“At one point the cabinet secretary pointed out through my window to a block of flats across the water and said, ‘You realise the Chinese will be in there and they’ll have a laser on that tumbler of water, and they’ll have turned it into a microphone. They can listen to what we’re saying now’. So, the curtains came down immediately. At home, I did the same. I unplugged everything. And if I wanted to talk to my wife, we went out into the woods. We did all the things that spies are supposed to do.” Alan Rusbridger was the editor of The Guardian newspaper when a whistle blower called Edward Snowden reached out with documents suggesting the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US was spying on its own civilians. The extraordinary claims landed them in hot water with governments in both the US and the UK, and ultimately forced Snowden into exile in Russia where he remains today. So, what’s it like when you’re the one responsible for hitting publish on the most explosive story of the decade? One that involves spies and spooks, encrypted messages, and an international hunt for both the source of the story and the journalists who broke it? Alan Rusbridger is now the editor of Prospect Magazine, the chair of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and a member of Facebook’s Oversight Board. He’s been at the forefront of journalism’s transition to the digital and social world – all while juggling this century’s most complex stories in news. Rusbridger also describes the time he played Chopin in a deserted hotel in Libya while waiting for officials to negotiate the release of a missing Guardian journalist, why he believes Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be released from prison, and the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. +++ Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Interviewer: Kellie Riordan Producer: Liam Riordan Sound design: Melissa May Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

War. Environmental peril. The never-ending pandemic. No wonder audiences are tired of bad news. And in worse news for the media, that widespread news fatigue is rapidly becoming active news avoidance. Constructive journalism offers a solutions-based approach to reporting, which is appealing to audiences. But how do you convince the rest of the newsroom of its value? Australian ABC journalist Sabra Lane, The New York Times reporter Tina Rosenberg, Flint Beat founder Jiquanda Johnson and UK-based Positive News editor Seán Wood are all pioneering solutions journalism practitioners. In a world where we just want to hear about something going right, they’re rethinking the age-old adage “if it bleeds, it leads” — and they say it results in more nuanced, engaging reporting. In this episode of Journo, Nick Bryant finds out whether solutions journalism is really the answer to re-engaging our disillusioned news audiences. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. 5d883091d101e5b87970574ff0d7021878377f0a Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Melissa May Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investigative reporting might make great fodder for Hollywood movies, but the reality is far from glamourous. Blockbuster investigations can take years, even decades, and require grit and determination. So, what drives this special breed of journalists? Take Chicago-based journalist Jim DeRogatis, who pivoted from pop music critic to investigative journalist when he was faxed a tip off he almost consigned to the rubbish bin. That fax had information about the crimes of Robert Sylvester Kelly, aka the disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly. It took decades of persistence before Kelly was brought to justice. Kate McClymont is the Chief Investigative Reporter at one of Australia’s biggest papers — The Sydney Morning Herald. She’s spent decades exposing corrupt politicians. She’s covered Australia’s criminal underworld, been sued for defamation and worked with sources who are themselves targets of violence. So what precisely does this special breed of reporter have in their DNA that pushes them to pursue a story for 20 years, to put their lives on the line to prove that anonymous tip and get the most sensitive, impactful stories to print? In this episode of Journo, Kate and Jim share with Nick Bryant the stories they simply couldn’t let go. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley & Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Melissa May Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“It's the power of the story. It's the same thing, whether it's drum and bass, or much more serious news. If you tell stories that people want to hear the end of, they are much, much more likely to consume your work, whatever it is." Ros Atkins’ relentless experimentation with finding an audience means his stories aren’t just devoured by the news cycle. His team at the BBC produce a particular type of viral video, one that starts a conversation and has staying power. On his show BBC Outside Source, Ros seems to have perfected the art of the explainer — reports that work just as well on digital platforms as they do on TV. In this episode of Journo, Nick Bryant sits down with Ros, the man they call the BBC’s ‘Explainer-in-Chief', to understand the precision that goes into making his explainers must-watch content. