Simon McCarthy is a journalist with the Newcastle Herald and its sister publications in the Hunter region of New South Wales (NSW). He has contributed stories, photography, video, and other multimedia to the pages of the Herald and its Saturday magazine, Weekender, since 2017. In 2020, he co-created the Toohey’s News podcast, which he produced for four years with sports writer Barry Toohey until the show’s indefinite hiatus.
Since early 2023, he has served as the paper’s Topics columnist and, more recently, returned to reporting with an interest in deep-dive stories that illustrate the issues shaping daily life in Newcastle and the region.
McCarthy has reported for Australian Community Media (ACM) since 2013, first as a general news and sports writer for the Glen Innes Examiner and later as a group journalist and producer for the publisher’s New England regional titles. He joined the Newcastle Herald newsroom as a digital producer in 2017 before returning to reporting in early 2023.
He had previously worked for the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth. McCarthy was born in the New England region of NSW, where he grew up, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Cross University in 2012.
He covers general news, culture, and community issues, with a focus on the Herald Weekender. He is a member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and adheres to its codes of ethics for journalists.