This is the third instalment of a Crikey series, Movers and Shakers.
After a long year of change in Australian media, Crikey surveyed more than 200 of the nation’s biggest media figures — from journalists to editors to defamation lawyers to academics — to pick their brains about our industry. What they shared has formed the backbone of a multi-part series that aims to hold a mirror up to the industry and asks it to reflect on itself. In today’s instalment we reveal what respondents said was the last great piece of journalism they’d read.
Of the roughly 200 people we contacted for this series, about one in four got back to us. It was an imperfect list (if we missed you, let us know for next year) but included people from the following outlets: Nine’s major metropolitan mastheads as well as people in its broadcast divisions, The Australian Financial Review, Network Ten, Seven, SBS, the ABC, 2GB, Sky News Australia, Guardian Australia, the News Corp newspapers, The Conversation, Daily Mail Australia, Australian Associated Press, Apple News, Mamamia, Pedestrian and Schwartz Media.
We also included journalism academics, media lawyers and industry body executives, as well as people from smaller outlets like The Nightly, Quillette, Unmade, Capital Brief, the Koori Mail, About Time, The Daily Aus, Women’s Agenda, IndigenousX, Mumbrella, 6 News Australia and of course Crikey. More than 50 people generously offered us their insightful, searing and sometimes cheeky thoughts on the state of the industry.
What’s the last great piece of journalism you read?
Misha Ketchell, editor of The Conversation Australia: I was totally floored by Sarah Krasnostein’s Walkley-winning article about the trial of Malka Leifer for sexual abuse in The Monthly. Sarah’s piece followed great work uncovering the story by others, particularly the brilliant Belinda Hawkins at the ABC, but she pulled it together into a meditation on shame and trauma and the justice system that I simply could not put down. It was a piece worthy of the greatest writers of literary non-fiction, people like Helen Garner, Janet Malcolm, Joan Didion and Chloe Hooper.
Myriam Robin, editor of The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window: Alan Jones’ arrest has had me revisiting David Leser’s impactful Good Weekend profile of the man (published 1998) as well as Chris Masters’ extraordinary Jonestown (published 2006). Both are extraordinary pieces of journalism that capture both the horror and the glory of the Alan Jones phenomenon.
Nick McKenzie, investigative journalist at The Age: Stand out pieces for me this year were Linton Besser’s work on strata issues and apartment owners getting rorted, Kate McClymont’s Alan Jones exposé, and Stan’s investigative journo doco How To Poison A Planet because it was a great example of print journalism spinning into TV doco land.
Karen Barlow, chief political correspondent at The Saturday Paper: “‘He’d go the grope’: Alan Jones accused of indecently assaulting young men” [Kate McClymont, The Sydney Morning Herald, December 2023]
Paul Barry, former host of ABC’s Media Watch: Kate McClymont’s revelations about Alan Jones were an outstanding piece of work. Crazy that she wasn’t nominated for yet another Walkley for this. But another great piece of work was Al Jazeera’s Gaza war crimes documentary based on analysis of social media posts from IDF soldiers. A devastating piece of work, and brilliant to source the information this way.
Dean Levitan, media lawyer at MinterEllison: Kate McClymont’s investigation of Alan Jones was exceptional.
Paul Bongiorno, political journalist: Kate McClymont’s bombshell revelations of the alleged criminal behaviour of broadcaster Alan Jones as a sexual predator. Courageous and thorough as subsequent events show.
Janine Perrett, journalist, broadcaster and commentator: It is very hard to name one as there are so many from The New York Times that constantly astound me. Here not so much but anything by Kate McClymont. It’s the less celebrated ones that I love where she has a razor-sharp wit about hardened crims with some wonderful throwaway lines. But for the last great Australian piece it was probably her story about Richard White, the founder of Wisetech. Her simple court story about a personal legal dispute brought down one of the biggest businessmen in Australia and put every financial journalist to shame.
