Healthy career of Aunty’s journo doctor, Norman Swan

A trained doctor, the ABC’s Norman Swan was the national broadcaster’s in-house Covid expert across its various news platforms during the pandemic.

Dr Norman Swan

It was a “mid-life crisis” – albeit when he was in his late 20s – that prompted Norman Swan to abandon a promising career in medicine for a crack at journalism.

That was more than 40 years ago, and while he’s known as “Doctor Norman Swan” to his loyal ABC audience, he prefers to be identified as a journalist first, and a trained doctor second.

The 69-year-old has been made a Member (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia for his service in the broadcast media as a science and health communicator, and is the first journalist recognised on a Covid honour roll that has been part of the awards list since 2021.

Dr Swan moved to Australia from Scotland to continue his medical training but soon after had what he describes as a “mid-life crisis” and joined the ABC in 1982.

He has worked there ever since, and cites his three-year stint as general manager of ABC Radio National from 1990 to 1993 as one of the most significant periods in his professional life. “When I was there, we saved what was quite an important cultural institution for Australia,” recalls Dr Swan, who was credited with driving the ratings revival of the station.

He has won several Walkley Awards, including a Gold Walkley for his investigation into scientific fraud in 1988, yet his public profile arguably reached its peak during the pandemic when he was the ABC’s in-house Covid expert across its news platforms, and hosted the popular Coronacast podcast.

He says he received both brickbats and bouquets from critics and the audience for his Covid coverage, but says it was a testing time for all media.

Dr Swan said he “came to know what a media pile-on felt like”, observing that public attacks on his work during the pandemic were largely led by “shock jocks” who chose to highlight some of his predictions and commentary that later proved wide of the mark.

He notes there was a flood of information – including in scientific papers – that hadn’t been peer-reviewed, making it difficult to always provide accurate information to Australians.

The father of three has five grandchildren, and in his downtime – of which there has been precious little in recent years – he enjoys reading, sailing and going to the theatre.

Dr Swan, who will turn 70 this year, says he has no plans to retire.