Mark Riley is an Australian journalist, who is Political Editor for ''

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are ...

'' based in Canberra.

Career

Riley started his journalism career in 1979 at ''

The Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

'', where he covered topics including the

1989 Newcastle earthquake The 1989 Newcastle earthquake was an intraplate earthquake that occurred in Newcastle, New South Wales on Thursday 28 December. The shock measured 5.6 on the Richter magnitude scale and was one of Australia's most serious natural disasters, ki ...

and the

murder of Leigh Leigh The murder of Leigh Leigh, born Leigh Rennea Mears, occurred on 3 November 1989 while she was attending a 16-year-old boy's birthday party at Stockton Beach, New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia. The 14-year-old girl from Fern Bay ...

. Riley's extended coverage of Leigh's murder received criticism, including from the ''

Sydney Law Review The ''Sydney Law Review'' is a peer-reviewed law journal established in 1953. References External links * SydLRev Online Australasian Legal Information Institute The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution ...

'', on the grounds that he was

victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as ...

Leigh for her own sexual assault and murder. Riley moved to ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', where he worked in politics. In 1998, he was appointed New York correspondent for the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' and for Melbourne's ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

''. Riley jointly won a

Walkley Award The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...

in 1999 for his part in the SMH team's coverage of

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

's independence.Kirkpatrick, Rod
News media chronicle, July 1999 to June 2000
''Australian Studies in Journalism'', 9: 2000. Riley provided many reports for both newspapers on the

11 September terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

. Returning to Australia in 2002, Riley became ''

s Chief Political Correspondent. In this position he provided commentary from Parliament House. In 2004, Riley joined the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

and was appointed political editor for ''

''. He regularly provides live commentary on ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

'' and various ''

'' bulletins. His journalistic approach came under fire in 2011, when he was accused of "ambushing" the then Leader of the Opposition

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

Personal life

Riley is married to social commentator Suzanne Mostyn and they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Mark Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian television journalists The Sydney Morning Herald people