Paul Barry. "... ABC ideologues would stone you for hiring me. (Could you compromise by picking Gerard Henderson?) "But it would be harder for me. I'd have to leave a successful show and betray a network that's been fantastic to me. Still, duty calls. I'm game. The real question is, are you?" Bolt even offered to ''rip up'' his contract with Channel Ten, where he presents The Bolt Report, if it meant hosting Media Watch. After it was reported that Bolt had missed out on the job, he wrote on his blog: ''Damn. I'm shocked. Completely shocked and surprised.

''Eight times in 24 years the ABC has appointed a host of Media Watch. Eight times it chose someone of the Left. ''The ABC's commitment to 'diversity of opinion' is a joke. Your taxes, the Left's plaything.'' Last year, Holmes indicated he would step down from the role in the middle of this year. Barry, his British-born replacement, moved to Australia in 1986. He briefly filled in for Holmes in 2010. Barry originally hosted the program in 2000 but the then-ABC chief Jonathan Shier controversially cancelled it at the end of the year. Under new management, it returned with David Marr as host in 2002.

A respected Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist, Barry has worked for almost every major media organisation, reporting for ABC's Four Corners, Channel Seven's Witness and Channel Nine's 60 Minutes. He has written for Fairfax Media's The Sydney Morning Herald, News Ltd's The Sunday Telegraph, Private Media's The Power Index and has authored several books about powerful media and business figures. After requesting an interview with Alan Bond on camera, the fallen tycoon famously stomped on Barry's business card. Barry is currently living in France, where he is writing a book about Rupert Murdoch, his children and his succession plan for News Ltd. He will return to Australia in July. This afternoon, Scott said: ''Paul Barry has a detailed understanding of the complex operations of the Australian media and is widely respected. He appreciates the values and traditions of the program and in an era of significant change in our industry, I am looking forward to Paul's return to Monday nights on Media Watch."

He also described the program as a ''a widely respected institution'' and praised Holmes for ''bringing social media under the microscope'' and his ''success in taking the discussion about the show into the social media space". Holmes said he had enjoyed his time as host of Media Watch, which he believed to be one of the most important jobs at the ABC. ''Whether it likes it or not, the Australian media needs a critical eye, and Media Watch has an ability to name and shame swiftly and publicly in a way that the regulators cannot,'' he said. "Stuart Littlemore pioneered the role, and did it for nine seasons, while holding down a full-time job as a barrister. That's a record that is unlikely to be matched, but I have stayed in the job for longer than any of his successors, and it's time to pass the baton." Holmes – a former Four Corners reporter and producer – said he is still ''juggling possibilities'' and has not decided if he will stay with ABC after he hands over to Barry.