Sharri Markson on facing the hate

Outspoken advocate Sharri Markson says rabbis have told her that she has been put in the right place at the right time to do the job that she’s doing. “Being a fighter for what’s right is intrinsic to my personality,” she tells The Jewish Independent. “Most jobs don’t lend themselves to commentary and opinion. Mine does. And rabbis give me blessings to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Markson is the host of the eponymous prime-time opinion show Sharri, which features on Sky News at 8pm four nights a week. She first landed a weekly spot on the network in 2018 and has broken several agenda-setting stories, including an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 which became the  a book, What Really Happened in Wuhan.

Markson hosted a Sky News documentary of the same name which was viewed 13 million times and for which she interviewed Donald Trump – his first interview as US President with Australian broadcast media.

But it’s her unremitting focus on antisemitism that now dominates her agenda and output, with clips of her programs viewed globally, including in the US, Israel, South Africa and Canada.

Markson is both loved and divisive. Large sections of the Jewish community support her partisan lens, but there are others - Jewish and non-Jewish – who are critical of her singular focus on antisemitism and unwillingness to engage with Israel's faults. 

Readily acknowledging that her television program is a combination of journalism and advocacy, Markson regards herself as “extremely fortunate to have an opinion program which gives me the platform and ability to speak out against antisemitism. This is an unprecedented crisis for our country. The entire Jewish community is feeling it, irrespective of individual political views or ideologies.

“Most media outlets barely cover the issue, and most political leaders aren’t taking it seriously enough. I feel obligated and driven to put pressure on our leaders to stand up to it. We can’t let this situation become normalised.”

Markson says the leadership on combatting antisemitism at News Corp and Sky News has come from the top. “Sky CEO Paul Whittaker said Josh Frydenberg’s documentary was the most important one he has made.” She adds that; Lachlan Murdoch has spoken publicly about antisemitism and even visited Israel to see the sites where Israelis were massacred.

Markson says more people are watching Sky News now than in the past, “particularly people who weren’t ideologically aligned with the network. People tell me they never watched before, but now they’re watching every night”.

She receives considerable abuse from members of the public, has reported threats to the police and on occasion has shut down her social media accounts. “The abuse on Twitter is insane. It’s hard to believe people can be that antisemitic. Having said that, overall I feel great warmth and support from Australians in general.

“Mainstream Australians hate what’s going on, hate the aggression they see on the streets, hate the vandalism of politicians’ offices, hate the doxing. Mainstream Australians are generally supportive of our community and of my reporting. Many people contact me and identify as Catholic or Christian and express support. My religion was never something I had thought about before in the workplace; now it’s front and centre of my identity.”

Markson has been an outspoken advocate for Jews and Israel since October 7 but her on-air commentary has focused little on critically examining the Israeli government’s prosecution of the war, settler violence in the West Bank or Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.

The Jewish Independent asked her about some more controversial aspects of Israeli policy.

On whether Benjamin Netanyahu should agree to a ceasefire in exchange for the hostages. "Ideally, we need the immediate return of all the hostages as well as the destruction of Hamas. Leaving Hamas in power means that October 7 and its pain, trauma, brutality and tragedy could happen again, affecting hundreds more families. Hamas’ reason for being is to destroy Jews and Israel. And leaving a single hostage behind in Gaza would be like walking away from a Jew in a concentration camp.

“Western leaders have repeatedly demanded of Israel an immediate ceasefire, yet in the same breath they say Hamas can have no role in the future governing of Gaza. How do leaders like Penny Wong think Hamas will be destroyed if there is an immediate ceasefire? No leader internationally has been able to articulate the answer to this question. There is no clear path forward, only difficult choices."

On settler violence in the West Bank: “I concur with the recent Executive Council of Australian Jewry statement which unequivocally condemns this lawless behaviour and says those responsible should be dealt with according to the law.”

On Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza: “Heartbreaking and devastating.”

On Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying it’s justified to starve Palestinians: “I absolutely condemn that statement. That said, Israel hasn’t used starvation as a tactic; thousands and thousands of aid and food trucks have been going in.”

On corruption allegations against Netanyahu: “These are matters for Israel. It’s a democracy with regular elections. It’s also a rule-of-law democracy with a fiercely independent judiciary and there’s no intimidating its Supreme Court.”

Advocacy is not new to Markson; in 2014 she led the reporting in The Australian which culminated in high-profile columnist Mike Carlton parting company with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Born in Sydney, Markson attended Moriah College and Ascham, followed by two years of a Media/Communications degree at the University of Sydney. An internship at The Sunday Telegraph led to a full-time position, which prompted her to abandon further thoughts of study. “Even as far back as 2002, the lecture halls were already very ideological and anti-News Corp.”

Dating her passion for journalism back to her childhood, Markson recalls watching Jana Wendt on 60 Minutes. “And if we saw a fire engine race past, I’d ask to follow it. Finding out what was happening was instinctive. As a 16-year-old copy-kid, part of my job was to photocopy the pages and take them to the editors. It was such a privilege to see the news before everyone else did. I loved that.”

Her career took her to State and Federal Parliament and saw her appointed chief of staff of The Sunday Telegraph at age 25, followed by senior roles at Channel 7, Cleo, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and now Sky News, while her journalism awards include five Kennedys, two Walkleys and two Sir Keith Murdoch Awards.

“Journalism is utterly different today to what it was when I started,” she adds. “There are far fewer journalists today, but far more media advisers. Far more competition for product, but far fewer people looking seriously into major issues.”

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