What is the importance of reporting news from a Catholic perspective?
The responsibility of a journalist is to report accurately and to be balanced; it doesn’t matter who you are, the principles are always the same. There might be an expectation for a Catholic journalist to uphold these principles, and therefore a Catholic journalist is less likely to fail to uphold the principles of fair reporting.
Is modern technology, mobile phones, the internet, apps, Facebook and Twitter a hindrance or an aid to reporting the news?
I think it is an aid; anything, which helps in the information-gathering process is positive and it is much easier to gather information today, than when I started in journalism in 1970. I can remember when Charles Court delivered statements to The West Australian or had one of his sons do it on a Sunday – now everything arrives at the press of a button.
How does faith help you in your day-to-day life?
I’m an optimist and my faith, I think, gives me some sort of compass as to what’s right and what’s wrong. It is important to treat people fairly; even the greatest of rogues is entitled to be treated fairly. I’ve never described any person as ‘disgraced;’ some of my colleagues have no qualms using that term but I’ve never done that and I don’t think I need to. I let the facts speak for themselves and let the readers, viewers, listeners make their own conclusions and they don’t need someone like me to make those judgments.
What advice would you give to aspiring journalists?
You’ve got to be inquiring, determined, need to have to think and put your personal views aside. You also need to be able to report quickly. You might have an hour to do a story, you need to be able to pick the eyes of a story and know the news angle of a story; ‘what’s different about this event?’
How true is the stereotype that journalists lie, exaggerate or sensationalise news?
Journalists come from across the spectrum – some do, most don’t. The ones that get on and do their job you don’t hear much of it because they are doing their job. Sometimes some journalists sensationalise or exaggerate and take advantage of people but often they don’t last long; they can be described as one hit wonders.
Why did you choose journalism as a career?
My father Tom Kennedy was a casual cricket and football writer for The Sunday Times in Perth and as a teenager I used to help him. I was on The Sunday Times payroll when I was 15 so my appetite was wetted. I think I have a natural curiosity. I didn’t get into journalism straight away, and I failed to get a cadetship. I studied at UWA and I was a high school teacher and a lecturer for five years, teaching economics and geography; I got my break in 1970 at The West Australian. Lang Hancock and Peter Wright were mining entrepreneurs; they started the Sunday Independent in 1969 and employed a lot of journalists who were from The West Australian, creating vacancies at the West, so I switched careers. It was quite a big decision. I liked teaching a lot but journalism was my first love.
How did you get the job at the ABC?
I joined the ABC in 1990; I worked for [Perth’s ABC] 720 radio station. I had done some commentary on the radio for the federal election in 1987, and Diana Warnock, who presented the morning program, recommended me. After the election I finished at The West Australian in 1990, went down to the ABC and they took me on. I had a lot to learn in radio; eventually I presented The Drive Program on 720, then The Morning Program and once again The Drive Program. Radio is very exciting and draining as you are constantly on your metal, you’ve got to come up with appropriate responses; one minute it’s a hard-hitting interview and the next minute you’re talking about a personal tragedy. You have to be able to adjust. In 2000 I became the state political reporter for ABC television news which I left at the end of 2010. It was very challenging and very rewarding.
What has been your most embarrassing moment as a journalist?
One of the more amusing ones was on the radio. We invited listeners to mimic politicians and, unknown to me, my producer phones my son and he did a good mimic of the-then premier Richard Court and so all I knew was that the caller was, ‘Simon from Mt Lawley. As soon as he did the mimic on air I knew I’d been set up. I said to myself ‘I think I know that person.’
What has been the most interesting story you have covered?
As a result of a tip-off one of the stories that I did was disclosing the Gallop Government proposal which introduced a premium property tax on the family home back in 2001, which caused such a reaction in some suburbs that the government dropped it like a hot cake. There was an element of risk from the tip-off, there wasn’t much information he could give me, no emails that proved the story, but it was a small risk and sometimes we live on the edge.
What are some problems you have encountered in your career?
It can be very intrusive on your family; it’s demanding as you need a certain amount of time to do it properly, news doesn’t occur at a convenient time and you try and balance it as best you can. Sometimes the phone will ring at midnight from the office in Sydney and with TV the deadline is 7pm, if anything happens after that there is not much you can do.
What is your favourite book and why?
I enjoy political biography. I started collecting them when John Kennedy was president of the United States and I thought he was very interesting. There is one novel which I really like and it’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ve seen the movie too and Gregory Peck is exceptional, he’s a star.
What are some of your hobbies?
I used to be very active in sports, now it’s reading political biography which is my special interest. I enjoy surfing and swimming. I’m an avid follower of cricket and football and I enjoy seeing the two local teams doing well; when the Dockers play the Eagles I support the Dockers.
Did you ever get nervous when reporting the news?
Yes, in the live crosses. In TV bulletins there is a certain amount of being on-edge, the potential of a disaster is always quite close and there is potential for the unexpected. You need to be aware of that. There is a certain amount of nervous energy involved and there is the danger of being complacent.
You won the Clarion Award in 1995. What was it for?
The Award was given by the Journalist Association to people who have made a significant contribution to journalism. I was flattered to receive the award.
What’s the best thing about being retired?
Being busy. In addition to my role at Notre Dame, I write a weekly column called Political Perspective in the business columns.
As a journalist, who was your greatest influence and why?
There are three people. As a political journalist it was Don Smith who was a political journalist at The West Australian when I started there. The second person was Peter Bowers at The Sydney Morning Herald, who showed me that you could bring humour into it without detracting from the work that you are doing and, finally, Andrew Olle who was an ABC broadcaster who had a wonderful broadcasting style. These were three people at the top of their game.
What has been the best thing about being a political journalist?
Reporting on issues which directly affect people and at times the hot-house atmosphere; also calling politicians to account when they say they’ll do something – to follow that up if they don’t do it and find out why.