 On 1 February 2005, it was announced that Stephen Mayne had sold Crikey to Private Media Partners, a company, owned by former Editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald, Eric Beecher, for A$1 million.Under the agreement, Mayne has occasionally written for the email newsletter.Under PMP's stewardship the publication aimed for "professional" style, avoiding the use of in-house nicknames and other idiosyncrasies of the original Crikey.