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"A true fighter": Tragic loss to Australian media

<p>Trailblazing journalist and editor Judith Whelan has passed away at the age of 63. </p> <p>The ABC confirmed Whelan's death, saying she died on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.</p> <p>ABC managing director David Anderson was among the first to pay tribute to the “loved and respected” Whelan, confirming her death. </p> <p>“We have lost a great friend and journalism has lost a true fighter,” <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/about/media-centre/statements-and-responses/judith-whelan-announcement/104027286?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said in a statement</a> released by the public broadcaster.</p> <p>“Judith always had the instincts that made her such a formidable journalist. She carried with her a commitment to truth and accountability and instilled these values in those who worked with her."</p> <p>“A valued mentor to younger journalists, Judith nurtured while leading by example. Judith was tough but caring and wanted those around her to succeed. Young reporters knew Judith would champion their work if the story needed to be told.”</p> <p><em>Sydney Morning Herald</em> editor Bevan Shields said Whelan will always remain a beloved part of their team.</p> <p>“Judith was a wonderful editor, colleague and friend. She was at the Herald for more than three decades and remains part of our DNA. We are heartbroken by her death,” he told the <em>Herald</em>.</p> <p>“She had a finely tuned news radar but also revelled in journalism that could entertain and inform readers. She was a natural leader and a beautiful person. Our thoughts are with Chris, Sophia and Patrick.”</p> <p>Whelan first joined the ABC in 2016, where she was first appointed Director of Regional and Local News before taking the role of ABC editorial director in 2022.</p> <p>Prior to her work at the public broadcaster, Whelan worked for several other publications, including<em> Sydney Morning Herald</em>, where she also served as news director and editor of its weekend edition.</p> <p>The talented media executive was one of just three female editors in the SMH’s history.</p> <p>Well respected in her field, Whelan’s career also saw her stationed in both the Pacific and Europe as a foreign correspondent, and she was also nominated for a Walkley Award for her news and feature writing.</p> <p><em>Image credits: ABC</em></p>

Caring

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Judith Durham farewelled at state memorial

<p dir="ltr">Judith Durham, the lead singer of The Seekers, has been farewelled at a state memorial with tributes from her bandmates, family, and fellow musicians, as well as the performance of an unreleased song featuring her vocals.</p> <p dir="ltr">The memorial was held on September 6,  just over a month after Durham passed away at the age of 79 following complications from chronic lung disease.</p> <p dir="ltr">Band member Athol Guy unveiled the song, <em>Carry Me</em>, which was written by fellow Seekers member Bruce Woodley, during Tuesday night’s service to honour Durham.</p> <p dir="ltr">"This song is now our collective gift to share with you tonight as we celebrate Judith's magnificent gifts to us all," Guy said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"May it carry her safely on the rest of her journey."</p> <p dir="ltr">He said the song was written for someone needing inner peace.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s probably the space that a lot of us are in as we’re here tonight.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Other musical tributes, mainly hits from The Seekers, came from Durham’s sister Beverley Sheehan, The Wiggles, Dami Im, Vika and Linda Bull, David Campbell, and Deborah Cheetham.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>Georgy Girl</em> singer’s nephew, Tony Sheehan, spoke on behalf of the family at the service, saying that Durham’s mother had wished her daughters would not be tone deaf.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She got her wish,” he said to laughter from the audience.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sheehan said his aunt was always destined to be a musician, having told her sister as a child “that one day, she’d sing on all the stages of the world”.</p> <p dir="ltr">He went on to describe her as a deeply generous and optimistic person, even when faced with death.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Judith faced death as she faced everything: with calm and strength,” Sheehan said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We will miss you but we are so proud of you.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Durham’s sister and fellow singer Beverley recalled their love of music that had been shared since childhood.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We'd [sing together] early in the morning and my father would have to come in and say: 'that's enough, your mother can't sleep'," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to perform <em>The Jelly Bean Blues</em>, accompanied by jazz band The Syncopators.</p> <p dir="ltr">"This perhaps could be the hardest thing I've ever had to do," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Guy, Woodley, and fellow The Seekers bandmate Keith Protger each took to the stage to share their admiration for Durham.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's a real surreal experience for me, standing on this Hamer Hall stage without Judith," said Potger.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We shared triumphs and adventures on this very platform.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You're not really gone, because your picture is on my wall and your boundless spirit and love will be in my heart forever."</p> <p dir="ltr">Woodley praised Durham for her “bravery and single-mindedness” as she continued to perform even while battling serious lung disease.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Her bravery and single-mindedness in overcoming the enormous physical obstacles that life threw at her has always been an inspiration to me," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Quite often, the boys and I would hear her in her dressing room coughing her heart out a few minutes before a show and thinking to ourselves, 'there's no way she's going to sing tonight'.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Wrong."</p> <p dir="ltr">Guy said the band hoped to celebrate their 60th anniversary at Hamer Hall as initially planned, before introducing Carry Me.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Here's our last song together," he said. </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-42a39685-7fff-0ea4-cfac-ea20dda92d3d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Judith Durham Official (Facebook), Victorian Government</em></p>

