There’s another scandal doing the rounds on the web and it has nothing to do with leaked nude pictures of celebrities.

A decision by the Sydney Morning Herald to use the much-maligned font Comic Sans on its front page has made it the focus of much attention, and ridicule, on social media.



The 183-year-old newspaper, known as Granny, placed comments by Independent Commission against Corruption witnesses Eric Roozendaal and Chris Hartcher in Comic Sans speech bubbles.

The former New South Wales treasurer Roozendaal admitted he knew about the leaking of confidential information but did nothing to stop it, while the former Liberal energy minister Hartcher said he was not aware of illicit donations passing through his office.

The News Corp editor Rob Stott of news.com.au made the discovery before 8am on Wednesday and posted on Twitter: “When they record the downfall of Fairfax, the comic sans front page will be seen as the beginning of the end.”

Jenni Ryall referred on Mashable to the Herald’s use of “the most hated font in the world”, while Mumbrella covered the debate as it snowballed on Twitter. Nick Evershed added his two cents with what Guardian Australia’s front page might look like.



So many people took aim at the Herald’s decision that Buzzfeed’s Mark Di Stefano wrote a story about it: “The Sydney Morning Herald, first printed in 1831, has long been one of Australia’s most venerable newspapers. Today it took the extraordinary step of using Comic Sans on its front page.”

The story included an email response from the Herald’s editor-in-chief, Darren Goodsir, also written in Comic Sans.

“Dear Mark, As you can see, I love the font – but am more than aware that my affections are not universally shared. As for the newspaper, the decision was made to match the surreal nature of the shocking revelations at the ICAC – and it was felt the font would best depict the comic-book feel we were trying to give to the front; as if to make a mockery of the appalling displays in the witness box from a former politician and a current parliamentarian. I am very pleased with the result, but that’s about it. best, Darren.

Photograph: Buzzfeed

Not be left out, Fairfax websites are running their own comment piece by Matt Martel, Fairfax Media’s executive editor of photography and presentation. Martel said Comic Sans had no place in the Herald. “Except today,” he wrote.

“Chris Hartcher’s and Eric Roozendaal’s comments to Icac were treated typographically with the respect they deserve. And they deserved Comic Sans.”

For those of us not in on the joke, Comic Sans, which just celebrated its 20th birthday last month, is a childlike, informal typeface which is the antithesis of the professional typefaces typically employed by newspapers, though there are always differing views.

Designed by former Microsoft font designer Vincent Connare in 1994, Comic Sans was invented for a talking cartoon dog that helped navigate computers but is seen by many as ugly. The uncool font is so hated by designers it sparked a Ban Comic Sans movement in 1999.