Truth, Lies and Media

Join us for the last weekly discussion in 2025 - It's been a wonderful year! We'll be back in early 2026. Thank you for listening and for all your support! Have a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best from us at TLAM - Nicole, Denis, Simon, Brendan, Denes and Pixie.

A fired up Kerry O’Brien delivers some truth bombs at journalism’s night of nights .. but why did some of Nines papers omit his praise for courageous Palestinian reporters who paid with their lives to report a genocide. Plus .. the BBC bends the knee to Trump, cutting criticism from a prestigious lecture it commissioned.And whose ABC? Wall to wall white guys handed all the plum broadcasting jobs at ABC Radio Sydney.  

We take a revealing look inside the head of billionaire ex media baron James Packer who, from his yacht, has savaged Dan Andrews for nearly "ruining his life" with a multi million dollar tax bill that Crown had to pay when Packer was at the helm. Still you'd consider the insults a badge of honour when you consider his list of heroes - an alleged war criminal, a hardline media propagandist and a fascist President.Plus .. Donald Trump publicly berates an ABC journalist who challenges a Saudi Prince that the President is fawning over.  Donald Trump hurled his "fake news" jibes at reporter Mary Bruce despite the CIA finding that it was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who ordered the grisly killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.And Andrew Bolt along with other News Corp stars, now facing a discrimination complaint brought by iconic Australian actor Claudia Karvan and Palestinian anti genocide activists."Truth Lies & Media" drops at midnight Wednesday morning .. and don't miss our upcoming Saturday deep dive .. This weekend we take a behind-the-scenes look at life being dropped into true crime stories with veteran former court reporter Phil Johnson - what it does to survivors, to loved ones and to the journalists who bring you the news. 

A major shake up is unfolding at Channel 9 which will see dozens of jobs axed as the free-to-air broadcaster merges with its 'Stan' streaming operations.The dramatic restructure reflects the reality of declining traditional TV revenues while digital streaming services boom - but what will it mean for audiences?We take a look at the legacy of the notorious hard man of the NSW Labor Right Graham Richardson who has died aged 76 - the ruthless powerbroker whose shady dealings prompted investigative journalist Kate McClymont to describe him as "the one who got away." And the Victorian Liberals suddenly have a new leader after some lightning bolt bloodletting that no-one saw coming. We look at the art of getting the jump on the betrayal and the brutality of political leadership spills - the story that has it all.

Sally Gibson was a young self described ‘politics nut’ and writer for ‘The Age’ who had watched in horror as her hero Labor PM Gough Whitlam had been sacked. But women weren’t selected to cover the big politics stories back in the day. In fact when she’d applied for a journalism cadetship she was told no .. because her husband ‘would want dinner on the table by 6pm.’Then one day the phone at her desk rang. It was a call that would dramatically pitch her into the lives of all the larger than life players from Nov 11 1975 and sweep her up in a landmark TV docu-drama called “The Dismissal.’

Where were you 50 years ago when Australian democracy appeared to be on the verge of tearing itself apart over the sacking of the messianic Labor PM Gough Whitlam?Denis Muller was working as federal parliamentary sub editor at the Sydney Morning Herald and describes that newsroom on Remembrance Day 1974 as a political tidal wave hit.Plus .. Donald Trump rolls out his tried and true business model - confecting outrage and then extorting money from the media - this time he wants $1b from the BBC for a misleading edit .. And we remember the glitter, the pomposity, the devotees and the scandals that characterised of the life of Sydney talkback radio star John Laws who has died at the age of 90.

Another fairytale Melbourne Cup story goes down in history .. but who shines a light on the shameful way many of the thoroughbred champions are treated? And .. first there was Robodebt - now the Australian Tax Office is using an aggressive private debt collector to hunt taxpayers including welfare recipients - while billionaire media propagandist Rupert Murdoch pays no tax.Is salacious gossip “news?” We look at the Victorian Liberal MP and his wife who are suing the Herald Sun in the first test of new privacy laws .. And ABC staff who struggle to get a pay rise unimpressed as Aunty pays $836,000 to the former executive who illegally sacked Antoinette Lattouf - for just 8 months work. 

Silencing the truthtellers .. A furore ignites after the National Press Club cancels a pro Palestinian commentator and then falsely denies he was ever booked .. The ABCs David Marr then interviews the Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent .. but it too turns into an attack.Why such rage triggered by the celebrated Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges whose sin was apparently to observe that the Western media had been amplifying Israel's lies over the killing in Gaza.Plus .. Google AI falsely names a Sydney Morning Herald employee as a child killer.. we discuss the chilling danger of replacing journalists with artificial intelligence.Also .. Lying for votes - new research reveals politicians and political parties were the key drivers of misinformation during the 2025 federal election .. And ex ABC Chair Ita Buttrose is doing a media blitz to sell her new book .. but is also wiping her hands of any blame for the multi million dollar debacle that started with the illegal sacking of journalist Antoinette Lattouf to placate an aggressive pro Israel lobby.