“What makes you different from your peers who also want to get a job in journalism? ABC audio producer and digital reporter Wing Kuang is an expert at turning a disadvantage into an asset. Having first come to Australia as an international student, she encountered a lot of barriers to finding a job as a journalist. She says that community radio pro…

“The minute I walk into that space, I turn my audio ears on.” ABC broadcaster Kirsti Melville is an award-winning radio documentary maker, who always starts planning for an audio feature by thinking about sound. Melville describes how she triages the audio in any recording environment, and how she works with sound to create immersive and impactful …

“Your voice is such a personal quality…It’s like your own aural fingerprint.” As an ABC voice coach and journalist, Tamara Oudyn is shaping the diverse voices of the national broadcaster. Here she describes the lessons she teaches cadets, including the role of the 3ps - pitch, pace and pausing - in broadcasting. Her emphasis is on training young jo…

"The thing that I love about audio is that...it's really intimate." ABC journalist Jo Lauder says audio can be really effective in transporting the listener to a particular time and place. She explains how she goes about planning different types of audio pieces, whether for Triple J's Hack or long-form narrative podcasts like Saving the Franklin. S…

“Who measures objectivity? Who judges objectivity?” Objectivity is traditionally seen as a cardinal tenet of journalism, but Daniel Browning's long experience in Australian newsrooms has left him questioning whether objectivity is possible, or even beneficial. The Bundjalung and Kullili man, who leads the ABC's Indigenous Radio unit, says First Nat…

“Always get the name of the dog, the brand of the beer, and the title of the song that was playing as the car crashed off the road.” This is one writing commandment that the award-winning writer for Good Weekend Konrad Marshall keeps top of mind, as told to him by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom French. For Marshall, that attention to detail is one trade…

“Focus on the intimate and particular.” When it comes to feature writing, Stephanie Convery says it is often the small details that count. Her work with Guardian Australia involves shining a light on inequality, and frequently focuses on people’s personal circumstances. She likens features to creative writing in the need to draw on literary devices…

“You can’t go in with no idea of what you might hope to get out of it, but you have to be open to what happens in the interview.” As former host of Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast, Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to people for a living. Here she outlines her rules for interviewing, including the pre-interview research process and how to structure…

"If you haven't grabbed the readers' attention within the first 10-12 words, you lose them." Saffron Howden's job is training journalists how to write news for Australian Community Media. She sees news journalists as storytellers dealing in facts, who need to always be thinking about their audience. In this episode, she offers tips on the craft of …

"It's about fairness in the search for the truth, and fairness in publishing our stories." The Age's Nick McKenzie has put fairness at the centre of his journalistic identity. It's led him to break some of the nation's biggest stories, winning him 16 Walkleys, but also has meant he's been sued for defamation on multiple occasions. In this episode, …

"Every story that you do, you need to talk to people." Julia Bergin's journalistic career has taken her as far afield as Japan and the Northern Territory, meaning she's had to work at building up her contact book time and time again. In this episode, she talks about all that goes into finding the right interviewees for a story. "It's broadening thi…

“You have to learn by doing, and you will only get better with practice.” Angus Thomson started with Sydney Morning Herald as a cadet in 2022, and is currently their health reporter. In this episode he explains how he goes about finding news stories, reflecting on his experience as a student at The University of Melbourne and as a professional jour…

In 2018, Silvi Vann-Wall was a journalism student who was chosen as a finalist in a nationwide podcasting competition. Suddenly she found herself on a stage, pitching her idea to the best podcasters in the world. Her advice on developing your podcast concept is very simple, "You must be able to describe it in one sentence by the time you're ready t…

“The most helpful part of the series arc is dragging people to the next episode,” says ABC’s Matt Bevan, the host of China, If You’re Listening. That’s the fifth season of his geopolitical pod, for which he’s done both chronological and thematic season arcs. In this episode of the Masterclass, he shares what he’s learned about shaping narrative arc…

Audience and sustainability are two key factors for Deadset Studio's Executive Producer Rachel Fountain in thinking about what podcasts will work. "When you know who the podcast is for, you can think about what they might be using it for, and tailor your content to that," she says. Rachel has worked on many popular podcasts at ABC Audio Studios, in…

"It's never finished, but you get closer and closer to 'I'm happy with this'". Martin Peralta is one of Australia's most sought after sound designers, having worked on ABC podcasts including Trace and Unravel, as well as Gimlet's Science Vs, and many others. In this episode, he outlines his work processes, his secrets for finding the right sound de…

