Speaking Bluntly
// Listen to full session here //
Journalists play a vital role in a democracy, holding power to account. The traditional model of journalism sees journalists as disinterested seekers of the truth, striving for ‘objectivity’ and suppressing their own opinions. But as newsrooms and editorial pages previously staffed only by white male journalists have evolved, and as the internet has driven the rise of opinion journalism, we are faced with two important questions: Does it matter who journalists are? And does it matter what they think? At a time when media business models are in crisis, how should we think about bias, representation, truth and opinion? What happens when journalists themselves become ‘the story’? And if we can’t talk about these thorny questions in the media itself, can the media do its job at all?
Antoinette Lattouf
Antoinette Lattouf is an award-winning journalist, author and human rights advocate. Her landmark win, Lattouf v ABC, became a flashpoint in debates about free speech, employee rights, institutional cowardice, and what happens when a journalist speaks truth to (media) power. She’s the co-founder of the independent media company Ette Media, co-founder of the not-for-profit Media Diversity Australia, and a TEDx speaker. Her first book, How to Lose Friends and Influence White People, somehow won her friends. Her second book, Women Who Win, explores women who saw the rulebook, chuckled and used it as a coaster.
Andy Mills [USA]
Andy Mills is an American reporter and podcast producer who co-created The Daily at The New York Times, Reflector and several documentary series including Rabbit Hole and The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.
Josh Szeps
Josh hosts one of the most listened-to Australian interview shows in the world, Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps. In New York, he was a contributor on the NBC TODAY Show and a founding host of the groundbreaking US news network, HuffPost Live. Josh won a Webby Award while the organisation won a Pulitzer. In Australia, he anchored ABC TV’s Weekend Breakfast and Afternoons with Josh Szeps on ABC Radio. Josh is the newest columnist at the AFR. His show is available on Substack and every podcast platform.
Louise Adler
Louise Adler is the Director of Adelaide Writers’ Week . She has spent over 30 years in the culture business and continues to be committed to the dissemination of dangerous ideas.
We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation - the custodians of the country on which we meet - and acknowledge their Elders, past and present.
The views and opinions expressed by the Festival participants are not necessarily the views of The Ethics Centre and our partners.