Nick McKenzie on giving voice to the underprivileged, threats from neo-Nazis, and why journalism matters
Nick McKenzie is arguably Australia’s best investigative reporter, who, along with Chris Masters, authored the Ben Roberts-Smith story that unveiled the actions of the one-time war hero.
McKenzie primarily works for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, and has also presented major investigations for the ABC’s Four Corners program, 60 Minutes and the Australian Financial Review.
Holder of 14 Walkley Awards, McKenzie has three times been named Australian Journalist of the Year.
His investigations into political corruption has led to the resignation of state and federal MPs, he infiltrated Australia’s neo-Nazi movement, revealed a corruption scandal within Australia’s central bank, exposed organised crime in the country’s biggest casino, and revealed doping in elite sport.
He spoke to Mumbrella about why he does it.
Why become a journalist?
I was attracted to the ideals and purpose of journalism. The idea that you could help hold powerful people to account, and you can play a small, but sometimes important, role in democracy. Also it’s a job that has plenty of adventure. You can walk into a room, albeit as an outsider, and get up and close to political affairs, to the criminal justice system, to sports, to foreign affairs. So it’s the combination of the adventure and the idealism of the job.
How do you describe the genre you work in? Crime?
It’s definitely not crime. It’s investigative journalism. It deep dives into the abuse of power. That’s what I specialise in. The abuse, or misuse, of power by powerful people and institutions. Maybe I have a unique personality in that I really like forensic, exhaustive digging. I like people and I like getting along with people and meeting new people. It’s the combination of the two.
What about the abuse you cop?
You have to stay idealistic because of all the crap you cop, all the difficult parts of the job, the litigation, the threats. It’s not worth doing unless you are passionate about it and you think it’s serving some kind of broader purpose.
How do you get your stories? What’s your process?
I’m always trying to figure out what the next story is, where to look, where to dig. As a rule you should look where no-one lese is looking – try not to follow the pack. Use my skills to look at something that isn’t being looked at. Then use my human source network – people like politicians, business people, cops, people with information who have seen things fail or hold critical information about an abuse of power or corruption, and work to really understand policies and issues. I don’t look at an instance of corruption is a single event. [I think of it] as a case study in a deeper problem.
I’m always on the hunt for a good story. I’ve got networks out there doing it. I’m also self-generating and sometimes it’s as simple as reading the paper and thinking ‘I want to know more about that’. I always want to be creating fresh networks. I always want to be on the move. If I stay in the same spot on a topic, I’ll become stale and captured by my existing networks.
You have taken on some big targets. Have you ever been scared?
Yeah of course. It’s two things. I get worried about litigation, worried about defamation. That’s a concern. And I also get scared for my safety and the safety of my family because I do cop a lot of threats and unpleasant interactions. If you expose neo-Nazis, then you’ll have neo-Nazis pushing back. If you expose war criminals, you will have people who want to champion those people pushing back, and that can be pretty unpleasant and can lead to threats of violence.
Do you have a favourite story?
I don’t like to live in the past. I’m always looking forward to the next story. I’m really proud of the stories where people who haven’t had a voice, get a voice. Ten years later, that person might email you and say, “Nick, thanks for putting me on Four Corners or 60 Minutes. That’s changed my life”.
It’s because I could give them agency and power and a platform. That’s really special. I did a story on a disabled woman who was horrifically sexually assaulted in a state funded care home. And that lead to a Commission of Inquiry. More than anything, we put the survivor on national television and gave her agency and a voice. I was really proud to work with her.
Do you have a favourite medium?
I’m medium agnostic. When there’s someone you want to put on the spot, or a whistleblower who is going to expose something, or a politician you need to grill, television is probably the most powerful medium because you’re watching and listening and capturing emotion in a powerful way. A well written, piece of feature journalism to capture an important investigation can be so powerful as well. And a hard news story can cut through the noise. Then in radio to capture a major breaking story, almost in real power, to connect to your audience is amazing. And then there’s the digital frontier we’re still ploughing through where we can involve our audiences in our investigations in a deeper fashion. In digital we can give audio, video, images and the written word. It is very powerful.
Great to read this and the Joe Aston piece. Keep them coming.
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