New Chris Dawson podcast: After The Teacher’s Pet, comes The Teacher’s Trial
The Australian’s groundbreaking coverage of the murder trial of former star footballer Chris Dawson will be further enhanced by a new podcast about the court case | LISTEN
The Australian’s groundbreaking coverage of the murder trial of former star footballer and teacher Chris Dawson will be further enhanced by a new podcast about the court case.
The Teacher’s Trial – inspired by the global hit that was the 2018 podcast The Teacher’s Pet – will offer in-depth reports and analysis of the trial of Mr Dawson, who is accused of murdering his wife Lynette in 1982.
Two of Australia’s most experienced crime reporters, David Murray and Matthew Condon, who will both be in the courtroom for the duration of the five-week hearing, will anchor The Teacher’s Trial. The first episode is now available.
Murray, The Australian’s national crime correspondent, said the aim of the podcast was “to add another layer of valuable information for our audience, to complement the coverage of the Dawson trial (which began this week) in the newspaper and on The Australian’s website.”
The Australian’s national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas, who spearheaded The Teacher’s Pet and led the masthead’s investigation into Mr Dawson’s alleged involvement in his wife’s disappearance, will provide background and context.
The Australian’s morning news podcast The Front will also feature daily news and analysis from the Dawson trial.
Thomas, who in 2018 was awarded Australian journalism’s highest honour, the Gold Walkley, for his work on The Teacher’s Pet podcast, said the trial had been “a long time coming”.
“Chris Dawson himself has said that he’s looking forward to justice being served and the truth coming out, and I think all of us are,” he said.
“It’s taken a very long time to get to this point.”
Thomas said it was rewarding to know that the public’s interest in the disappearance of Lyn Dawson remaind strong. “Listeners got so invested in the case … and now, finally, we have a murder trial and a lot of people will want to know about it.”
The Teacher’s Pet was a worldwide phenomenon, reaching the top of the podcast charts in Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada and New Zealand, registering more than 60 million downloads across 16 episodes.
Thomas, who followed the The Teacher’s Pet with a further two crime podcasts, The Night Driver and Shandee’s Story, said while the platform had proven to be a successful way of reaching a wider audience, the tenets of good journalism remained at its core.
Episodes of The Teacher’s Trial will be made available at the end of each week of the trial.
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