Crick, known as Paddy Crick or W.P.Crick was an Australian politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor...
and
John NortonJohn Norton, , was an English-born Australian journalist, editor and member of the New South Wales Parliament. He was a writer and newspaper proprietor best known for his Sydney newspaper the Truth...
.
Norton established several subsidiaries, including the
Sportsman (1900), the
Brisbane Truth (1900), the
Melbourne TruthThe Truth was a Melbourne tabloid newspaper established in 1902 as a subsidiary of the Sydney Truth, established in 1890.In its early years its politics was very much left-leaning, and it painted itself as the voice of the working class. Before 1945 it had a style of journalism that was high...
(1902) and the
Perth Truth (1903).
Ezra Norton
Although John Norton disinherited his estranged wife, Ada Norton and his son
Ezra NortonEzra Norton was an Australian newspaper baron and businessman.-Early life:Norton was born in the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay, son of the proprietor of the Truth, John Norton and Ada McGrath , whom he married some weeks later...
at his death in 1916 (with the bulk of his estate going to his daughter, Joan), Mrs Norton persuaded the New South Wales Parliament to backdate the new
Testator's Family Maintenance Act to take effect before Norton's death. Under this legislation, she succeeded in having his will rewritten in 1920 so that she and Ezra Norton each received a third of his inheritance, allowing
Ezra NortonEzra Norton was an Australian newspaper baron and businessman.-Early life:Norton was born in the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay, son of the proprietor of the Truth, John Norton and Ada McGrath , whom he married some weeks later...
to gain control of the
Truth group.
End of the Truth
In January 1941,
Ezra NortonEzra Norton was an Australian newspaper baron and businessman.-Early life:Norton was born in the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay, son of the proprietor of the Truth, John Norton and Ada McGrath , whom he married some weeks later...
launched
the Daily MirrorThe Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941, gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade and Customs, Eric Harrison, despite wartime paper rationing. In October 1958, Norton and his partners sold his newspapers to the Fairfax group, which...
. In October 1958, he replaced the Sydney
Truth with the
Sunday Mirror. In the following December 1958, Norton and the other shareholders sold their shares in
Truth and Sportsman Ltd to the
Fairfax groupFairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
, which on-sold it to
Rupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Ltd.