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I wasn't just doing what was right. I was doing what was journalistically correct.” Veteran sports reporter Jim Trotter was doing a live cross for ESPN when the host began describing American footballer Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem as “disrespectful to the flag”. Jim had a choice — to let the host’s opinions go unchecked or to report the facts. As sports arenas more frequently become platforms for cultural debate, reporters like Jim have expanded their old beats from player drafts and starting positions to include athlete activism and political commentary. From the taking the knee to boycotting the Olympics, it’s become increasingly common for off-field controversies and cultural shifts to make their way onto those hallowed grounds. But as the clubs and codes grow richer, while many media outlets become poorer, is there now a power imbalance that’s impacting our coverage? In the latest episode of Journo Nick Bryant asks the NBC’s Rebecca Lowe, NFL Network’s Jim Trotter and cricket writer Gideon Haigh: when back page stories are increasingly front-page affairs, can sports journalism still primarily be about sport? Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I’ve always stopped to think — well, you're a little brat from the back blocks of Brisbane and you're about to interview Paul McCartney. That is really rare. It’s very, very special.” Leigh Sales is a towering figure in Australian journalism, and after almost 12 years as the anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program, 7.30, she has decided it is time for something new. She’s built her reputation on forensic cross-examination of prime ministers, as an award-winning author, a one-time wedding singer and the co-host of a hugely popular podcast. Now transitioning to the next stage of her career, Leigh’s ready to generously share her own career regrets, for the benefit of the next generation of journalists. In this episode of Journo, Nick Bryant sits down with Leigh Sales for a wide-ranging exit interview, with rare insights into Leigh’s working process and how her grandmother’s words have kept her focused when the critics take aim. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021, News Corp’s tabloids in Australia made a stunning announcement. For the month leading up to the Glasgow climate summit, they would be running a nationwide campaign on how to tackle climate change. Cries of hypocrisy rang out from pundits all over — including News Corps’ own — for this seeming about-face on the white-hot issue. So, was it a flash in the pan, or was it a turning point in climate change reporting of the most influential papers in Australia, from one of the biggest publishers in the world? And what does it matter anyway when you’re reporting from Polynesia, where you’ve been telling the story for decades, as international media fly in, tell you that your island is sinking, and then fly out? Look closely and you’ll notice journalists are finding new ways to tell the defining story of our time — even as the water is lapping at their door. In this episode of Journo, Nick Bryant talks sinking islands, columnists in denial and "patronising the messenger" with guests Ben English, editor of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Editor of Pacific Environment Weekly and Andrew McCormick, Deputy Director of Covering Climate Now. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians have elected a new government and, in a campaign where journalists came under almost as much scrutiny as the politicians, is this a vote for change in how we report on elections too? "We want the press pack to insist on an answer. But I do think there were points in the campaign where the questioning went too far and in an unhelpful way. It became performative, where cameras were trained back on the reporters.” Guardian Australia Editor and veteran political reporter Lenore Taylor sums up a recurring theme in the coverage: “gotcha” questions from the travelling press. It became a recurring critique throughout the campaign. But while some news outlets stuck to what they knew others were already making changes to cut through the noise. In this episode of Journo, host Nick Bryant asks: is it time for a new model of political journalism? Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley and Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I always say in journalism that everything has changed and nothing has changed," says BBC foreign correspondent Lyse Doucet, who reported from Ukraine's capital Kyiv as Russian tanks rolled into the country. The war in Ukraine shows us that history never ends, and journalists are taking extraordinary risks in composing the first draft. A key battle in this conflict is playing out online, with misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda rife, as both sides take to their phones to share their experiences of the war. So how are newsrooms countering the flood of misinformation, while also using new platforms like TikTok and Telegram in their own reporting? And where does old-fashioned eye-witness reportage fit into it all? In the first episode of Season 2 of Journo, host Nick Bryant asks what lessons we are learning from the kind of conflict we hoped had been banished to the past. