Day: September 12, 2024

ABC journalist and pioneer Heather Ewart to retire

Pioneering journalist Heather Ewart has announced she will retire next year after an incredible career at the ABC of almost 50 years.

Starting as a cadet in 1977, Ewart went on to become one of the national public broadcaster’s most accomplished presenters, most recently as host of Back Roads.

She broke down many barriers as a woman in the industry as one of the ABC’s first female foreign correspondents and one of few women reporting on federal politics in the 1980s during the Fraser and Hawke eras.

As a foreign correspondent based in London, Washington DC and then Brussels, Ewart covered major international news events including the first Gulf War, the Waco siege in Texas, the election of US President Bill Clinton, tensions in the Balkans and Europe’s transition to the euro in Europe.

In Australia, she covered many federal election campaigns as Chief Political Correspondent for ABC radio news and current affairs, Political Editor, National Affairs Correspondent and fill-in host for 7.30 and presenter of World at Noon.

“I’ve had a varied and very interesting career at the ABC and am grateful for the opportunities given to me,” Heather said. “I fought hard for many of them, and hope this encouraged other women to have a go as well.”

ABC News Director, Justin Stevens said: “I first worked with Heather in the early 2000s at The 7.30 Report. She was held in great regard in the federal political sphere and was also a superb reporter on many other issues of national interest and history. The public have loved Heather and her work, they appreciate her authentic and passionate connection to our audience.”

Ewart was co-executive producer and presenter on a three-part ABC TV documentary on the history of the National Party in 2014, which was the catalyst for Back Roads, which launched the following year. Born and raised in the country, Ewart’s ambition was to create a program that helped bridge the gap between the country and the city and showcase a slice of country life that she loved as a child growing up on a farm in central Victoria.

“My aim was always to amplify the voices of regional Australians and to remind viewers of what’s right on their doorsteps,” Ewart said. “I’m very proud of what we created and that I got to present the show for the past ten years. I see the 10th anniversary next year as a fitting milestone to move on. I wish the Back Roads team every success in the future.”

Ewart’s many other career highlights include winning the 2007 Gold Quill, the Melbourne Press Club’s top award, for coverage of melanoma victim Claire Oliver, who later died. Claire blamed her use of solariums and Ewart’s reports on 7.30 resulted in the changing of laws to ban solariums. Her other acclaimed work included her extensive coverage of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires for 7.30 in 2009.

She was on the Walkley Board and a judge of excellence in journalism for six years and authored best-selling book The Great Aussie Road Trip.

Ewart is currently in production on a number of Back Roads episodes that will screen throughout 2025. She finishes up at the ABC in March next year.

ABC signs MOU with RNZ

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, outlining a new framework for co-productions, sharing of content domestically and on each other’s international channels. 

In a visit to RNZ offices in Wellington, ABC Managing Director David Anderson, ABC Strategy Director Mark Tapley and ABC International Head Claire M. Gorman met with RNZ Chief Executive Paul Thompson for the official signing of the new partnership.

Under the key tenets of the MOU, the ABC and RNZ will develop a productive and meaningful working relationship through collaborative projects and content sharing activity to serve audiences both domestically and across the Pacific.

The framework of the new agreement also identifies how both public broadcasters, through their regional broadcast efforts, will aim to promote access to high quality news, combat misinformation and provide content and services that inform, educate and entertain audiences.

Collaboration under the MOU has already begun with daily news sharing and content exchange between the ABC and RNZ News teams, as well as a radio and podcast co-production that will launch later this year.

RNZ Chief Executive and Editor in Chief Paul Thompson said the new partnership builds on the existing relationship: “We have so much in common with the ABC in terms of our shared opportunities and challenges as public media organisations, and this MOU allows us to learn from each other, to share content and even to consider how we might work together on co-productions.”

“The MOU also recognises the shared role we have in the Pacific to work collaboratively alongside local media partners to promote high-quality news and current affairs.”

ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: “As a fellow public broadcaster and close neighbour, the ABC has a deep history of working side-by-side with RNZ in fulfilling our responsibilities to serve our respective nations. We welcome this opportunity to explore new areas for collaboration and content exchange across our services and offerings.”

ABC International Head Claire M. Gorman commented: “We are delighted to be formalising our partnership with RNZ; the MOU signifies an exciting and important next step in strengthening our friendship. By working together across new initiatives and projects, this agreement will support our shared commitment to continue delivering high-quality news, diverse regional storytelling and informative and entertaining content to audiences across the region.”

About ABC International Services

Since 1939, the ABC has been broadcasting to audiences overseas. The International division reaches an estimated 14,224,065 unique monthly overseas audiences through owned and operated platforms including ABC Australia, ABC Radio Australia and ABC websites and apps including ABC Pacific and ABC Asia. The ABC’s international audiences come from all corners of the globe. ABC Australia, the ABC’s international television service available in 37 markets throughout Asia and the Pacific, has a monthly viewership of at least 3,905,050. ABC Radio Australia, the ABC’s international radio service available via FM in the Pacific and Timor Leste, has a monthly listenership of at least 321,225. Outside Australia, ABC websites and apps have an average global monthly usership of 9,997,790, which includes approximately 7,505,085 users across the Americas, Europe and Africa and 1,865,655 users in Asia.

*Figures based on the ABC 2022-23 Annual Report

About RNZ

RNZ is New Zealand’s independent non-commercial public media organisation and has proudly been so for almost 100 years.

RNZ delivers a diverse range of content that reflects New Zealand’s culture, social and regional diversity. It serves as a platform for quality journalism, creating a space for open dialogue and informed discussion on topics that matter to New Zealanders.

RNZ has more than 60 content-sharing partnerships and collaborations in place. It means RNZ content is available to many online media, print, radio and television services in New Zealand and the wider Pacific. This improves the accessibility of RNZ content for New Zealand and overseas audiences and provides a valuable source of unique local content for other media.