Kishor Napier-Raman, CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald: Locally, I think the work done by my colleague Kate McClymont and others taking down billionaire WiseTech CEO Richard White was a masterclass in following a yarn. Beyond that, I thought the NYT’s Astead Herndon’s podcasting/analysis around the US election was everything campaign/political journalism should be. I was also gripped by this New Yorker story on British nurse Lucy Letby who was convicted of killing seven babies. Plenty more, this is just top of mind.
Louise Milligan, reporter at ABC’s Four Corners: I find it hard to narrow it down to one piece, but outside the ABC, I think the work of Kate McClymont on Alan Jones and Rick Morton’s body of work has been excellent. In terms of actual writing, I always find Erik Jensen’s op-eds in The Saturday Paper truly sparkle.
Sue Chrysanthou SC, barrister: My recent focus has been a quest to find the perfect pecan pie recipe. The pie was amazing, so The New York Times‘ pie-making tips is the most recent great journalism I have read.
Johan Lidberg, head of journalism at Monash University: ‘Building Bad’ — Nick McKenzie and team exposing bikie gang and organised crime infiltration of the CFMEU. This is a piece of journalism in the long [history of] Australian investigative/public interest journalism holding power to account that should be done by regulators. E.g. Alleged Afghan war crimes by defence force members, the banks, the finance advisory industry, the Catholic and other churches and not-for-profit organisations, [and] public workplaces like parliaments. Without investigative journalism, so much abuse of power would go unexposed in Australia.
Bridie Jabour, associate editor (audio/visual) at Guardian Australia: I feel like I read at least one piece of great journalism every week, so I’m going to say the last story that really stuck with me. It was an interview done by Rafqa Touma with Helen O’Sullivan, a Queensland woman who was volunteering in the West Bank when she witnessed her colleague shot dead by Israeli forces. The small details of the story, and the sensitivity and thoughtfulness with which Rafqa handled her subject, were extraordinary. It was a story that gave us insight into the war, but also into an ordinary human being.
Gabrielle Jackson, deputy editor at Guardian Australia: I read great journalism all the time! But this long read had me thinking for longer than others in recent months. It is so much more than one man’s story. Rafqa Touma is such a star! And she just won her first Walkley for “Leaving Gaza”.
Margaret Simons, journalist and author: There have been a few. Nine on the CFMEU was undeniably powerful and important; Sarah Krasnostein on the Leifer trial managed to tell me new things about this case even though I thought I knew it well already; the Gaza interactive by The Guardian in Australia team; Guardian again for “Buried Lives”. I could go on. Despite everything there is a lot of good work being done.
Gina Rushton, editor of Crikey: I went back and re-read Chris Knaus’ work on homelessness deaths for Guardian Australia when it was nominated for the Walkley. I reckon it should have won the beat reporting gong that night.
Peter Hitchener, Nine News Melbourne presenter: For reliably excellent reports, my favourite journalist is Nick McKenzie, whose investigations, published in The Age, are outstanding.
Peter Bartlett, partner at MinterEllison: Australia is very lucky to have quality reporters breaking great stories. Stories that the public has a right to know. If I had to choose one piece of journalism, it would have to be the CFMEU revelations published by The Age, SMH, AFR and Nine Network. The amazing Nick McKenzie, joined by Ben Schneiders (The Age), David Marin-Guzman (AFR), Reid Butler (Nine) and others. These were brave gutsy stories by quality reporters. These stories were worthy winners of the 2024 Gold Walkley. It was very pleasing to hear Nick recognising the contribution of the Nine Network in-house lawyers, at the Walkley Awards dinner.
Eric Beecher, chairman of Private Media (publisher of Crikey): “How the Ivy League Broke America” by David Brooks, The Atlantic, December edition. A brilliantly argued and deeply researched expose of the current state of America — “The meritocracy is a gigantic system of extrinsic rewards.”
Morry Schwartz, founder of Schwartz Media: “Fascist bedfellows” by Elle Hardy in the December issue of The Monthly (at the time of writing, this has gone to press).
