Should Paul Barry be the last journalist to host Media Watch?

The ABC’s resident monitor of the Australian media sector, Paul Barry, is almost out the door, and his departure leaves open the tantalising prospect of the public broadcaster shaking up the 15 minutes of TV dreaded by journalists and editors across the country.

Media Watch, which remains one of the ABC’s highest-rating shows, has been dishing out the pain to the sector for decades and Barry’s exit, revealed by this masthead, potentially opens the door for the public broadcaster to hand over the reins to someone outside the so-called media bubble.

Past and present Media Watch hosts (left to right): Richard Ackland, Paul Barry, Stuart Littlemore, Monica AttardCredit: Monique Westermann

Given the controversial nature of the role, the profile of the next host is already a topic of debate among Media Watch’s current and former hosts.

Stuart Littlemore, a barrister and the program’s founding host in 1989, said the next host of Media Watch should not be a journalist, or at least someone who does not seek to continue as a journalist after their stint is over.

“The person who’s going to do it really must be somebody who knows a great deal about journalism, probably has to have been a journalist at some stage, but has an external perspective of it,” he said.

Barry disagreed, arguing any host of a program that puts the blowtorch to the media industry should “know how the sausage is made”. “It’s seen as a career ending opportunity. But it doesn’t need to be. You won’t win friends, but you will earn respect if you do the job properly without fear or favour.”

Meanwhile, Richard Ackland – who took over from Littlemore in 1998 – said Media Watch should spend less time on skewering tabloid news and morning television, which is “easy prey” in his opinion, and instead critique the behaviour of media outlets and voices that are “meant to attract respect”.

“If they’re failing or falling down on the job, I think that’s really important,” Ackland said.

Barry’s successor will have to navigate a media landscape that has changed dramatically over the last decade. The importance of print and broadcast news on everyday life has started to fade, as younger Australians drift towards social media to get their news.

A study from the Reuters Institute and University of Canberra, released this week, showed half of Australians now use social media to access news regularly, with mobile phones the top medium for digital consumption. Meanwhile, trust in traditional news is also at its lowest point since 2020.

Australia’s media landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade.Credit: Paul Rovere

While traditional, mainstream media remains the core focus of Media Watch, the advent of social media cannot be ignored, according to Monica Attard – who was the host of the show between 2006 and 2007 and is now a professor at the University of Technology Sydney.

Despite calls for a youthful face to replace Barry, Attard said the role demands someone with quite a few journalistic runs on the board.

“There may be people who think it would be great to have somebody younger, but a young journalist wouldn’t have the necessary experience to bring the gravitas the program needs,” she said.

Attard suggested Janine Perrett fits that bill. An experienced journalist, and a stand-in for Barry in 2021, Perrett has cross-media experience at Sky News Australia, the ABC and The Sydney Morning Herald. Perrett previously called hosting the show her “dream job”.

Other internal candidates touted by industry figures include Annabel Crabb, who offers commentary across the ABC’s platforms, has significant on-screen experience and would bring a level of humour alongside cutting analysis. Leigh Sales has also been suggested as someone who would not shy away from holding bad actors to account.

Alternatively, a return to the ABC for Stan Grant could be considered, despite wounds between him and the broadcaster remaining fresh. But Littlemore and Ackland were adamant internal candidates are “not the answer”.

Ackland suggested Geoffrey Watson, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity as a left-field option. “[Watson] is a bit of a celebrity lawyer. He’s semi-retired from the bar now, so he’s got a bit of freedom. With a bit of polishing up, he’d be very good,” he said.

Meanwhile, Justin Quill – one of Australia’s high-profile media lawyers and one not known for shying away from an opinion as well – could also be a potential candidate.

Whoever the ABC chooses, Barry said, “it helps to have nothing to lose”.

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