Maxwell Newton (29 April 1929 – 23 July 1990) was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
media publisher. He was a founding editor of ''
The Australian''. He was the owner of ''
Daily Commercial News
''Daily Cargo News'' (DCN) is a monthly Australian shipping, trade, transport and logistics focused magazine, published by Paragon Media. First published in 1891 as ''Daily Commercial News'', ''Daily Cargo News'' is Australia's longest running na ...
'' from 1969 to 1981, publisher of the ''
Melbourne Observer'' from 1971 to 1977, and, during a similar time frame, the ''Canberra Post''.
Biography
Maxwell Newton was born to George William Newton,
lead-burner, and his wife Nora Christian, legal secretary, on 28 April 1928 at Nurse Doyle's Private Hospital, in
Cottesloe, Western Australia
Cottesloe is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the Town of Cottesloe. Cottesloe was named for Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, a prominent Tory politician and the brother of Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle for whom the ...
. The family lived with Nora's parents at 17 York Terrace,
Mosman Park
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
. At the age of four they moved to Bayswater where Newton was to attend Bayswater State School until the age of 12, when he won a scholarship to the academically selective
Perth Modern School. From there he
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
with
exhibitions in English and history.
Newton graduated from the
University of Western Australia with first class honours in economics and was awarded a Hackett scholarship to attend
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
.
[
From 1960 to 1964 Newton was editor of the '']Australian Financial Review
''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
'', turning it from a weekly to a daily. In 1964 he became founding editor of '' The Australian'' but left in March 1965, after falling out with its owner, Rupert Murdoch. He then became correspondent for the ''London Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' and the '' Financial Times'' and in June 1965 began a weekly newsletter in Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ...
, the ''Incentive'' (sub-titled ''A Weekly Report on Business Trends and Economic Policy by Maxwell Newton''). In 1957, he became political correspondent for the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' in Canberra. Future Prime Minister Billy McMahon would leak
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usu ...
details of cabinet meetings to Newton, who would then publish them.
In April 1969 Newton became founding editor of the ''Sunday Independent'' (Western Australia) published by Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock (10 June 1909 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's ...
and E. A. "Peter" Wright.
In 1969, Newton purchased shipping and commercial newspaper Daily Commercial News
''Daily Cargo News'' (DCN) is a monthly Australian shipping, trade, transport and logistics focused magazine, published by Paragon Media. First published in 1891 as ''Daily Commercial News'', ''Daily Cargo News'' is Australia's longest running na ...
from Sir Ronald Brierley with funding from Marrickville Holdings. Soon after, in 1971, Newton published the '' Melbourne Observer'' after Gordon Barton
Gordon Page Barton (30 August 19294 April 2005) was an Australian businessman and political activist.
Biography
He was born in Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) of a Dutch mother and Australian father. He showed his intelligenc ...
closed his '' Sunday Observer''. Newton later renamed his publication as the ''Sunday Observer''. As the paper was only issued once a week Newton began publishing teen magazines (such as ''Scream'' and ''Sweet''), entertainment publications (''National Tattler'' and ''TV Guide'') and soft-core pornography (''Pleazure'', ''Eros'' and ''Kings Cross Whisper'') to keep the presses running.
Newton Comics
In 1975 he started publishing Marvel comics reprints, including ''Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
'', '' Spider-Man'', ''Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
'', '' Incredible Hulk'' and an edition of '' Planet of the Apes''. The first Newton Comics titles were issued in May 1975, accompanied by a massive marketing campaign. The heavy promotion initially paid off with sales of up to 30,000 recorded for the first issues, dropping to around 20,000 for the second and third issues. After a few months sales had dropped to 6,000-8,000 per issue. It soon became apparent that sales projections were grossly overestimated, with print runs being too high and returns from newsagents being substantial. By the end of 1976, Newton Comics was defunct.
Following the collapse of his publishing empire Newton relocated to the United States and re-established his career as a right-wing economic journalist becoming financial editor of the '' New York Post'', with his columns syndicated in the Murdoch press. In 1983 he published a book on the American monetary system. He died on 23 July 1990, aged 61.
References
External links
Papers of Maxwell Newton (1929–1990)
''Scandals'' by Rodney Tiffen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Maxwell
1929 births
1990 deaths
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Australian newspaper publishers (people)
People educated at Perth Modern School
People from Perth, Western Australia
University of Western Australia alumni
20th-century Australian journalists
The Sydney Morning Herald people