Kerry O'Brien (journalist)
| Kerry O'Brien | |
|---|---|
At the 2009 Woodford Folk Festival
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| Born |
27 August 1945 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Residence | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland |
| Occupation | Television journalist/presenter |
| Employer | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Website | kerryobrien |
Kerry Michael O'Brien (born 27 August 1945) is an Australian journalist based in Byron Bay. He is the former editor and host of The 7.30 Report and Four Corners on the ABC. O'Brien is one of Australia's most respected journalists, having been awarded six Walkley Awards during his career.
Kerry O'Brien was born into a Catholic family in Brisbane, Queensland, where he attended St Laurence's College. He started as a news cadet at Channel 9 in Brisbane in 1966. He has worked in newspapers, wire service and television news and current affairs, as a general reporter, feature writer, political and foreign correspondent, interviewer and compere, and served as press secretary to Labor Leader Gough Whitlam.
O'Brien said: "I guess it was my curiosity that drove my attraction to political journalism—and drove my desire to work for Gough Whitlam when that opportunity came up—because I wanted to see what it was like behind the scenes. I wanted to see what it was like to be a part of the process, rather than just reporting on it. When I came back to journalism, I realised that the experience I'd had in the back rooms of politics was like gold for me—in terms of being able to understand and second guess what was really going on behind that sort of opaque screen that the political processes, the processes of government throw up."
After six years as compere and interviewer of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Lateline program, O'Brien moved in 1995 to The National 7.30 Report, as editor, compère and interviewer. He also anchored and moderated the ABC's election telecasts for 20 years. O'Brien has won many awards, including the top award in Australian journalism, the Gold Walkley in 2000. He has also made several appearances on The Chaser's War on Everything.
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