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the journalists writing the first records of history, this past year has been one for the ages. In season 2 of Journo, foreign correspondents are pulling on their flak jackets and scouring new platforms like TikTok and Telegram to report on the war in Ukraine — and local reporters are taking huge risks to stay in their homes and bear witness to the atrocities of war. It’s time to unpack the tactics used to get politicians off script in the Australian federal election. We'll dive deep into the craft of investigative journalism and look at the geopolitical events that have forced back page sports reporters to become front-page players in international reporting. Follow Journo on your favourite podcast app so you don’t miss an episode. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Host: Nick Bryant Executive Producer: Rachel Fountain Producers: Grace Pashley & Britta Jorgensen Sound Design: Krissy Miltiadou Managing Editor: Kellie Riordan Commissioning Editor: Andrea Ho See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covering the cut and thrust of politics is one of the most thrilling jobs in journalism. But why are reporters misreading the mood of our nations? Brexit. Trump. Australia’s surprising 2019 election outcome — all resulted in plenty of soul-searching from political journalists. What if it’s more than just faulty polling — what if it’s a basic failure to connect? Has the excitement of the #spill and race to be first with a scoop seduced political reporters away from the real work of covering issues that matter to their audience? With Australia about to go to another federal election, host Nick Bryant investigates whether political coverage needs an overhaul. Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He is one of Washington’s most recognisable and influential journalists, who became even more well-known thanks to his facial expressions in that interview with US President Donald Trump in 2020. But it wasn’t an easy road for political reporter Jonathan Swan. The Aussie print journalist’s first ever TV interview was also with President Trump — only a couple of years before his Emmy-award winning one. Only that first interview was definitely NOT a critical success! So how does this Axios journalist view the peaks and troughs of his career? Swan attributes his success to constantly honing his reporting craft, and working harder than anyone else in one of the toughest rounds in journalism. But he didn’t just work hard, he worked smarter — eschewing the daily press briefings to work his contacts, which led to him becoming one of the most reliable story-breakers of the Trump presidency. Host Nick Bryant gets the inside track on the journalism of Jonathan Swan, and what’s behind his rise in Washington. Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We have to recognise that the truth is often complex. And it's often elusive in some respects. And it's nuanced. That's not an excuse for enabling liars or for being complicit in propaganda campaigns.” From inside the Washington Post on the day the Drudge Report cracked open the Clinton scandal, through the digital disruption of the past 20 years, double Pulitzer Prize winner and Dean of Columbia Journalism School Steve Coll unpacks how the business of journalism has undergone a transformation over his working life. He walks us through his years in newsrooms, as a correspondent in South Asia, to leading the team at the Washington Post and Columbia. He talks partisanship and false equivalence (“both sides journalism”), the dominance of Facebook and Google, and whether the media is responsible for the election of Donald Trump. Host Nick Bryant asks Steve Coll about his hopes for the latest generation of journalists, the missteps the industry has made in the past, and dissects how the world’s best journalists can continue to report in unstable times. Steve Coll is a member of JNI’s International Advisory Council. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The daily press conference, Covid case numbers, border closures, reporting from your living room or from the silent streets of a locked down city. Barring world wars, has any event had a bigger impact on the way journalists do their jobs than this pandemic? Covid-19 has changed the way we live but also the way we cover news. For journalists, it’s meant living with the possibility of getting the virus and passing it on to their families. It has thrown science and health journalism into the spotlight, showing how critical and well-researched that reporting must be when the science itself is changing. It has challenged political reporters to try and do their jobs while being scrutinised by a tribal and sometimes vitriolic audience. Host Nick Bryant examines the ways the pandemic has affected journalism. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Grab your press pass as Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our outlook and media consumption are increasingly global, but local journalism remains more important than ever — keeping communities connected, saving lives during disasters, and holding power to account in places where few lights shine. Within weeks of Australia's first COVID lockdown, in April 2020, more than 200 regional newspapers announced they could no longer keep their presses running. Yet green shoots are sprouting in the news deserts. In some places, local news publishers are growing in ways no one thought possible a few years ago, as audiences crave information and connection in their immediate community. Host Nick Bryant meets the Troublemaker and the Terrier. One's a former lawyer whose fierce reporting has been stifled by a local council that says she asks too many questions. The other wonders how she'll keep her one-woman operation going in the face of mounting overheads and increased regulation. