More than 150 people who work in the media (the list keeps growing) have signed an open letter calling on The Australian to apologise over a recent Bill Leak cartoon that suggested Aboriginal fathers do not care about their children.

The petition has been co-ordinated through Croakey, includes reporters from Croakey, The Guardian, New Matilda, Fairfax and the ABC, many of them indigenous journalists or experts in indigenous affairs. Crikey didn’t recognise any names from News Corp on the petition, and saw only one cartoonist — Fiona Katauskas.

Bill Leak’s cartoon and position have been supported to the highest levels of News Corp’s editorial division. Head of corporate affairs and strategic planning Campbell Reid on Friday sent an email to staff saying Leak’s cartoon was the best thing he’d seen all week.