How to get someone who is in the public eye to open up, to show their true self, to share a new insight? It's an ongoing challenge for journalists interviewing high-profile people who've been asked pretty much every question imaginable.
But 15 years ago, ABC broadcaster and national music correspondent Zan Rowe came up with an innovative approach. Using music as a scaffold and a particular theme as the focus, Rowe created a segment in her Mornings program on triple j, now heard on her Mornings program on Double J, called Take 5, which asks her interview subjects to nominate five songs that have shaped who they are.
It's become a popular, award-winning podcast, taking out an Australian Podcast Awards Gold (2020) and Bronze (2021), and winning international acclaim with a Silver award at the 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards. Now Take 5 has evolved into a TV show.