Jordan Baker, chief reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald: I read great journalism every day. The work coming out of Syria right now is extraordinary. I have just devoured a piece from The Times about the rescues in the jails deep beneath the city of Sednaya. My colleagues Kate McClymont and Harriet Alexander have just published an extraordinary piece on an alleged fraudster. And I was captivated a week or so ago by a New York Times piece about the accidental mix-up of two IVF babies.
Joseph Friedman, managing director of About Time: The NYT’s John Branch’s extraordinary multimedia feature, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”. Not a recent piece, but one I re-read recently. Amazing combination of investigating, storytelling, and multimedia. Plus anything Konrad Marshall writes.
Joe Aston, former Rear Window columnist: Neil Chenoweth’s recent series of articles on Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison in the AFR are gold standard.
Edmund Tadros, professional services editor at The Australian Financial Review: My colleague Neil Chenoweth’s series on the activities of MinRes founder Chris Ellison. It was a long time coming and the developments in the saga are incredible. Combines Neil’s ability to forensically work through a complex topic, write it with a sense of humanity and wit, while he keeps uncovering ever-more incredible detail.
Alan Kohler, founder of Eureka Report: Neil Chenoweth’s work in the Financial Review exposing Mineral Resources’ founder Chris Ellison’s tax evasion.
Michael Pascoe, journalist: Neil Chenoweth’s Mineral Resources coverage.
Lisa Davies, CEO of AAP: While he wouldn’t consider himself a journalist, I just finished Lech Blaine’s book, Australian Gospel. I’d argue it’s a meticulous piece of long-form journalism about his life and the family he grew up in. It’s creative non-fiction, but an incredible work of investigative journalism, with detailed and wide-ranging interviews forming the basis of compelling storytelling.
Leo Puglisi, founder of 6 News Australia: Really enjoyed this piece from Anthony Segaert in the SMH — a super interesting and detailed look at something that is unbelievably underreported (local government elections).
Peter Lalor, Cricket Et Al: I might be expected to say this, given he is one of my closest friends and we are in cahoots, but Gideon Haigh’s interview with the match officials who were there the day Phillip Hughes was struck was an extraordinary piece of journalism. First, it was that instinct to pause and speak to a group of people nobody had ever bothered to ask, second it was the ability to tell the story in such a compelling and intelligent manner. He has no rival. Apart from that I tend to read a lot of long-form journalism in the New Yorker and a bit in The New York Times, the former keeps that craft alive.
Marc Dodd, editor of nine.com.au: “Cricket’s first responders”: Gideon Haigh on the untold story of the death of Phillip Hughes on Cricket Et Al. We are lucky in Australia to have access to two of the best sports writers in the world. This, by Haigh, to mark 10 years since the death of Hughes, captured the emotion of that week in an insightful way, from a different and untold perspective. I love what they are doing with their new venture too.
Gerard Whateley, sports broadcaster: Peter Lalor and Gideon Haigh wrote brilliant and poignant pieces on the 10 year anniversary reflecting on the day Phillip Hughes was struck and killed in a Sheffield Shield match. The were published on the substack Cricket Et Al. “Cricket’s darkest day” and “Cricket’s first responders”. One beautifully researched with devastating detail. The other a granular account of how events on the fateful day transpired.
Peter Cronau, journalist: If “great” journalism includes the implications of the piece, then Seymour Hersh’s 2023 revelation of new evidence of who was behind the Nord Stream Pipeline bombing is to me a strong candidate. While additional evidence has emerged, Hersh’s original piece still stands. It suggests to us that it’s not just similar world views, or a coincidence of interests, not even enticements, that serve in isolation to hold America’s military and intelligence alliances together. Hersh reveals another factor apparently at play — that’s the threat of direct intervention against its allies by the US, exposed here in the sabotage of the pipeline with a resulting significant impact on Germany’s economy. Behind diplomatic smiles and handshakes, it has been revelatory to see that intimidation also plays a part.
