Clearly we need better metrics for what makes for a credible news source. I doubt looking for outlets that are high profile, well-funded or long-serving was ever enough, but it's certainly not any more.
"We don't have free speech in Australia. That's not part of our constitution, it's part of the American constitution, and because of that our defamation laws are such that Ben Robert Smith can sue... and it just drags all this stuff through the courts, and millions of dollars are spent, and everyone comes out of it badly."
First, it may not be specifically protected in the Australian constitution, but they definitely have free speech. Otherwise the government would be free to tell Mumbrella and other news outlets what they can publish, like the CCP can and do with media outlets based in China.
Second, I'm not sure exactly how defamation laws work in the US, but people can most definitely sue if they believe they're misrepresented. The 2nd amendment protections for free speech constrain Congress, not the courts.
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