Paul Colgan
Paul is the editor of news.com.au.
He started in journalism writing music reviews for The Drogheda Independent, his local newspaper in Ireland. After training there as reporter and sub-editor and freelancing for Irish music mag Hot Press, Paul joined the Dublin bureau of The Sunday Times as a news reporter in 1999, where he enjoyed a few short weeks of smoking at his desk before it was banned, and over the following years covered transport, health, and legal affairs for the paper.
Paul arrived in Sydney in 2003 and joined news.com.au, working as a reporter and later chief of staff before being appointed Deputy Editor, leading coverage of major stories and developing journalism innovations.
He was part of the launch team of The Punch, as managing editor between January 2009 and October 2010.
Articles by Paul Colgan
A Punch list: The top ten Beatles songs
There are some top 10 lists that should never be written because they will always start a fight. This is…... Read more
Is it time to put the brakes on remote working?
In another study from the University of Obvious Research Findings, research out today finds people are increasingly working away from…... Read more
Updated: Ricky Ponting’s little book of calm
(Update, Thursday): Ricky Ponting is at it again. The Australian captain is master of understating the negatives in a losing…... Read more
Hitting journos where it really hurts: a handy guide
Dope, ignoramus, racist, communist, queen-kisser, Nazi, apologist, shill. Dunderhead, knucklebrain, fantasist, doofus, conspirator, idiot, and twit. If you recognise these…... Read more
Punch playlist: Songs to get back at wowsers
Wowsers sure had some great wins this week. The mid-life crisis now hits people in their mid-30s. The march of…... Read more
Oh God, not you too
What’s wrong with this picture? Hint: it’s something on the stage and we’re not talking about the President’s pants. The…... Read more
Parliament opening day photos: your commentary
After a bruising election campaign and an outbreak of acrimony over forming government and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, MPs…... Read more
Virgin blip gives a glimpse of total digital chaos
It’s a very first-world picture of human misery: a packed airport terminal filled with thousands of delayed travellers. There are…... Read more
Say no to crap beards
There are varying viewpoints on Sergio Redegalli’s “Say no to burqas” mural, but only one way to look at his…... Read more
The burqa mural: should it be painted over?
This mural has appeared in the trendy Sydney suburb of Newtown. It was painted by the owner of the property,…... Read more
Would the real regional Australia please stand up
Two weeks ago we were being told by the federal independent MPs that regional Australia had been neglected and was…... Read more
And it was all shot in one take…
This latest music video from OK Go was been viewed over a million times within 24 hours of its release.…... Read more
Anonymous comments: why we all need an escape goat
The headline is not a mistake. Escape goats exist - at least, they do in the comment threads of websites…... Read more
A real paradigm shift: comics become political leaders
Think we’ve got a new paradigm? Get this: two comedians are positioning themselves as the voices of reason in American…... Read more
Follow the PM and pen a tribute to your team
Found: the real Julia Gillard, in a column she has written today for the Herald Sun about why she loves…... Read more
Johnathan Thurston and the rise of the so-what scandal
Is anyone really that shocked at a rugby league player having a big night on the turps? The arrest in…... Read more
A thank-you note to Oprah from Tourism Australia
Dearest Oprah, can we start by saying: ohmygod ohmygod ohmyGOD. We can’t thank you enough for getting us out of…... Read more
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of total stupidity
When pastor Terry Jones called off his epically dumb plan to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks by…... Read more
Bishop gambit: Will ‘the cockroach’ survive again?
Update 7.30pm: Andrew Robb has now said he will not challenge Julie Bishop for the deputy leader’s position tomorrow. More…... Read more
Watch it, sunshine
Bob Brown should be first to chip in to Rob Oakeshott’s swear jar which the independent MP says needs topping…... Read more
Goodbye campaign 2010, we’ll miss you
Put My Way on the karaoke machine. It’s the end of the night and the sun is coming up on…... Read more
Politicians have a licence to tell some lies
One of the many elements of Tony Blair’s memoir to have created headlines was his admission that he “stretched the…... Read more
Crunching The Punch’s election data
Eat your heart out, Antony Green. It’s cutting-edge interweb publishing here at The Punch. These infographic presentations explain the results…... Read more
Heard the one about the Irish MP who promised stability?
