Famous Australian Journalists

Brianna Keilar is a journalist who previously worked as a general assignment correspondent, Congressional correspondent, and White House correspondent for CNN. She is currently working as CNN's senior political correspondent. In 2019, Keilar, a military spouse, started writing a column titled Home Front, which continues to play an important role in bridging the civilian-military divide.

Julian Assange made headlines all over the world in 2010 when WikiLeaks, a non-profit organization founded by him, gained international attention after publishing leaks, such as the Afghanistan war logs and Iraq war logs. After dodging arrest for several years, he was finally arrested in 2019 and is currently imprisoned in HM Prison Belmarsh.

Clive James was an Australian critic, journalist, and writer who worked mainly in the United Kingdom. He had a difficult life as a young man and faced many challenges on his way to building a successful career. He began his career as a TV critic and proceeded to establish himself as a writer and poet as well. 

Remembered for the legendary poems Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River, Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson was an Australian bush poet who depicted rural life through his works. Initially a law clerk and a journalist, he later adopted the pseudonym Banjo, which was his favorite horse’s name.

The younger sister of Australian actor Nicole Kidman, Antonia Kidman was initially a journalist and later gained fame with the series The Little Things. She has also penned books on parenting, such as Feeding Fussy Kids. She is a mother of six and joined law school after the birth of her sixth child.

Gold Logie-winning Australian talk show host and radio presenter Carrie Bickmore is best known as the host of The Project. She has also been a UNICEF ambassador and has worked for causes such as brain-cancer and maternal tetanus awareness. She created a stir after accidentally flashing her bottom at the 2021 AACTA Awards.

Apart from being the father of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Keith Murdoch was a talented journalist in his own right, who gained fame as a political correspondent for the Sydney Sun. He is also known for carrying the controversial Gallipoli letter to London. He later led The Herald and Weekly Times.

Multiple BAFTA award-winning Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger had begun his career working for media houses such as Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror. He is vocal about social issues, such as the treatment of the indigenous community in Australia and the US and UK foreign policies.

At 21, Lisa Wilkinson was the youngest editor of the Australian teen magazine Dolly. She grew up to be a renowned journalist and presenter and is now known for her shows such as The Project. She has also appeared in movies such as Broadcast Battleground and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming.

UK-based video journalist Brady Haran is known for his popular YouTube math channel Numberphile. Fans also love his other channels, such as the chemistry-oriented Periodic Videos and the physics-oriented Sixty Symbols, and his podcasts Hello Internet and The Unmade Podcast. He also has inactive channels on language, food, and culture.

Nine Network presenter and journalist Karl Stefanovic is best known for hosting shows such as Today and 60 Minutes. In his reporting career, spanning over 2 decades, the Gold Logie-winning journalist has covered many major events, such as the Christchurch earthquake and the Japanese tsunami.

Samantha Armytage is an Australian TV presenter and journalist best known for co-hosting a popular breakfast show called Sunrise from 2013 to 2021. Samantha Armytage has also hosted other shows, such as Bringing Sexy Back and Seven 4.30 News. In 2021, she launched her own podcast titled Something to Talk About with Samantha Armytage.

Bestselling Australian author Peter FitzSimons has had an illustrious career as a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald for over three decades. Apart from penning biographies, he has written books such as Burke and Wills. He has also played national-level rugby for the Wallabies.

Born in London, Osher Günsberg moved with his family to Australia as a toddler. He initially soared to fame as Spidey on the Brisbane radio station B105. Starting his TV career as a VJ, he later co-hosted Australian Idol. He once admitted to having suffered from mental illness.

Apart from being a SBS newsreader for 3 decades, Lee Lin Chin has also presented comedy segments and a comedy cooking show. Born to Chinese parents in Indonesia, she began her journalism career in Singapore and moved to Australia later. She has also done voice-over and appeared in films such as Resistance.

Tracy Grimshaw has been associated with the Channel 9 show Today as its host for over a decade. The Australian TV presenter is also known for shows such as The Flying Doctors and Raw Silk. She has been nominated for the Gold Logie and has also appeared in the movie Shark Tale.

Mary Gilmore was an Australian writer and journalist. She wrote both prose and poetry and is recognized for her tremendous contribution to Australian literature. As a young woman, she became a school teacher and held utopian socialist views. She eventually started writing and gained fame as an author and poet later in life. 

Australian disability activist, comedian, and broadcast journalist Stella Young had worked extensively for the ABC. Born with a genetic disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, or the brittle bone disease, she spent almost her entire life on a wheelchair. She died of an aneurysm at age 32.

Known for her association with Seven News, award-winning Australian journalist and presenter has also gained fame as a weekend breakfast host on Smooth FM. She is also a bestselling author, whose memoir, Alphabet Soup, was a huge hit in Australia. The Silver Logie-nominated journalist is also associated with several charities.

William Wentworth was an Australian explorer, pastoralist, newspaper editor, politician, lawyer, and author. He was one of the most powerful and wealthiest figures of New South Wales. William Wentworth is credited with founding the Australian Patriotic Association, which is regarded as the first political party in Australia. 

Catherine Helen Spence was a 19th-century Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, and politician. One of the leading suffragists of her era, she was also a minister of religion and social worker. She supported electoral proportional representation. Australian writer and feminist Miles Franklin called her the "Greatest Australian Woman". 

Phillip Knightley was an Australian literary critic, author, and journalist. A well-known journalist with interests in war reporting and espionage, Knightley received prestigious awards, such as the Overseas Press Club of America Award. In 1980 and 1988 he was named Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards, becoming one of two journalists to have earned the award twice.

Charles Gavan Duffy was an Irish poet and journalist active during the late 19th-century. He studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and began his journalistic career soon after under the guidance of political activist and journalist Charles Hamilton Teeling. Later in life, he moved to Australia and became the 8th Premier of Victoria.

Kirsten Drysdale is an Australian journalist, writer, television presenter, and former hockey player. Drysdale represented the Queensland Scorchers in the Australian Hockey League before an injury forced her to begin a career at the ABC. Over the years, Kirsten Drysdale has been a researcher for shows like Hungry Beast, The Hamster Wheel, and The Gruen Transfer.

Alice Henry was an Australian journalist, trade unionist, and suffragist. Henry was part of the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) where she was an important member. A fierce feminist, Alice Henry worked towards establishing equal rights for women.