Music

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Campaigner sparks controversy after blasting picture book

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A British domestic violence campaigner has called out Judith Kerr’s 1968 picture book, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Tiger Who Came to Tea</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, as a reinforcement of problematic ideas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rachel Adamson, the co-director of charity Zero Tolerance, which aims to end men’s violence against women, has claimed the book is an “old fashioned” depiction of women.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We know that gender stereotypes are harmful and they reinforce gender inequality, and that gender inequality is the cause of violence against women and girls,” she told </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC Radio Scotland</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kerr’s picture book tells the story of a tiger who arrives on a family’s doorstep and, once invited in for tea, proceeds to consume all of their food and drinks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adamson criticised the “stereotypical” ending to the book, where the dad comes home from work and saves the day by taking his family to a cafe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The campaigner also questioned why the tiger was not female or gender neutral.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We need to recognise these aren’t just stories… it is reflective of a society that we need to think more closely about,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adamson described Kerr as a “wonderful author”, but was aware that her comments would “make a lot of people unhappy”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite her strong views about the book, Adamson has stressed that she doesn’t want it banned.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, she believes it could be used to “raise a conversation” in nurseries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking to </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Telegraph</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Conservatives spokesperson for children and young people, described Adamson’s language as “completely unhelpful”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“While attitudes change over time, parents will be left bemused at some of these claims by Zero Tolerance,” Gallacher </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9920825/Tiger-Came-Tea-lead-rape-harassment-campaigner-claims.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This sort of language is completely unhelpful as we try to educate children about much-loved publications from days gone by.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are far better ways for this publicly funded group to go about changing attitudes, rather than simply calling for these books to be banned from nurseries.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kerr, who had fled Nazi Germany when she was just 13, had previously denied claims there was a darker meaning to the story.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The idea came to her while she was a stay-at-home mother of her two small children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It got really very boring,” she later recalled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’d go for a walk and have tea, and that was it really. And we wished someone would come. So I thought, why not have a tiger come?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kerr continued to write and illustrate books from 1968 until she passed away in May of 2019.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Instagram, Rachel Adamson</span></em></p>

Books

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Romance author Judith Krantz passes away aged 91

<p>Best-selling romance author Judith Krantz has passed away from natural causes at the age of 91. She died in her Bel Air home in California and was surrounded by family, friends and her four dogs at the time of her passing.</p> <p>Krantz was a successful journalist, writing in the industry for 27 years and interviewed a number of prominent women as well as writing numerous articles about sex. Her most popular article was “The myth of the multiple orgasm”.</p> <p>She sold more than 100 million copies of her romance novels in dozens of languages and became an author later in life, at age 50, after conquering her fear of flying, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-23/judith-krantz-novelist-who-mixed-sex-with-shopping-dies-at-91" target="_blank"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>.</p> <p>Each of her novels usually involved a young heroine who satisfies her taste for glamorous clothing and powerful men while navigating her way through the world of fashion, advertising and the Hollywood movie industry.</p> <p>Krantz drew on personal experience to help write her romance novels.</p> <p>“I strongly suspect that the difficulties I lived through are the elements in my life that finally made me a storyteller,” she wrote in her autobiography<span> </span><em>Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl</em> (2000). </p> <p>“Looked at as a stream in which one thing led to another, the events of my life, and how I coped with them, tell me who I am. And a woman should have a clear idea of who she is.”</p> <p>Krantz also spoke about how she travelled her own “inner-directed path” in her autobiography.</p> <p>"While I seemed like another 'nice Jewish girl,' underneath that convenient cover I'd travelled my own, inner-directed path and had many a spicy and secret adventure," she wrote.</p> <p>"I grew up in a complicated tangle of privilege, family problems, and tormented teenaged sexuality."</p> <p><em>Scruples</em>, which was her first novel and told the story of the over-the-top lifestyle of the people who work in a Beverly Hills boutique, was a massive success and remained on The New York Times Best Sellers list for more than a year.</p> <p>Some of her novels were also developed into television miniseries.</p> <p>Krantz is survived by her son, Tony, daughter-in-law Kristin Dornig Krantz and grandson Nicholas.</p>