Meet Jackie Healy Rae. If Irish politics has a Bob Katter, it’s him. Like the member for Kennedy, he’s a…... Read more
Humble pie anyone? Top 10 furphies of the 2010 election
Humble pie is a real food. Modern derivatives of it are mainly sweet, but the original dish was something like…... Read more
Australia votes for chaos
I’d like to know if anyone out there is having an election party which they’ve promised to keep going until…... Read more
Gillard and Abbott get a digital makeover
Warning: this has nothing to do with politics. We thought we’d see how the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader would…... Read more
Election 2010: Make your predictions
OK Punchers, it’s crystal ball time. Below I’ve listed five reasons why this election is such a squeaker. The video…... Read more
Julia and Tony learning the art of limited overs politics
The people’s forum format is a bit like Twenty20 cricket. A strong start when you go in to bat second…... Read more
Hawkie ever confident on the road to Rooty Hill redux
I just ran into Bob Hawke at the airport. The former Prime Minister is one of the more, shall we…... Read more
Rock gigs are no place for middle-class tossers like me
So Slash is playing one of the hits – it might have been Rocket Queen, the anthemic final track from…... Read more
Gillard does the vision thing
Many voters will only be tuning in to the election campaign this week but anyone paying even scant attention over…... Read more
Bass, where the lesson of history is to ignore it
You know Labor is in trouble if people like Clare Mattern have their doubts. Clare has two jobs – one…... Read more
The Rooty Hill summit: can we have more of these please
If the “people’s forum” at the Rooty Hill showed anything it is that politicians should do more of these televised…... Read more
Surprise, surprise: teachers’ union against PM’s pay plan
Everybody has had a bad teacher. I had one whose entrance to the classroom turned teenage boys into a pack…... Read more
Campaign countdown: Julia gets her groove back
As these things go, Julia Gillard’s appearance on Q&A was pretty much a slam dunk. She looked prime ministerial. She…... Read more
When Julia met Kevin: the full set of photos
The full set of these pictures probably got passed over a little over the weekend because of (a) it being…... Read more
Looking for history-makers on Melbourne’s Green streets
Signs in the window of an adventure tours store on Scotchmer Street in North Fitzroy urge passersby to do two…... Read more
Has Channel Nine crossed the line by using Latham?
When the Nine Network announced during the week that former Labor leader Mark Latham was working with 60 Minutes on…... Read more
Being harsh on smokers worked, how about the fat?
The Australian health establishment has denounced a proposal for doctors to stop calling chronically overweight people obese and start calling…... Read more
Has the campaign just turned against Julia?
11:25am Update: Opposition leader Tony Abbott this morning has announced that a Coalition Government would cut the company tax rate…... Read more
Wikileaks: friend of the truth, enemy of the troops?
There’s a tendency in some circles to see disclosures like the Wikileaks publishing of 90,000 documents about the war in…... Read more
Wallabies backs running some new lines on Twitter
Good communication is critical in rugby and some of the stars of the Australian rugby team have taken it off…... Read more
Election-Free Zone: Green sees red over blue
Did you hand over $50 to watch the Danny Green fight last night? If you did - and watched all…... Read more
Campaign countdown: Hey Hey, well that was OK
If the Liberal Party’s campaign HQ is finally open there’ll be some relieved faces there tonight. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott…... Read more
Election-Free Zone: Fidel Castro, sports commentator
Fidel Castro is blogging. Prolifically. And it’s all being conveniently translated into English. A hat-tip to Alex Beam of The…... Read more
Whither the loud lefties?
Perhaps the lack of bold vision for Australia in the election campaign thus far can be understood by looking at…... Read more
Campaign countdown: And the winner is… Masterchef
The headlines: Courtney had to leave Masterchef. The most discussed topic of the evening on Twitter was Masterchef. In federal…... Read more
Campaign countdown: I’m Julia, and I’m a workaholic
Update 7.30am: The SMH this morning says some Liberals are a bit rattled by Tony Abbott’s performance yesterday, and are…... Read more
Election-Free Zone: What makes a good WAG?
There is a wall of federal election coverage out there today. This isn’t more of it. A glance at the…... Read more
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The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
Kel says:
If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
