Chris Reason

2024 Kennedy Awards winner of Outstanding Investigative Reporting and Outstanding Documentary

Chris Reason is one of our most well-known and respected reporters. The word ‘reporter’ and its role in journalism has been somewhat forgotten, but Reason’s work reminds us of how important it is in the craft of great journalism.

With 40 years of experience, he has won numerous awards for his work across news, foreign affairs and investigative journalism.

And it’s a job he still loves and is passionate about.

Chris: “This is a dream job, and it’s been one hell of a ride. A gift that keeps on giving. Where else do you get to see the things we see, do the things we do, meet the people we meet? It’s been quite the ride.

Yes, there have been some trip-ups on the way, but that’s all part of the learning process.  I’ve learned from those moments, watched others, absorbed the lessons, grown and moved on. And I’m still here, 40 years later. I've just been blessed. I thank the News Gods daily.”

Well, you would have met quite a few reptiles and howling monkeys in your time. How did you manage them?

Chris: “I've had some extraordinary editors and producers who have kept me on track. Cameramen too. Amazingly colourful colleagues that have made the journey all that more interesting and fun along the way. And yes, cantankerous ones too.

I come from an age when editors would shout across newsrooms if you’d made a stuff-up. And I was shouted at plenty of times. But I didn’t mind that – you get challenged, dressed down, embarrassed – and you don’t make that mistake again. You know, I actually miss those days. These days, everybody is so polite and politically correct and I’m not sure our younger journos are learning as they should. HR complaints can get weaponised now, and news leaders get scared to apply discipline. I think it’s a problem.

I learned a lot the hard way, and as tough as it was, I valued it. As I say, once you've been shouted at by a rampaging editor from the other side of a newsroom, you will never forget that lesson. Lesson learned.”

Given your intellect, do you not find at times that the newsroom and news boring?

Chris: “It’s a great question. A lot of people ask me, ‘How can you keep doing the same stories over and over?’. But no two stories are identical; there is always some nugget in a story that makes it interesting. The news desk wouldn’t have sent you to cover it if it weren’t interesting or significant in some way. I still find the news extremely exciting. Obviously, once you've done that court story, that power price story, or whatever it might be, 1000 times, it can start to wear you down. I covered the COVID crisis for two years straight, and that story pushed me close to the edge – I was going to either retire or resign. But then the Queen got Covid and the boss said I could go to the UK to cover that – and three days later, Russia invaded Ukraine and I ended up going straight from Windsor Castle to the Kyiv frontline. One of the best assignments of my life! So, it goes to show, you do the boring, repetitive stuff, there will be rewards.

I’m obviously very lucky in my role; I get to cover some incredible moments like that. Just a few months ago, I spent a month in Rome, covering the Pope. A month in Rome, David! What job gives you that? It's moments like those that I live for.

But even doing the daily grind, there's nothing more exhilarating than chasing and getting a decent scoop. We all love those. It’s a large part of what drives us - getting the news first, beating your opposition.

Even at my age, the thrill of the chase is great fun.

There’s the joy too, of making a difference. Last year, we did this powerful story on what is probably the final chapter of the story of the Lindt Café Siege. It centred on the police hero who shot and killed terrorist Man Haron Monis.

He'd never been able to tell his story because his identity was suppressed by a court order from the Coroner, for security reasons. But for 10 years, he’d been suffering intensely under that order. He legally couldn’t tell his friends, colleagues, or even his family about his role that day. And that was driving massive PTSD issues for him. He eventually lost his family, house, career and his mind. I’d known him for several years and we decided to try and fight for him. For 6 months, we wrote letters and emails and launched court action – trying to get the suppression order lifted. And we finally won. When I broke the news to him, he was in tears – it fundamentally changed his life. He had his identity back.

It was such a powerful moment and you go, you know, those little moments in journalism, no other career gets to do that, it’s those little victories you have in journalism that make our job that much more worthwhile and I genuinely get enormous reward out of those moments.

Yes, there can be boring moments in news, but you get enough great moments to kick you along the trail.”

Have you ever had to do a story about the current cheapest way of buying mince?

