The exodus of senior journalists continues at the Financial Review. And it’s a boon for The Australian.

Andrew Main, editor of the Rear Window gossip column at the Fin and author of Other People’s Money: The Complete Story of the Extraordinary Collapse of HIH, is making the move to The Australian.

Details of just what he’ll being doing there are sketchy at this stage but Main told Crikey he’d “just like to radiate bonhomie” about the decision.

The path from Fin to Oz is becoming well-trodden. On Friday, Crikey reported that the Financial Review is also losing its top commentator, Chanticleer columnist John Durie, to the rival paper. Recently Jennifer Hewett made the move, ditto Boss editor Helen Trinca.

Is it simply a case of The Australian kicking the Fin when it’s down in order to snaffle some business journalism market share? Or is there something more going on at The Australian — are they preparing to unveil a new business focus?

There’s no conspiracy, Oz editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell tells Crikey. “We’re not becoming a business paper”. Instead, he says, the paper is setting its sights on bringing the standard and breadth of business reporting in line with that of the paper’s political coverage.

Mitchell contends he hasn’t approached any journalists at the Financial Review. In fact, quite the opposite. “We’ve been peppered with applications” from senior journalists at the Fin, he says.

All bad news for the nation’s top financial daily.