Eliza Sorman Nilsson, head of content at Mamamia: It was a story that so many people subscribed to The Sunday Times to read. It’s the perfect collision of the zeitgeist meeting the news cycle. Here was the first time we got to see a real behind-the-scenes look at Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman, whose glossy videos have seeped into … people’s algorithms and have spearheaded the tradwife fascination. The article was expertly reported and beautifully written but it was the impact and ripples it caused that for me shows the power of journalism. Podcasts analysed the piece, it launched thousands of opinions. It challenged. It sparked conversation. It made people think differently. This is what journalism is all about.
Alex Bruce-Smith, head of editorial at Pedestrian: Does cultural criticism count? I’m a sucker for pieces that make me rethink the human condition, and Ryan Broderick’s essay for GQ about the unthawing of culture in 2024 had so many lines I wanted to underline in a red pen, if I wasn’t reading it on my phone. (Highly recommend subscribing to his Garbage Day substack.)
Nick Feik, freelancer and former editor of The Monthly: Rick Morton’s bodies of work on robodebt, the NDIS and the NACC have all been outstanding.
Neil Griffiths, outgoing managing editor of Mumbrella: There are so many I could list off in 2024 alone, but the music fan in me has to give the nod to The New York Times’ feature on The Cure frontman, Robert Smith, last month. A fascinating and detailed piece on one of the all-time icons.
Sally Neighbour, former EP of ABC’s Four Corners and 7:30: As chair of the Walkley judging board, I’ve been fortunate in the last couple of months to have read quite a lot of outstanding Australian journalism. David Leser’s gut-wrenchingly personal reflections on the war in Gaza. Annabel Crabb’s unique and sometimes hilarious commentary on issues from the Bruce Lehrmann trial to the self-entitlement of Australia’s male political class. Sarah Krasnostein’s wrenching long read on the Malka Leifer case. The ground-breaking investigations by various Walkley winners into corruption and criminality in the construction union, serial sexual predation in the Catholic Church, Chinese political espionage in Australia. This is not a plug for the Walkleys. My involvement in the judging process has given me heart that Australian journalism is alive, well and thriving, despite the cataclysmic disruption of recent years.
Justin Stevens, ABC director of news: Casey Briggs’ analysis of the vote during our “USA Votes” election coverage was world class and the work by our regional investigations team on links between the farm chemical paraquat and Parkinson’s disease is important and impactful. Outside the ABC, the standout pieces in the past year have been Nick McKenzie’s CFMEU investigation and Kate McClymont’s investigation into the conduct of Alan Jones.
John Buckley, media reporter for Capital Brief: It’s hard to say! For all the concern about the state of journalism — and media — there is still a ton of great journalism going around, both here and abroad. The last two stories I picked over and re-read multiple times were the NYmag media special (it’s fun to try and guess who’s saying what), and [last week’s] Murdoch reveal from The Times (but Jim Rutenberg could have his byline on a menu and I’d read it twice over).
Cam Wilson, associate editor at Crikey: WIRED — “Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany”. I also really want to give a shoutout to SBS’ coverage of foreign affairs and the impacts back in Australia for the past few years, particularly its coverage of Israel-Gaza, has been [a] stand-out for being accessible, clear-eyed and brave in a way that doesn’t get enough flowers because it’s understated.
Sophie Black, editor-in-chief at Crikey: Every week in our Thursday meeting each member of the Crikey team share their best reads of the week, a piece of journalism that lit up their brain in some way — so that’s a bunch of inspiring links to great journalism dropping into Slack regularly, and I always love how varied they are, from form to subject, including on the ground reporting, literary scandals, reviews, great obituaries, deep dives and stuff we wish we’d thought of. Some examples include:
- The Verge, “Six hours under martial law in Seoul”, Sarah Jeong.
- Vanity Fair, “Cormac McCarthy’s Secret Muse Breaks Her Silence After Half a Century”, Vincenzo Barney.
