Peter van Onselen: The newsroom is fun but my heart lies in the classroom

Peter van Onselen, the self-described ‘accidental journalist’, has resigned as Ten’s political editor and is returning to academia.

Peter van Onselen at his home in Sydney: ‘Trying to say something meaningful in 90 seconds of a television news story has been sometimes frustrating but often fun.’ Picture: John Feder

Peter van Onselen happily describes himself as an “accidental journalist”.

But after 14 years on television, first as a commentator for Sky News Australia, then as Ten’s political editor – and with an 18-month stint as co-host of The Project thrown in as well – the 47-year-old is returning to his first love: academia.

PVO, as he is widely known, last week resigned as Ten’s political editor after four years in charge of the network’s Canberra bureau.

While he isn’t completely stepping away from the media – he retains his weekly column in The Weekend Australian – van Onselen says his time as a daily news journalist has “run its course”.

“I’m glad that I had a go at TV journalism. I never thought I’d do it. At first I was the ‘academic’ on Sky who was more of a commentator than a journalist, but then suddenly I got the opportunity at Ten,” he told The Australian.

“Trying to say something meaningful in 90 seconds of a television news story has been sometimes frustrating but often fun.” Van Onselen insists there’s no mystery reason behind his decision to quit Ten.

Put simply, he’s tired of commuting between his Sydney home and Ten’s Canberra office for a minimum 20 weeks each year. His wife Ainslie is chief executive officer of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand – a job that demands a considerable amount of travel – and with the couple’s two daughters nearing the end of their high schooling, van Onselen wants to spend less time on the road for work.

Van Onselen, who shot to public prominence in 2007 when he and fellow academic Wayne Errington wrote a critically acclaimed biography of John Howard, says his view of the Canberra press gallery has shifted following his four-year stint at Parliament House.

“I’m less critical of the gallery than I was before I became a part of it,” he says.

“I used to have that ‘them versus us’ attitude of someone who followed politics without ever being immersed in the gallery.”

While his experience in Canberra was overwhelmingly positive, as is his opinion of most journalists who work at Parliament House, van Onselen says he understands why the gallery is occasionally the target of industry criticism.

“It’s like any group – there are some really good eggs in the gallery, but there are some pretty ‘off’ ones as well,” he says.

“There’s nothing wrong with having strong opinions but if you’re going to dress that up as strait-laced journalism, then you’re an activist rather than a journalist.”

Van Onselen acknowledges he had his fair share of critics during his time in Canberra, with his fractious relationship with Scott Morrison coming to the fore during an appearance at the National Press Club in the lead-up to the 2022 election campaign.

On that occasion, van Onselen caught the then-PM off-guard, claiming that former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed Liberal cabinet member had allegedly referred to Mr Morrison as a “complete psycho” and a “horrible, horrible person” in a private text message exchange.

Van Onselen said he was “the most nervous I’ve ever been” before he asked Mr Morrison about the slurs against him.

“I knew it was going to cause waves, I knew it was brutal for Morrison, and I also knew it would be controversial,” he says.

But he says that was one of the stories during his time in Canberra that allowed him to experience the highly treasured experience of any journalist: the ‘‘rush’’ of the scoop.

“I never expected to be a breaking news journo – my passion is politics, not journalism,” he says. “But I have to say, the small number of times I’ve had a big exclusive, it is great fun. If your passion is journalism and breaking stories and telling stories, I can now understand where that passion comes from.”

Van Onselen nominates his 18-month tenure as co-host of The Project (“when I would argue it was at its best, during the pandemic”) as a highlight of his time at Ten, along with the opportunities to cover two federal elections, and to ask President Donald Trump a question in the Oval Office in 2019.

Van Onselen’s departure from Ten comes as a bullying case brought against the network by one of its political journalists, Tegan George, continues in the Federal Court.

Both van Onselen and Ten vehemently deny the allegations, and van Onselen’s says his departure from the network is in no way related to the Federal Court case.

In coming months, van Onselen will return to his role as a university lecturer in media and politics, and will also teach public policy to an MBA class.

Originally published as Peter van Onselen: The newsroom is fun but my heart lies in the classroom