Gavin King

Gavin King (born 17 March 1979) is an Australian newspaper chief of staff and opinion columnist. He currently works for News Limited daily publication The Cairns Post and regularly appears on North Queensland radio programs.

Background

Born in Cessnock, New South Wales, King launched his first publishing venture Raptanite [cite book | author=Ian Maxwell | title=Phat Beats, Dope Rhymes: Hip Hop Down Under Coming Up | year= 2003 | id=ISBN 0819566381 | publisher= Wesleyan University Press ] at age 15, a monthly magazine sold across Australia to promote urban music. After graduating from secondary school, King moved to Sydney to work in investment banking before being appointed assistant editor and later editor of Revolver magazine, [ [http://www.blacklabelaustralia.com.au/rock-and-roll/reviews.html Revolver articles] ] a free weekly street press newspaper focusing on music, art and culture.

In 2000, he moved to a remote Aboriginal community Papunya to learn all about petrol sniffing. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/07/16/902925.htm News report on King's work at Papunya] ]

In late 2003, he began as political correspondent for The Centralian Advocate, where he won a distinction award in the Northern Territory Press Club awards in 2005. He was promoted to business editor at sister publication The Cairns Post in 2006 and most recently promoted as chief of staff in December 2007.

Controversy and criticism

* King was heavily criticised by right wing and pro-American commentators across the world for a series of articles exposing the identity of an anti-Islam campaigner in early 2007. [ [http://www.jihadchat.com/index.php?showtopic=1104&mode=linear&view=findpost&p=3972 Site criticising King for exposing name of anti-Muslim campaigner] ] The campaigner, known as "Sheik yer mami", published controversial material on his website in a bid to stop a mosque being built in Cairns. King received death threats [ [http://foehammer.net/2007/03/round-2-dhimmi-australian-reporter-gavin-king-vs-anti-muslim-fanatics.html Death threats against King] ] and was derided on blog sites.
* In early 2007, King wrote a controversial piece comparing George W. Bush with Saddam Hussein, [ [http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2007/12/07/249_blog-gavin-king.html Article comparing George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein] ] pointing out their similar approaches to government. The article was one of the most controversial pieces published by The Cairns Post, and received complaints from readers locally and internationally through the newspaper's website.
* In 2005, King was briefly detained and questioned by Australian Federal Police for his coverage of anti-war protesters Christians Against All Terrorism, who broke in to the Pine Gap defence base near Alice Springs. [ [http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1130 News article on King's coverage of Pine Gap protest] ] King's camera and notebook were confiscated amid allegations he was involved with the protest group.

On-line blog

The Cairns Post launched its new website in February 2008, featuring King's blog to offer readers the opportunity to provide comments and feedback to his columns. The blog has consistently received the site's largest volume of response from readers.

References

External links

* [http://www.cairns.com.au/opinion Gavin King's blog]
* [http://www.cairnsblog.net/2008/03/has-king-lost-his-marbles.html CairnsBlog - a site critical of King and his writings]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_p3OUzfLnY King interviewed by Channel 7 news]
* [http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/015797.php Anti-muslim sites anger at King's articles]