- LA Review of Books, “Conservatives and Counterrevolutionaries: Corey Robin’s ‘The Reactionary Mind'”, Lily Geismer.
- The New York Times, “Bill Moyes, Australian ‘Birdman’ Who Popularized Hang Gliding, Dies at 92”, Michael S. Rosenwald.
- The New York Times, “America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny”, Caity Weaver.
- ABC, “The mullet is alive and well in AFL”, Alex Lim, Katia Shatoba and Thomas Brettell.
Calum Jaspan, media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age: I really enjoyed Paddy Manning’s piece in Bloomberg in the aftermath of Trump’s election win while I was on holiday recently.
Gay Alcorn, former editor of The Age: I am writing a book, so I am not absorbing as much media as previously, although I did get seriously interested in the US election. It’s not a piece of writing but the Ezra Klein conversation with David Remnick on Israel and Gaza was outstanding. I learnt a lot and they did not avoid the complexity at all. Riveting, and I wish the coverage of Israel/Gaza in Australia was half as good. Locally, the “Building Bad” stories from The Age/Herald were outstanding, important and eye-opening. This is hard journalism to do.
Paddy Manning, journalist and author: It’s a bit personal but in terms of Australian journalism Katherine Wilson’s essay “Down on the Farm”, in the September issue of The Monthly, has turned me vegetarian or at least off factory-farmed meat for good. This First Dog on the Moon cartoon on Gaza recently floored me.
Steve Austin, host of ABC Radio Brisbane Mornings: The last great piece of journalism I read was by Matt Taibbi, former Rolling Stone journalist now running his own small publication Racket News. “Beyond the Law”, September 14 — a piece about Joe Biden signing a continuation of the Proclamation 7463 declaring a “National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks.” Essentially noting that for nearly a quarter of a century the US political class has seen fit to suspend almost every legal protection in order to maintain powers to fight “terrorism”. It was a great reminder of why governments love power and side with each other to continue the expansion of their powers, no matter if they are Democrats or Republicans.
Rachel Withers, freelance writer: I’m appreciating everything Alex McKinnon is doing with his website/newsletter, everything is fine*, including this piece on how the Human Rights Commission buckled to Zionist bullying, and this on NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson’s experience with such bullying. All of it is clear, comprehensive, and helps readers gain a better understanding of how power works in Australia.
Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist: Kellie Tranter’s investigation for Declassified Australia on Australia’s ongoing and close trade ties with Israel, published in early November.
Marc Fennell, presenter and journalist: Not read but I loved the podcast Ghost Story. It’s a podcast series about a family ghost story that unravels in deeply unpredictable ways. It’s a wonderful mix of the sceptical and playful. It utilised just the right amount of personal detail to cut through. I also love anything that allows us to reexamine uncomfortable aspects of the past through a unique, approachable prism.
Karen Percy, media president at MEAA: There’s so much great work out there!! But I’m going to go for something unusual for me. I read a fabulous piece earlier this year by Sue Smethurst — Call of the Wild — which ran in the Weekend Australian magazine. It’s about an artist, her life and the physical and emotional challenges she’s overcome through her life. It featured great descriptions that set the mood and put us in the subject’s studio. The rich images by Sean Davey and Smethurst’s text wove a beautiful narrative. It was evocative, moving, exciting, and showed the power of what we do in a most unexpected way.
Dave Earley, audience editor at Guardian Australia: I skim so much it’s hard to think of a single piece, but I keep coming back to any of the investigations of the workings of the far right, particularly where they’re influencing political outcomes, and more so as it intersects with tech and social media. It’s hard not to lean toward your own publication when that’s what you spend the most time staring at, particularly in a role like mine, but Jason Wilson’s revelations about the far right in the US always get me. But other mis- and disinformation investigative journalists and the work they do, and I’d add Cam Wilson to that (give the man a raise, then he can buy me a beer the next time we run into each other).
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