Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Neil Mitchell
John Howard There is no broadcaster in Australia for whom I have more respect than Neil Mitchell.
Laurie Oakes Unlike most radio hosts, Neil Mitchell is first and foremost a journalist. And hes one of the best.
Peter Blunden He never gives up until he gets results. Thats what great journalism is all about.
Contents
2. Testimonials i. John Howard ii. Laurie Oakes iii. Peter Blunden 3. CD one, Herald Sun newspaper columns and extracts from the Ombudsman report i. Lies, Damn Lies And Crime Statistics : The Campaign For Truth 4. CD two and newspaper column i. 5. CD three i. An unprecedented gathering: three Australian VCs in conversation. A crisis revealed: ambulances fail
We wish to nominate NEIL MITCHELL for the Graham Perkin Journalist of the Year Award for a body of work highlighted in the attached package. Mitchell is a broadcaster on 3AW, writes a weekly column for the Herald Sun, and comments daily on the Sunrise program on Channel Seven. Mitchell has changed the face of talk radio and continues to set the pace, not just in broadcasting, but in news gathering, news breaking, and interviewing. After a career in newspapers he has spent 25 years bringing genuine and responsible journalism to the radio host's chair. With Mitchell there is no bluster, well not too much, and few theatrics. His sleeves-rolled-up approach blends with his journalistic instincts into a style which regularly feeds the TV news and newspapers with material. He has a reputation for integrity, fairness, thoroughness, and doggedness. In his autobiography Lazarus Rising (page 364) the former Prime Minister John Howard credits Mitchell's "balanced and intelligent" interviewing with helping to change policy on petrol excise after "an extremely difficult interview". That sums up the Mitchell style. Howard, Rudd, Gillard, have all regularly felt it as have various other premiers and politicians. It was Mitchell who introduced Howard to a fortnightly spot on his radio program, something the former PM later developed as both a platform and a sounding board. Mitchell did the same with then Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, whose ministers came to describe his weekly interview as "the A Cabinet" while they made up the B team. Premiers Bracks, Brumby and Baillieu continued the tradition. The history of the program bristles with exclusives, campaigns and aggressive, incisive interviews. Blended with that is editorial opinion, humour, and gentle and probing interviews. He gives a voice to people talking with victims, and others, suddenly caught in the news and not used to the spotlight. He has a strong sense of audience and regularly proves that with successful community campaigns. He does no favours and protects no favourites. He has clout. In the past year he broke the story that led to the resignation of Victoria's Chief Commissioner of police, an issue he insisted was about public safety not police politics. He also exposed a crisis in the health system, and had several aggressive and contentious interviews with the Prime Minister. Over other years he has exposed inaccuracies in Victoria's speed cameras, which led to the repayment of $25 million to motorists, and broke the news of a gap in the blood collection system that resulted in a child contracting aids through transfusion. That led to the process being redesigned. In summary, we commend his no-nonsense form of grass roots journalism, based on news, questions, independence, integrity and communication.
Testimonials
Former
Prime
Minister
John
Howard
18th
January,
2012
There is no broadcaster in Australia for whom I have more respect than Neil Mitchell; he is the ultimate professional in his field. Highly intelligent, well informed and articulate, he has an acute news sense, effectively balancing the local with the international story. When I was Prime Minister he interviewed me every fortnight. Those interviews always generated plenty of news stories. He had a knack of asking questions which effectively elicited reportable comments. His balance was superb. When the occasion warranted it, he allowed me time to explain a government decision to his listeners. Equally if he felt that my Government had blundered he would give me a lively time and leave the public in no doubt of where he stood. Neil Mitchell could always pick the time to ask a lot of questions as well as the occasions to allow his guest to do most of the talking. He is an all-round journalist. He can write crisply and strongly as well as being a great broadcaster. Most of the subjects we discussed on air had a national perspective, but Neil never forgot that his audience was overwhelmingly a Melbourne one. He once told me that it wasnt a proper AFL Grand Final unless both of the teams came from Melbourne.
