Guardian Australia appoints new editor, flown in from the UK

The Guardian Australia has appointed David Munk as its new editor after Lenore Taylor resigned in February following nearly a decade in the role, making him the third British journalist out of four to have run the publication’s Australian outpost.

British-born Munk spent five years as the deputy editor of the Australian edition under Taylor before returning to the United Kingdom to take up a post as managing editor of the Guardian. He was flown in from the UK to act as editor after Taylor’s abrupt departure.

He was handed the position permanently on Monday, pleasing staff who regard Munk as a safe pair of hands, and winning praise from his predecessor.

Munk, a former deputy foreign editor at the Guardian in the UK and head of world news at the UK Telegraph, declined interview requests via a spokeswoman for the publication but said he was delighted.

“From small beginnings, the Guardian is now such an important part of Australian society as well as its fast-changing media landscape,” Munk said in a statement.

“Thanks to three brilliant previous editors, we have built something special across the land, and I will make it my mission to ensure we continue to give our readers, viewers and listeners the courageous, groundbreaking – and crucially independent – journalism they have come to expect from our amazing staff.”

Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief Katherine Viner said Munk brought “great verve, creativity, openness and commitment to his work”.

Taylor was among the founding staff members who helped launch the Guardian Australia in 2013. She took on the top job three years later, and when she resigned in February, was the longest-serving editor in the country.

Taylor said that the new appointment left the Guardian in good hands. “He was a great deputy and I think he’ll be a great editor,” she said on Monday.

But Taylor’s final year in charge of the outlet was a turbulent one. Her abrupt departure followed months of tension with her most senior colleague in the country, local managing director Rebecca Costello.

In 2025, the Guardian grappled with high staff turnover, bullying complaints and an HR investigation at its Canberra bureau ahead of a federal election.

Munk’s appointment also represents a return to a British editor. After Taylor’s departure, both the Guardian Australia’s deputy editors Gabrielle Jackson and Patrick Keneally were viewed as potential successors.

Head of multimedia Bridie Jabour was also considered a candidate, but had recently departed to the company’s London HQ for a two-year secondment.

Former deputy editor Lee Glendinning, now head of digital and national news at the ABC, was another local name in the mix for a job.

The media organisation’s 2025 annual report said it generated $50 million in revenue across Australia and New Zealand across the financial year, marginally up on the year prior, aided by 158,000 recurring digital supporters.

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