First Murdoch, now Fairfax

Secondly, Baker asserts that "Ms Gillard resigned from Slater & Gordon after being challenged about her role in establishing the association."

Not correct. There was a routine exit interview conducted after Gillard resigned to enter politics. The continual implication that the interview led to the departure – read sacking – rather than the other way around, is a pretty reprehensible distortion, if not outright lie.

In his curious denial, Baker repudiated the judgment and blasted the Council. His memo to Crikey asserted "this finding is flawed and illogical - like so much of the work of the Press Council."

What he and The Age stand to gain from this response is puzzling. Not much political gain in embarrassing or distracting the former PM now she has left politics.

Perhaps Fairfax is seeking to emulate Murdoch in savaging its critics. The Leveson inquiry in Britain found last year "a cultural tendency within parts of the press vigorously to resist or dismiss complainants almost as a matter of course". The inquiry found that even when an apology is agreed Murdoch's media organisation seeks revenge by "high-volume, extremely personal attacks on those who challenge them".

First Murdoch. Now Fairfax. Such is Australia's doom.

Fortunately there is the increasingly accessible alternative online media.