When George Negus finished grilling then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1981, he thought he’d be locked up in the Tower of London.

“She demanded that the interview be used without any editing, which we refused to do,” Negus told ABC News Breakfast.

In a 60 Minutes interview that would go on to become one of his most famous, Negus asked Thatcher why the British people thought she was “pig-headed” and “inflexible”.

“Would you tell me who has stopped you in the street and said that?” Thatcher asked Negus.

“Ordinary Britons,” he responded.

“Would you tell me who, and when and where?” she asked.

The exchange sparked fury from Thatcher’s press secretary and a flurry of calls between the British High Commission in Australia and the Australian High Commission in London, Negus said.

“Gerald Stone rang me and said, ‘How did the interview go?’ I said, ‘As a political interview, I would give it six out of 10 and … as an interview generally, I said 11 out of 10.

“Don’t worry, they’ll watch.”

And while the fear of a lock-up in the Tower never materialised, the performance scored him a few seats at restaurants around London that he “never thought I’d get”.

From high-school teacher to journalist

Negus graduated from Indooroopilly State High School in Brisbane and started his career as a high-school teacher before venturing into journalism at 28 years old.

“I was an ex-school teacher … and I’ve sort of conned my way into journalism somehow,” Negus said.

His work spanned Australia’s media, from The Australian and Australian Financial Review newspapers, to Channel Nine, Channel 10, SBS and the ABC.

Negus rose to prominence as a reporter for the ABC’s This Day Tonight program and later became the first presenter of Foreign Correspondent.

He reported for Nine’s 60 Minutes, presented Dateline on SBS and established his own show 6PM on Channel 10.

He interviewed a string of prominent global and national figures, including Muammar Gaddafi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Steven Spielberg and Meryl Streep.

In an interview with the National Film and Sound Archive’s Oral History program, Negus said he had never really felt intimidated by his interviewees.

“I think what we have to remember about people with so-called power and authority and influence is that behind all that facade of authority and power … they’re pretty ordinary,” he said.

He said his stint at 60 Minutes “came out of the blue” after he was sacked from the ABC.

“I’d been very cheeky to the prime minister of the day when I was working at the ABC and got the flick. And Channel Nine called me,” Negus said.

“In fact, the then-boss Gerald Stone rang me and said ‘Do you like travel?’ And I said ‘Who doesn’t?’ He said you better get used to it because if you take the job I’m offering you, you’ll be doing a lot of travel.”

A self-described ‘anti-war correspondent’

In 2003, Negus published his book The World From Islam, which dispelled myths about Islam and explored the chasms between Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Negus described himself as an “anti-war correspondent” because he believed war proved “the human race is unintelligent”.

“I’m a committed coward. I’d go so far as to say that I’m a gutless wonder,” he said.

“I didn’t get a buzz out of that kind of journalism at all. I did it because you had to get close enough to be able to tell people why you shouldn’t be there at all.”

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 and was honoured for his service to the media as a journalist and television presenter, and the environment.

He took credit for deliberately breaking the rules about how television journalists should dress on TV.

In 2021, Negus was awarded a Walkley for the Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.

Walkley director and Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance media federal president Karen Percy described Negus as one of Australia’s most “recognisable” journalists.

“Known for his charisma, his peerless and fearless approach, and his signature moustache, he has reported through decades of technological, political and social change,” Percy said in 2021.

Australian journalist Jennifer Byrne paid tribute to Negus and said he was a “deeply good friend”.

“I just enjoyed everything about him, he was the kindest man. Everyone saw the bluster, which was — that was the era. And he had the boats, he had the bluster but he also had the talent and the kindness. I’m very sad,” she said.

Ray Martin, who worked with Negus on 60 Minutes, said he was “the strongest personality on Australian television that I ever saw”.

“He was also a fantastic journalist: very ethical, loved telling stories, loved people,” Martin said.

“He was 60 Minutes. He probably made the program as successful as it became.

“He was such a star.”

ABC Radio Sydney presenter Richard Glover has announced he is leaving the Drive program after 26 years.

