ABC editorial director and former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Judith Whelan has died aged 62. Whelan died at the Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon after a seven-year battle with cancer. She leaves behind her husband Christopher Henning and children Sophia and Patrick.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Whelan was one of only three women to become editor of the Herald in its 193-year history. Current editor Bevan Shields shared a touching tribute in the masthead. “Judith was a wonderful editor, colleague and friend,” he said.
“She was at the Herald for more than three decades and remains part of our DNA. We are heartbroken by her death. “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.” Whelan began her career as a cadet at the Herald and rose through the ranks to become a health writer and then foreign correspondent with a New Zealand posting in her 20s, followed by a stint in Europe.
Whelan was editor of Good Weekend from 2004 to 2011, then Saturday editor between 2011 and 2013 and editor of the Herald until 2016. She the joined the ABC as head of spoken content, becoming editorial director in 2023. “Judith was a terrific colleague and friend, caring deeply about the people she worked with and meeting every challenge with warmth, compassion and wit,” ABC man.