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Grab your press pass as Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“If you're targeted by Pegasus, you see nothing, you smell nothing, you taste nothing. You’re minding your own business, doing whatever it is that you do with your phone. And then it’s infected.” It might sound cloak-and-dagger, but cyber security expert John Scott-Railton says spyware poses a very real threat to journalists’ ability to do their jobs. The Pegasus Project, an international coalition of journalists, has found around 200 journalists are potential targets for surveillance by the malicious spyware. Founding Editor of India’s The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan was among them. He received the disturbing news his phone had been infected, giving remote users access to his every text, call... and contact. “As journalists, phones are an extension of our bodies... And what we found is that the sense of intrusion and violation is profound.” But does the fear of surveillance have the potential to be as dangerous to a free press as the spyware itself? In this episode of Journo, host Nick Bryant investigates the technology being used to monitor and intimidate those holding power to account — and finds a coalition of allies who’ve banded together to resist the digital incursion. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is closing its doors to foreign journalists just as it becomes the most interesting story in the world. So, is this all part of a strategy by China to control its own news at home and abroad? But with geopolitical tensions rising, China is not a place the world can afford to ignore. Nationalistic media reports produced under the watchful eye of the Chinese government are stirring suspicion of foreign media among Chinese people. Meanwhile, more than one million Australians identify as part of the Chinese diaspora — and a large proportion rely solely on tightly controlled platforms like WeChat for their news. In this episode of Journo, host Nick Bryant investigates how journalists can get accurate information to Australia’s Chinese diaspora, and whether it’s possible for foreign news organisations to get authentic coverage out of China without boots on the ground. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"You’ve got no one left to tell the story” warns Bilal Sarwary, legendary Afghan journalist, as he flees Kabul following death threats from the Taliban. Bilal’s not alone. He’s part of a new generation of journalists who’ve come of age since 9/11 who’ve been forced to abandon their homes and careers reporting on their homeland. Those reporters who do remain in Afghanistan face an uncertain future under a regime that once banned television and the internet, and who have maintained an assassination campaign against journalists — particularly women. It’s a reality at odds with the reformed, liberal image a slick new Taliban PR machine is constructing. International correspondent Jane Ferguson (PBS, The New Yorker) calls the re-brand “a brilliant idea cooked up in Doha by Taliban leaders". But she says implementing a more moderate rule is impossible. While the Taliban says women are free to keep learning and working, Moby and Tolo News boss Saad Mohseni faces a world where his reporters are beaten up for doing their jobs. In this first episode of Journo, host Nick Bryant investigates the exodus of Afghan media, and the powerful spin from Taliban HQ that helped them claim the country. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grab your press pass: Journo helps you understand how your news is made, disseminated, and consumed. After a long career as a BBC international correspondent, Nick Bryant has returned to Australia — a former posting — at a time of unprecedented media disruption and polarised politics.  “I’ve seen the media industry being overtaken by so many changes and the truth is, I'm still trying to make sense of them myself,” Bryant said. “I don’t expect to come up with all the answers, nowhere near, but hopefully we'll ask some of the right questions.” In Journo, Bryant explores how journalism around the world is changing, where it’s heading, and why more people are questioning the media’s commitment to truth.  Journo will take you inside Afghanistan. Foreign reporters flee, local journalists are in fear for their lives, and the Taliban has returned armed not just with weapons, but with spin and more sophisticated communications tactics. Later episodes of Journo will ask whether reporters can trust the most important device in their journalistic toolkit — the phone — in an age of surveillance, and how journalists can report on rising global superpower China when most western media has been booted out. Follow Journo in your podcast app so you don’t miss an episode. Journo is a production of Deadset Studios. This episode was made with support from the Judith Neilson Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.