Alan Oakley (journalist)

Alan Oakley is the current editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. He was born in England and immigrated to Australia in 1981.

During his tenure at he has offended readers by referring to soccer as "football" and rugby league (which is commonly referred to as "football" in Sydney) as "league". "League" is considered by some to be a derogatory term used by Rugby Union supporters to justify that "their game" is the only rightful rugby game while the Rugby League is inferior. Further complicating the controversy is Oakley's football background, which is Victorian and southern English. Fanatical fans of the game claim that he is trying to reassert English control over Australian culture, while Oakley probably thought it a shrewd move. Herald's delining sales have been contributed to Oakley's editorial style.

In a related controversy, Oakley made a comment after the Japan-Australia game in the 2006 FIFA World Cup that soccer would become more popular than Rugby league in Australia, although he remarked that there always will be support for a ball handling and rough game in New South Wales. This was ambiguous as there are already two, Rugby Union and Rugby League, which are very popular. Some determined that he was therefore insinuating that somehow they would become one game, or that one of them would decline.

Oakley previously held positions editing The Age in Melbourne and a minor Fairfax paper in Newcastle, Australia.