Award winning podcast Journo returns for season two

Journo, the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas’ (JNI) podcast that explores how news is made, used, abused, and how it can be made more reliable and trustworthy for its audience, returns for a second season today.

The first episode, focusing on how the media has reported on the war in Ukraine, is released today on all podcast apps.

The episode, which explores topics like the influence of TikTok and social media on war reporting, what journalists covering wars and conflicts need to know about pushing the boundaries of journalism and more includes interviews with:

• Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent and senior presenter whose interview about her time in Kyiv went viral.
• Chris Reason from Seven News, whose drone footage of a bombed apartment block and an interview with Kyiv’s mayor made headlines around the world.
• Sarah Cahlan from the Washington Post on how news verification has evolved.
• Liubomyra Remazhevsk, a local Ukrainian journalist on her experience reporting on a war in her home country.

Topics for future episodes, released fortnightly, will include : how democratic elections in Australia and around the world are reported on by the media; climate change; the role of sports journalists in geopolitics; and, more. Plus, Journo will feature in-depth profiles and interviews with some of the world’s leading journalists about how they practice the craft of journalism.

Hosted by former BBC Australia and US Correspondent Nick Bryant, and produced by Deadset Studios for JNI, season one was recently awarded the Bronze Award in the News Podcast category at the 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards.

Nick Bryant, host of Journo and freelance journalist said: “The war in Ukraine has reminded us once again that history never ended, and that journalists are still required to compose the first rough draft. Few do that better than Lyse Doucet and Chris Reason. But this conflict has not just shown the power of on-the-ground storytelling but revealed the importance of remote story-verifying by teams that are often thousands of kilometres from the battlefield. In this conflict, visual forensics teams have come into their own, sifting through the avalanche of material appearing on new platforms such as TikTok and Telegram and gathering information and data that shows the extent of Vladimir Putin’s war crimes.”

Andrea Ho, Director of Education at JNI said: “ Finally season 2 is here. JNI is delighted to make another season of Journo, following such interest from journalists, editors, and news enthusiasts alike. This is a terrific episode - it puts us in the shoes of extraordinary reporters in the worst of situations, looks at their journalism craft, and explores what reporting on a war means for news media today. It sums up what Journo is all about. It’s going to be an exciting season.” 

Kellie Riordan, founder and executive producer of Deadset Studios said: “This podcast has always been about helping audiences understand exactly how the news they consume is constructed. In this series we take you inside everything from election reporting and war zones, to covering the big issues of our time like climate change”.