Glover told listeners on Friday it was a tough decision.

“It’s one of the best jobs in Australian journalism, and I feel I’ve hogged it for long enough,” he said.

“It has a terrific audience — funny, wise, full of intellect but also willing to share some of the deeper stories of being human.

“There’s also the chance to do anything. Every afternoon there’s politics, literature, music and comedy, all jockeying for position.”

He said there may be future opportunities at the ABC, but in the short-term he planned to continue writing his Sydney Morning Herald column, work on another book and spend time with his three grandchildren.

“I also plan to get my knees done after years boring my listeners with my problems,” he said.

“I’ll miss the listeners, of course, but also my fabulous colleagues at 702 ABC Radio Sydney — radio’s best team.”

Despite the regular predictions of the death of radio over the decades, the 66-year-old says the platform has a strong future, citing rising global audiences and the popularity of podcasts and audiobooks.

He is fond of saying “radio has the best pictures” because the listener fills in the details.

“The projector plays behind your eyes, not in front of them,” he said.

Originally starting on Mornings in 1996, he switched to the 3:30-6:30pm slot two years later and has stayed there ever since.

Callers create memorable moments

Over Glover’s 26 years with Drive, many famous guests have joined him on the program.

“Among my favourites: Bill Bryson, Clive James, Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Lou Reed and David Attenborough,” he said.

But it has often been the stories shared by callers that have made for the most moving radio.

One of his most memorable on-air moments came during a 2012 broadcast on the 35th anniversary of the Granville train disaster.

A nurse rang in and talked about the many months she’d spent caring for a woman, who was badly injured in the disaster and almost died several times in hospital.

They happened to be the same age, in their late 20s at the time, and the nurse had often wondered what had happened to the woman after she left hospital.

A few days later, her patient — Debbie — rang in, leading to a tearful on-air reunion with the nurse, updating her and everyone listening on her career and children.

Glover also broke the Guinness World Record for the longest radio interview in 2011, talking to journalist and author Peter FitzSimons for a marathon 24 hours. (The feat was beaten in 2022 by two Ohio radio producers.)

He has also been nominated for three Walkley Awards — two for print, and one for radio.

Glover is also proud of some of the segments the Drive team have created, including The Dag’s Dictionary, which went on to be a best-selling book, and Years of Our Lives in which listeners talked about the events, both public and private, that happened in a particular year. 

Still going are Self Improvement Wednesday, where experts teach listeners about their special interest and, of course, Thank God It’s Friday, which is performed in front of a live audience.

Glover’s last Drive show will be Friday November 29, featuring a special Thank God It’s Friday featuring comedians Tommy Dean, Wendy Harmer and Tahir, with music from The Backsliders.

His advice to his successor, due to be announced later this year, was simply to “enjoy it”.

Culturally diverse staff at the ABC have been mistaken for other people of the same background, subjected to racial slurs, and passed up for career opportunities because of their backgrounds, a comprehensive examination of experiences of racism within the national broadcaster has heard.

The review led by Indigenous lawyer Terri Janke was commissioned after several prominent departures from the ABC, including high-profile reporter Stan Grant, citing “institutional failure” to respond to racist abuse from the community and incidents within the broadcaster.

The “Listen Loudly, Act Strongly” report spoke to 120 participants comprising current and former ABC staff to hear their experiences of racism at work.

Just one participant said they had not personally experienced racism within the ABC.

The review found “racism exists within the ABC workplace” and “ABC staff are subjected to racism from external individuals and organisations in connection with their work”.

The report’s authors said the ABC had been proactive in introducing measures to address racism, but the implementation of those strategies had been inconsistent.

“ABC has shown a visible and tangible commitment to creating a culturally safe workplace,” the reviewers found.

“[But] there are ongoing psychosocial hazards in the ABC that require immediate action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all staff.”

Managing director David Anderson has apologised to current and former ABC staff and says the review’s recommendations have been accepted in principle.

He said the review showed for all that the ABC had done, there was more to do.