Chris: "Well mate, I've managed to avoid the annual best Christmas ham story. I know, it's the current affairs seasonal special. But you know what? A lot of people bag ACA and ‘Today Tonight’ when we had that program, for those sorts of stories. But that retail news, consumer affairs news, is fundamentally important to millions of people. If we're not covering the issues, however mundane, then we’re not doing our job. You can start Royal Commissions or be a war correspondent, but at the end of the day, the bulk of journalism is about doing what's important for our community, our viewers, our readers, our subscribers, our listeners, all of those people who genuinely look to us for information they need to make their lives better.”

How did you get your start in 1985?

Chris: “I was at university, with no idea what I really wanted to do. I’d done eight different subjects in first year, then got to second year and someone said to me, oh, you edited the school newspaper for a while, why don't you try journalism? So I enrolled in journalism – and early in the course you had to find work experience at a real media outlet. I went to my local newspaper, The Redland Times - and they gave me two weeks. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. The editor, Cratis Hippocrates, handed me a brown paper envelope and I thought I was supposed to report on these, not receive them. He said ‘Mate inside, there's $200 cash, You've done a great job, young fella. When you want a job, come back.”

And you said what?

Chris: “Well, I'm ready to start Monday and he sort of laughed. And he said, well, what about this degree? And I said I could finish that later. And within a couple of months I’d started at the paper. And never looked back.”

For people who have a dream of being a journalist, someone young, perhaps studying journalism at the moment, what sort of particular advice would you give?

Chris: “Work experience is good place to start – offering yourself for free - because you get in the door, you see how a newsroom really works, the learning is exponential. You instantly make industry contacts and the bosses can see just how keen you are.

I lived and breathed journalism when I was young, I couldn’t get enough. The pay wasn’t great, but the experience was next level.

I think curiosity is a fundamental asset: keep asking questions. Assume nothing. Remember there are no ‘stupid questions’.

Tenacity is key. Keep chasing and chasing until you have the interview, the story, the exclusive.

A little bit of salesmanship is important; the ability to get someone to open the door and then convince them to keep it open while you gain their trust and hopefully, extract their story from them. It's no good being a wallflower, you can’t stand back and hope the story comes to you. You have to chase. If you want to get scoops, if you want to grab the lead story or the front page, you need to be able to talk your way into situations and coax that story on to tape or into print.”

How important was your own family to this attitude?

Chris: “A lot, I think. My mum was a nurse and dad was a cop; front liners. And while I never put myself in that category, I've always thought to myself that journalism is not far behind the front lines. Yes, the cops and firies and nurses are all in critical frontline positions, but journalists aren’t that far behind either. The media plays a critical role in our society. Someone needs to have independent eyes on what happens all around us. Our stories need to be told, it’s what holds communities together, defines them. And right now, with journalism under assault like never before, it’s perhaps never been as important.”

How much of building that trust is based on your own sense of integrity and the maintenance of sound ethics.

Chris: “Massively, and I think you know, if you're going to sell that story that you're a journalist worth trusting and worth taking possession of someone's story, you can't let them down. It’s an enormous responsibility.

Your credibility obviously relies on getting the story right, time after time. But there are going to be times when you make mistakes or drop the ball. You've got to do as much as you can to address those. Fix them, apologise for them. If I've spelt someone's name wrong and it goes to air, I'll contact that person to apologise.

I remember once as a cub reporter at the Redland Times where you covered everything from flower shows to greyhound racing and we had this small office where people could walk in the front door, and if they saw you and wanted to make a complaint they’d scream out ‘Hey dickhead!! You got the fuckin name of my DOG WRONG!!’ Accuracy is everything.”

While, you obviously love the newsroom your 2024 award from the Kennedy Foundation was for investigative journalism regarding an alleged paedophile bishop. How did you find that story?

Chris: “Yes, that was weird. I just don't do investigations and it felt so strange getting that award, but it was a highlight of my career to actually get a nod for that particular discipline and specialty of journalism. And it came from total left field.

I'd been covering the Cardinal George Pell case when a priest from Broome contacted me. He asked me to investigate their local Bishop. I said, mate, look, I don't do investigations, and especially not on the other side of the country.

But by sheer chance a couple of weeks later, the pandemic began and then-PM Scott Morrison sent the first planeload of possible COVID patients from China to Christmas Island. So I flew over and covered that story for a week – and on the way home I rang my wife to tell her I’d be back the next day. She said, “No way - you've been on COVID Island – go somewhere else for two weeks.”