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All Saints star Judith McGrath has passed away aged 70

<p>Veteran Australian actress Judith McGrath, who was well known for her roles in <em>All Saints</em>, <em>A Country Practice</em> and <em>Prisoner</em>, has passed away at age 70.</p> <p>Details of McGrath’s passing are yet to be confirmed.</p> <p>Born in Brisbane, McGrath appeared in 263 episodes of <em>Prisoner</em>, before paying Bernice Hudson in the iconic series,<em> A Country Practice</em>. But she will perhaps be best remembered for her longstanding run on Logie-award winning series <em>All Saints</em>, where she played Yvonne ‘Von’ Ryan, and was the only cast member to appear across all 12 seasons.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">No! OH, wonderful, dry, sharp as a tack, Jude! Thank you for everything, Jude. What a bloody privilege. xx <a href="https://t.co/yErwZU51oa">https://t.co/yErwZU51oa</a></p> — 🌈 Virginia 🌈 Gay 🌈 (@virginia_gay) <a href="https://twitter.com/virginia_gay/status/922054292667695105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Fans and colleagues, shocked and saddened by the news of the 70-year-old’s passing, have taken to social media to pay tribute to the iconic Australian actress.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Sad to hear we’ve lost <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JudithMcGrath?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JudithMcGrath</a>. A truly great actress and, for a generation of Prisoner fans, the finest deputy governor. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vale?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vale</a> <a href="https://t.co/0rS9uhxksm">pic.twitter.com/0rS9uhxksm</a></p> — Michael Idato (@michaelidato) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelidato/status/922044511311876097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Very sad to hear that Judith McGrath has passed away. Great talent and hilarious sense of humour ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/IC1nwihsRi">pic.twitter.com/IC1nwihsRi</a></p> — Darren Scott (@darren_scott) <a href="https://twitter.com/darren_scott/status/922021828998115334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Our thoughts are with McGrath’s family. </p>

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5 looks you’ll want to steal from Judith – the 72-year-old fashion blogger

<p>Meet Judith, a style blogger who is dedicated to inspiring older women with her fashion blog, The Style Crone. The 72-year-old trendsetter from Colorado in the US is on a mission to take back the word “crone” to its “original meaning, signifying a woman of a ‘certain age’ who embodies all her life’s wisdom, knowledge, experience, and love.” And after browsing her website and Instagram of amazingly quirky outfits we were certainly inspired to, as Judith advises, to “cherish our inner crone”.</p> <p>On why she decided to start her blog, Judith writes on her site: “I spent most of my career working as a psychiatric nurse in an emergency setting.  I also spent a period of time managing the care of head and spinal cord injuries. Choosing my outfits, which always included a hat, was a way to express myself creatively and as a form of meditation as I approached my day, which usually included extreme and painful stories told by interesting, traumatised people.”</p> <p>We love Judith’s zest for life and her original personal style. Here are five of our favourite looks from her blog:</p> <p><img width="499" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/8409/1_499x500.jpg" alt="1 (42)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="503" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/8410/2_500x503.jpg" alt="2 (45)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="504" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/8411/3_500x504.jpg" alt="3 (39)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="499" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/8412/4_500x499.jpg" alt="4 (38)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="499" height="495" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/8413/5_499x495.jpg" alt="5 (38)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><strong>To find more of Judith’s style visit her <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://instagram.com/stylecrone/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> </span>or <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://stylecrone.com/" target="_blank">website</a></span>.</strong></p>

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