“When you are reading the firsthand accounts of people who have felt the way that they do by the actions that have otherwise — whether they were intended or not intended — the consequence was that racism has occurred,” he said.

“This racism cannot occur in any workplace and I’ve called it out today. If people believe that it’s OK to behave like this, this is not the place for them. We will find them and we will make sure they leave the ABC. It cannot happen.”

Staff detail experiences of abuse, ‘hurt and helplessness’

Among the experiences documented were cases of racial slurs or offensive comments about a person’s appearance or cultural practices, and people being excluded from workplace and social events due to their background.

The reviewers heard of staff being mistaken for someone more junior based on their racial appearance, and staff being passed up for opportunities “because you are considered to have been hired to only meet diversity criteria”.

Staff also told reviewers of racism entrenched in recruitment processes, pay discrepancies, employment conditions and the ABC’s complaints systems. The reviewers said this suggested racism was “systemic” at the broadcaster, and its policies and practices disadvantaged people who were First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse.

“The majority of participants expressed significant hurt, helplessness and exhaustion around their experiences in the workplace,” the review found.

“Cumulatively, these experiences have a profound impact on the self-esteem, and sense of self-worth for participants. This impacts entire lives – not just in the workplace.”

The review of the ABC found the responsibility for ensuring a safe workplace must sit with the board, managing director and senior leadership team — and a lack of diversity among ABC leadership meant key decisions were often made by people who had not experienced racism firsthand.

Call for pay audit and diversity tracking accepted

After public commentary about issues of impartiality at the broadcaster, the reviewers also noted “the lens of lived experience [should] be valued in story-telling – seen as a strength, not a deficit, and that people of all backgrounds [should] feel safe to tell stories at the ABC”.

The review made multiple recommendations for the ABC, including improved responses to external attacks on staff including a central referral point for staff who are targeted by an external media organisation. 

It recommended better representation at all levels of the organisation, including the board and senior leadership team, and training for managers to understand their obligations in ensuring the workplace was free from racism.

The leadership should also track diverse representation and data on racism complaints, as well as staff who exit the ABC potentially due to a lack of cultural safety and racism, it said.

And it recommended the ABC conduct a pay audit of all First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse staff, including ongoing and non-ongoing staff.

“On behalf of everyone at the ABC, I am sorry for any and all racist behaviour and past harms experienced by our Indigenous and CALD employees, either currently or formerly employed,” Mr Anderson said in a statement.

“We all need to do better for our colleagues by preventing or acting on behaviour that seeks to discriminate against, bully or demean them.”

Minister expects report to foster more inclusive broadcaster

In a statement from the Bonner Committee, the ABC’s primary advisory body on issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and content, it said staff had openly and bravely shared their experiences of racism, delivering a “searing” review.

“Listen Loudly, Act Strongly calls for deep listening. That’s the responsibility of everyone in the ABC now, to ensure this report is fully understood, and that every member of our team understands that the change called for in the report will require action by everyone,” committee representatives said in a statement.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said while the ABC has editorial independence, Australians rightly have high expectations of the broadcaster.

“It is incumbent on all organisations to address racism ensuring staff are safe at work and the ABC acknowledges it must confront uncomfortable truths if they want real change,” Ms Rowland said.

“This is an important piece of work for the organisation and I expect Dr Janke’s recommendations will contribute to a more diverse and inclusive national broadcaster.”

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the review’s findings were not surprising, but that did not lessen the disappointment.

“The time for platitudes and hollow apologies is over. Strong action must be taken starting from the top. Anti-racism training must be mandatory and progress on change monitored and publicly reported,” Senator Faruqi said.

Former race discrimination commissioner Chin Tan has been engaged to continue the report’s work.

A new role, the director First Nations strategy, has also been created within the ABC’s leadership team to develop the plan to implement the report’s recommendations.

“This is day one … and it will take a long time. But it starts now,” Mr Anderson said.

ABC managing director David Anderson responds to the release of the “Listen Loudly, Act Strongly” report.

8h agoTue 1 Oct 2024 at 5:05am

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