Order of Australia Medal for Barry O’Brien and Paul Bongiorno
Media veteran Barry O’Brien has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the Australia Day honours announced today.
O’Brien has been recognised for both his contribution to the media industry and his work on behalf of charity.
Joining him on the list is Network Ten’s veteran national affairs editor Paul Bongiorno for his services to broadcast media, having been a journalist for 40 years, with Ten for 35 of those, and a member of the Canberra Press Gallery for the past quarter century.
News Corp CEO Julian Clarke and Perth TV stalwart Dr Peter Harries were also honoured on the list for services to media.
O’Brien co-founded the media agency Total Advertising which he ran for 16 years before its transformation into the Omnicom-aligned PHD where he was CEO for a further four years.
He left PHD nearly two years ago. After a brief break, he made a dramatic return to the industry when he was brought in to lead sales for the Ten network after the sudden firing of Mike Morrison by former CEO James Warburton. After stabilising the sales team at Ten, O’Brien departed the network just over a year later.
O’Brien has also been active in charity work including with industry body Mayday, now rebranded as Un Ltd.
O’Brien told Mumbrella he was delighted to be recognised with the OAM. He said: “It’s an absolute honour and privilege. I was blown away to be put forward for it. I’ve been very blessed in terms of my career, and it’s important that we as an industry support charity work where we can.”
Of Bongiorno’s gong Ten CEO Hamish McLennan said: “Paul is an outstanding force in Australian political reporting and the media industry and I am delighted to see him recognised for his passion and commitment to the trade.
“Paul has reported from the centre of Australian politics for four decades, where his expert analysis on the events, stories and characters that shape this country have seen him awarded four coveted Walkley Awards. His integrity, professionalism and storytelling ability sets an example to all in the industry and he is held in the highest regard by those he has worked with over the years.”
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Congratulations Barry. A wonderful endorsement for all your great work, and a worthy testament to your character which has always operated from the top draw.
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‘The friendliest moustache in media’ was how Barry was described when making the top ten of the industries nicest people award a few years back. Well the moustache has gone but the kindness and generosity that Barry possesses shall never disappear.
Certainly Barry’s passion for tackling the issue of disadvantage that hundreds of thousands of young people face in our country has been put to great use at UN LTD during his years as Chair and Patron.
On behalf of the thousands of young people we are supporting through various beneficiary organisations, we thank you Barry and congratulate you on this wonderful acknowledgement.
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Congrats Baz
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Baz – you are a legend! Well done and extremely well deserved. Love your passion, sense of humour, humility, calmness and heart. Best, AF.
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Hi Barry, wonderful news and great to be recognised in such a meaningful way! Congratulations.Cheers,Margie
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Well done Barry, well deserved mate.
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Congratulations Baz!
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I almost choked on my leftover snags last night when Channel 10 made a point of saying Bongiorno has always been “fair”.
There must be two of them, and I’ve only ever seen the one who sinks the boot into one side of politics at every possible opportunity, while going easy on the other.
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A hearty congratulations Baz! Well deserved recognition of all the work that you have put into this industry and the many charities that you have supported over the years.
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Well deserved Baz for being a bloody good bloke for decade after decade.
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good on ya Barry. Properly deserved.
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A big congratulations Barry. I’m really proud to hear that you have recognised for your years of hard yakka.
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Congratulations Barry!
We’d heard about you from across the ocean in Canada. We were so fortunate to experience your generosity and kindness first hand.
A true professional with a big heart !
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