Peter Blunden, Managing Director of the Herald & Weekly Times 17th January, 2012 Neils professionalism, integrity and journalistic instincts have earned him the respect of peers throughout Melbournes media. One of Neils key major strengths is truly understanding his audience, knowing what matters to them and grabbing their attention every morning, day after day. Neils ability to grasp complex issues and break them down for his listeners is also a key to his success. He expresses his opinions without fear and with great authority, knows when to turn up the heat on his interview subjects and places enormous value on accuracy and fairness. But he is also passionate about helping the community, engaging the support of his loyal audiences to help those less fortunateor tackle incompetent bureaucrats. When Neil decides to campaign on something, he invariably achieves the desired outcome. He never gives up until he gets results. Thats what great journalism is all about. Neils longevity and success in the gruelling and competitive world of commercial morning radio makes him a worthy contender for the Graham Perkin Award.
Laurie Oakes, Political Editor, Nine News 27th January, 2012 Unlike most radio hosts, Neil Mitchell is first and foremost a journalist. And hes one of the best. He breaks stories. He has good sources. He analyses issues. He holds the powerful to account. It is no coincidence that in election campaigns, Neil Mitchells program becomes a major source of news for the rest of us covering politics. He has a nose for a story, and he knows how to extract it from an interviewee. The influence Neil wieldsand it is substantialis due primarily to his journalistic ability, not the strength of his opinions. That has been clear in the last year, with his coverage of stories such as the Simon Overland affair. One of Neils scoops, to do with crime statistics, earned him a Walkley nomination. In journalistic terms, he maintains a very high standard. Neils 40+ years in journalismand his wide experience as reporter, columnist and editorinform his work every day. I find it hard to think of a journalist in any field who stands taller at the moment.
Lies, Damn Lies And Crime Statistics: The Campaign For Truth
CD
ONE:
Lies,
damn
lies
and
crime
statistics:
the
campaign
for
truth.
Through 2011 Victoria's police force was in crisis. It was a crisis that led to the effective sacking of a deputy commissioner, Sir Ken Jones, and the resignation of the Chief Commissioner, Simon Overland. The crisis was a mixture of financial waste, administrative errors that put people at risk, and allegations of political spin-doctoring with crime statistics. Neil Mitchell's comments and leaked material began the chain of events. Early in January 2011 Mitchell was contacted by a source who claimed Victoria's crime statistics had been massaged and released early to suit the Labor Government on the eve of the election. He researched further, asked questions publicly and privately. By early February he was convinced there was a case to answer. Mitchell insisted this was about public safety, not about police politics. The enclosed interviews (CD one) shows how it happened: 24 February (track one) Mitchell explains his suspicions, based in part on a source and in part on research. He says something smells. 25 February (track two) Simon Overland, furious, addressed Mitchell's complaint. 28 February (track three) Mitchell reports a leaked document which seems to confirm the public has been misled. It shows crime is not only worse, but more vicious. He says the chief commissioner is either dishonest or incompetent. The same day the State Government announces an Ombudsman's inquiry into the issues raised by Mitchell. 1 March (attached) Mitchell devotes his newspaper column to the issue. It was the first explanation of what had happened and why it was important. It remains one of the best pieces of analysis on an issue that has now been analysed at length. 1 March (track four) Mitchell interviews the Police Minister Peter Ryan, who agrees the leak was instrumental in provoking the Ombudsman's inquiry. 6 May Overland effectively sacks his deputy Sir Ken Jones and requests an inquiry by the Office of Police Integrity into Mitchell's leak. Mitchell is told unofficially that his telephones are tapped and computer may be monitored. 9 May (track five) Although Overland has withdrawn from a long term commitment to appear regularly on Mitchell's program he relents long enough to smear Jones in a tense interview. Mitchell later argues it is proof of poor judgment under pressure. State Cabinet orders an inquiry by Jack Rush QC in the administration of police. 10 May Mitchell analyses the Rush inquiry in his column (attached)
7 June Mitchells column returns to the issue (attached). He predicts that Overlands leadership is finished, and stresses the issue is public safety not police politics. 16 June The Ombudsman finds the crime figures were misleading, supporting Mitchell's argument. He refers to the program on pages 15 and 21 (attached). The same day Overland resigns. 17 June (track six) Mitchell returns from leave to wrap up the issue, interview the Police Minister and the Acting Chief Commissioner. Overland declines to be interviewed.