So I turned left at Perth and went to Broome to begin that investigation. The rest is history. It was simply one of the most remarkable stories I’ve ever covered. I have to be careful what I say because it's still before the courts. But that's how it began.”

And at those 2024 awards you won two Kennedys ?

Chris: “I did, and it was an enormous honour. The second award was for the documentary we put together on the Bishop story ‘The Devil’s Outback Playground’. That was driven by a fantastic group of young journos from our 7Digital team. The tragedy of it was, when the Bishop was arrested, we had to take the documentary down due to subjudice reasons. So very few people have actually seen it. But I’m glad the Kennedys judges did!”

What's your greatest satisfaction in your life is a journalist?

Chris: “I'm a really hard marker – mostly on myself. I’m rarely ever happy with the reports I write, I always find fault in them. I guess the upside is that it keeps me hungry, I’m always pushing to do better.

For example, I'm still kicking myself over the Pope coverage. I know this will sound ridiculous, but  I reckon I actually missed a chance of getting a one-on-one with the Pope.

Pope Leo was formerly the head of the Augustinian order, and he spent time at my old school in Brisbane - Villanova College. And by chance one of the school’s old teachers Fr Tony Banks was in Rome and happens to be a very good friend of the Pope’s. I interviewed Fr Banks - but I didn't think to ask him if there was any possibility of a chance encounter with the Pope. And as it happened, Pope Leo did indeed go back to Tony's little apartment complex to visit in the days after he was made Pope. I’m probably dreaming, but I just keep feeling it was a missed opportunity.”

Well, I don't want to make you feel even worse, Chris, but I must say, listening to that, uh, why the hell didn’t you think of that?

Chris: “I sat on the plane with my head in my hands going - what was I thinking?! But anyway, this is a long-winded way of getting around to your question – what was the thing that gives me great satisfaction in journalism?

It’s when I know I've done the story right and when all the elements come together, when I've written it well enough for the subject to be happy, for the issue to have been addressed properly and for the audience to have liked it, been informed by it and for the bosses to be happy. When you can tick off those boxes and go ‘I've done it and I'm happy with that product’. I love that moment. I love walking out of here when I've nailed the package. It’s highly addictive.”

Do you think our profession has failed to actually communicate to the Australian community exactly what it is journalists do and why it’s important?

Chris: “Yes, I do. And it's interesting you say that because I've been pushing that as an idea for a promotions’ campaign for 7News – a campaign to remind our audience what it is we try to do every single day in traditional media and how important independent journalism is. It’s something that perhaps all of the networks and mastheads should be involved in – a joint campaign to remind Australians that relying on Big Tech for information is a recipe for disaster and could tear our communities apart.

Yes, mainstream media has made mistakes, journalists are human too. But it is far more reliable and accurate than the sewers of information and misinformation spewing from social media.

Mainstream journalism is dedicated to delivering balanced, factual, accurate, fair reporting of the issues and events in our communities and for our communities.

This is what journalism is all about, but it has been under an existential threat for over a decade now. Our traditional audiences have, you know, they’ve shifted. They’re embracing Insta, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube: there are a thousand rabbit holes for the audience to disappear into.

There is no doubt there is some quality material online and in podcasts – I’m on it every day too – but there is also some extremely dangerous material. It’s material that has the ability to inflict serious damage on modern Australia. I fear that too many people, especially our youth, are ripping into the Kool-Aid of a thousand unchecked claims and opinions from those who have no expertise or specialty or maybe even dubious intentions or ulterior motives.

The mainstream media needs to fight back – to remind people why they need to come back to us and engage in the debate, take an interest in what is happening in their own country and the truly important issues going on around them that fundamentally affect their lives every single day.”

But it’s not just that the business model of the legacy media is now out of date, hasn’t our profession, our business let the side down by manifestly unethical behaviour?

Chris: “Yes, there have been incidents where mainstream media has breached the trust we had with our audience. Every single outlet has done it and gradually, you know, that erodes the relationship with readers or audience. We've got to try and repair that and bring the audience back. We've got to try and remind people, as I said before, that yes, we've made some mistakes but at the end of the day, the bulk, the vast bulk, of everything we do is good, solid, honest and important journalism. From the Christmas ham stories to the journalism that launches Royal Commissions – and everything in between – mainstream media provides a critical service to our society.

It’s not perfect – but mainstream media is a lot closer to perfect than social media ever will be.”