This is an edited version of the 25th annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture delivered by ABC Chair Ita Buttrose, in Sydney, on Friday, June 17.
Over the years, I've seen a lot of changes in journalism and the media more broadly. But, no matter how great the changes, fundamental things still apply.
Good journalists always will be society's fact-seekers and truth-tellers. The job takes courage. We are reminded of this today as journalists risk their lives to report on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It always takes determination.
It is never about lecturing the public on what they should think. Good journalism is about reporting, just the facts — not opinion. It is about listening to community concerns and fashioning them into powerful stories that inform and illuminate; stories that are backed by evidence and take a fair and impartial point of view.
Whatever the ownership structure of the organisations they work for, journalists must be prepared to defend the integrity of their output, and the reputation of their profession.
We must stand up for ourselves and for our colleagues when they are wrongfully attacked.
Equally, we must always be honest with ourselves. It's important that we step back, from time to time, to examine our own conscience. I pose these questions tonight: Are we of the media as critical of ourselves as we should be? Are we aiming for excellence in our profession and our industry? Can we be proud of the standards we set and what we produce?
Which brings me to the great Andrew Olle, who died, too young, in 1995, aged 48, at the height of his journalistic powers.
The lessons in Andrew Olle's life
In 1992, Janet Hawley wrote a moving profile on Andrew for the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend. In that profile, Olle revealed for the first time his difficult youth. As a lonely teen, in the care of a physically and emotionally absent father, he got into trouble.
Jenny Brockie saw the humanity and social conscience that threaded through his work. "He wasn't driven by ideology", she said. "He knew life was far too complicated for that … Andrew pulled himself through a tough childhood but understood how easily he, too, could have been trapped by poverty, race or rotten luck.
"And, so, he'd tell the stories of Aborigines, the mentally ill, the poor and the powerless. Stories, at that time, with no assured place on the mainstream media's agenda."
There are lessons in Andrew Olle's life and work for all journalists who wish to retain their potency and have maximum impact over the course of their careers.
I also want to pay tribute to another exemplar of the great journalist: Caroline Jones. When she joined This Day Tonight, Caroline Jones was a transforming figure in the male-dominated world of the ABC newsroom.
With her fine mind, her discreet but commanding presence, her poise and grace, she was a singular and inspiring figure to all who knew her, and a symbol of integrity to the Australian audiences who loved her. She was a champion of women in the media, and a beloved mentor to regional and rural women journalists who face particular obstacles in their careers.
I've faced obstacles in my career
I know a bit about career obstacles. There was always a reason for someone to say: "No." I was either too young or, when I was appointed chair of the ABC, too old. I was single, I was married, I was a mother, it would be bad for my image … there was always a reason why I shouldn't do something I had my heart set on doing.
Another important part to my career is my involvement in the non-profit sector.
Many people thought I had made a serious career mistake when I agreed, in 1981, to take on the role of chair of the National Advisory Committee on AIDS and to become the public face of Australia's national HIV/AIDS education campaign.
It meant I had to speak, very openly, to Australians about sex and, in particular, their sex lives. It was not something I ever expected to do, but this was genuinely a case of life or death.
Over the past 15 years my advocacy work with Alzheimer's Australia has occupied much of my time. We changed our name to Dementia Australia in 2017 to include everyone with dementia. In Australia, there are almost half a million people living with dementia. It is the single greatest cause of disability.
It has taken too long for the dementia crisis — with all its implications for people living with dementia and their families — to feature prominently in public discussion.
Without a free press, democracy dies
Which brings us back to the profession of journalism. Last month, Reporters Without Borders declared that press freedom in Australia is "fragile". It demoted Australia from an already modest position of 25 on the global index of press freedom down to 39.
Australia is proudly a member of the G20 group of leading countries but we rank nearly 40th on press freedom. This simply isn't good enough.
When the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes were asked to hand over a draft of an upcoming newspaper investigation and TV program to an Australian court before it went to air, I know all of us shuddered.
What a precedent this would set, one that would give any powerful person in the country the opportunity to use our courts not to advance justice, but to prevent important pieces of public interest journalism from being aired.
Australians will only rely upon the mainstream media as an essential part of our civic and democratic life if they can trust we are able to expose the spin and lies and misinformation, and deliver the facts and truth. All the facts. All the truth.
With "fragile" press freedom, democracy is at risk. Without a free press, democracy dies.
Last week, the court of appeal overturned the order that the Herald, Age and 60 Minutes hand over their draft stories into their upcoming investigation and the program has now gone to air and also been published.
Just as well they moved quickly — lawyers for the cosmetic surgeon who brought the case against the Herald, the Age and 60 Minutes had flagged their intention to fight the appeal decision.
The Supreme Court's decision in the first place was extraordinary and difficult to comprehend. Public interest journalism must be protected and any attempt to muzzle media freedom rejected vehemently. All journalists should be concerned about this case which also threatened the public's right to know.
We need crucial reforms
As Reporters Without Borders reminds us, two giant firms dominate the media landscape in Australia, making it one of the most concentrated media markets in the world.
Social media is hugely influential. While false information for political purposes is nothing new, today too many people take Facebook or Twitter as gospel. The social media business model favours fracturing people's attention, cultivating division and encouraging extremism for clicks and kicks.
One of the consequences of the social media revolution is an onslaught of online abuse directed at journalists. Women and diverse journalists are most likely to suffer. The ABC has worked with Australia's e-Safety Commissioner to introduce best practice guidelines to help protect journalists and newsrooms.
Meanwhile, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance responded to the latest Reporters Without Borders survey by calling on the Australian government to ensure that press freedom is respected, honoured and protected in this country.
Freedom of information processes should not be stalled or undermined, court cases should not be secret, and no one should be allowed to avoid answering legitimate questions.
Clear positive opportunities to enhance press freedom must include reforms to protect whistleblowers, a commitment to ensure that national security is not used as an excuse to avoid disclosing uncomfortable truths, and reforms to defamation laws to protect journalists going about their vital work.
And, of course, one of the most important ways to protect press freedom is proper funding and certainty of funding for the ABC.
Our communications minister once aspired to journalism
When David Anderson and I met with communications minister Michelle Rowland last week in Canberra, she reminded me of our first meeting when she was in year 11 and I was editor-in-chief of the Sun Herald. She was sitting in a corridor when I emerged from my office and asked why she had been left to sit there.
Someone explained she was a work experience student. According to the minister I then said, "Well, she isn't working". She soon was, however, and recalled going out on assignments with senior journalists, and one in particular that she greatly enjoyed, to interview Julie Anthony.
At the time, the minister wanted to be a journalist. However, that didn't happen — she had a change of mind (she assured me her work experience at the Sun Herald was a very happy one, so it wasn't that).
There's no doubt you've had a successful career in law and politics, minister, but consider this: Instead of asking questions like a journalist, as a politician you have to answer them.
Everyone who cares about democracy in this country should recognise the role that ABC journalism plays in promoting it.
Our investigative work through programs such as Four Corners, and our public information services through pandemics, floods and fires. The essential role we play in rural and regional communities. This is all vital work and likely to become even more important.
Great journalism is not some add-on to a strong economy and democratic society. It is an essential part of it. Journalists must not only adhere to the highest standards as a profession, but be prepared to stand up and defend them, too.
Every now and then journalism allows us to make a difference. It's a good feeling, something to be proud of … cherished and protected.
