According to a profile by
Lloyd Grove, Allan grew up in
Dubbo in the 1950s, preferring reading to the poor television reception in the rural area. After failing his course at the
Australian National University in
Canberra, he took a job on the Dubbo
The Daily Liberal. In 1974, he moved to
Sydney as a reporter for
The Daily Mirror. In 1978, Allan was transferred to
New York City to cover American news. His mentor
Neal Travis introduced him to
Rupert Murdoch during that time. In 1983, Allan returned to Australia, eventually rising to be
editor-in-chief of the
Telegraph. He met
Lachlan Murdoch, who eventually told Allan he was to replace
Xana Antunes as editor-in-chief of the
New York Post in 2001. Allan took responsibility for running the erroneous 2004 story that
Dick Gephardt had been chosen as
John Kerry's running mate, described by Grove as "the biggest gaffe of Allan's reign". In January 2022, former
New York Post digital editor Michelle Gotthelf claimed that Col Allan had sexually harassed her and retaliated against her when she reported him. The
Post settled the suit in April 2022 with undisclosed terms. ==References==