Ben Roberts-Smith: How Journalism Took on a War Hero

About this episode

This episode discusses the investigation into war crimes allegations against Ben Roberts-Smith and the role of journalism in holding powerful figures accountable.

This week, one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of war crime murder. The charges follow years of investigative reporting by journalists at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald — and a landmark defamation case that tested that reporting in court. In this episode of Fourth Estate, Tina Quinn speaks with two of the journalists behind the story, Nick McKenzie and Michael Bachelard about how the investigation was built — from sourcing and verification, to editorial decisions and legal risk. What does it take to report allegations of war crimes? And what does this case reveal about the power — and limits — of journalism in holding institutions to account? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fourthestate@2ser.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or tweet us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@fourthestateau⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Tina Quinn

Guests: Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard

Topics covered

• journalism
• war crimes
• investigative reporting
• defamation
• accountability

Keywords

• Ben Roberts-Smith
• war crime murder
• The Age
• The Sydney Morning Herald
• investigative reporting
• defamation case
• sourcing
• verification
• editorial decisions
• legal risk

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Fourth Estate

Places: Australia

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