"A good piece of work is written once. A great piece is written five times." To Elizabeth Kulas, the host of ABC's Days Like These, narrative structure is front of mind in planning and writing every podcast episode. Formerly the host of 7am, she gives a Masterclass in structuring your episode. Louisa Lim teaches Audio Journalism and Podcasting at t…

In season 2 of The Masterclass, Louisa Lim explores podcasting with some of the world's best podcasters. In this episode, Marc Fennell, the creator and host of the smash hit podcast Stuff the British Stole, gives a masterclass in how to tell complicated stories in a way that people can understand. Louisa Lim teaches Audio Journalism and Podcasting …

The difference between American and European Soccer

Louisa Lim explores the booming phenomenon of podcasts with investigative journalist Richard Baker and the ABC’s Rachael Brown. What makes this genre so compelling to audiences, and what does it tell us about ourselves and how far can you push the the story telling? Host details: Louisa Lim has been a journalist for more than two decades. She was a…

Louisa Lim moderated a lively discussion between Natasha Mitchell, host of the ABC's Science Friction and Robert Smith from Planet Money on NPR. They tackled topics such as their individual approaches to a story, how podcasts are pushing the boundaries of narrative story telling and how much of yourself should you insert into a story? Host details:…

The smartphone has changed audience interaction forever, and Manoush Zomorodi’s Note to Self is a trailblazer in audience engagement. She talks through extreme engagement, and how she managed to get listeners not just to call in, but to change their lifestyles. Show notes @manoushz Note to Self https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/notetoself Bored and…

You have to love and idea and a topic so much that you want to live it, breath it, eat it and marry it. That’s the advice that Radiotopia’s Julie Shapiro gives for anyone who wants to get into podcasting. Show notes @jatomic http://www.julieshapiro.org/who/ Radiotopia https://www.radiotopia.fm/ Ear Hustle https://www.earhustlesq.com/ Millennial htt…

The job of a journalist is to tell the stories of our time. In this episode, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet talks through the challenges facing today's journalists from the conflict frontlines to the increasing hostility to the mainstream media. Show notes @bbclysedoucet The Real Story, What is Fuelling The War in Yemen (BB…

Going live is one of the trickiest skills for any audio journalist to master. In this episode, NPR’s Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep draws on his decades behind the mike to outline some of his top strategies for going live. Show notes @nprinskeep Morning Edition https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/ To Escape Civil War, Many Yemenis Flee…

Sound and silence are the tools of an audio journalist, and their uses – as emphasis, as illustration, as explication or as a chapter break – are manifold. In this episode, the BBC’s Neal Razzell talks through how to make your pieces sing, and how to go one step further with sound. Show notes Neal Razzell 's Twitter - @NealRazzell Spain’s Battle fo…

One of the biggest secrets to writing for radio is not writing for radio, but letting your sound and your interviewees do some of the work. In this episode, Natasha Mitchell of Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Radio National walks us through how to show, not always tell, for radio. Show notes Natasha Mitchell's Twitter @natashamitchell h…

Learn how to fantasise your ideal piece into reality, as well as how to become an audio hunter who knows exactly what they want and how to get it. In this episode, NPR's Robert Smith decodes the structure of a radio news package, talking through the tricks of the trade, and how to do it all on a tight deadline. Show notes: Robert Smith’s Twitter - …

Use your mic like a camera, zooming in and out to getting aural close-ups and wide shots to build texture to your pieces. In this episode, the BBC’s Africa producer Becky Lipscombe talks through how to report in the field including what to take out with you and how to get the sound you need. Show notes Becky Lipscombe’s Soundcloud page https://soun…

In audio journalism, you need to sound like yourself plus 10%. But what does that even mean? In this episode, voice coach Elspeth Morrison breaks down how to find your radio voice and use it appropriately. Show notes Elspeth Morrison a voice coach who has worked with journalists for almost twenty years. She has trained many BBC journalists, as well…

Interviewing is like playing chess; you need to predict two moves ahead and have your figurative pieces in play ready to meet your interviewee there. In this episode, the award-winning journalist Hamish Macdonald talks through the art of the interview, and the importance of holding people in power to account. Show notes Hamish Macdonald is an award…

In the words of the British comedy figure Alan Partridge, dead air is a crime. But how to go about finding sparkling interviewees to bring your pieces to life? In this episode, Mike Innes, an output editor for BBC World Service’s daily news programme, Newshour, talks through how to find the right guests to bring the airwaves alive. Show Notes Mike …

One word is all it takes to sum up the power of audio. The same word kept popping up in my conversations with some of the best audio journalists in the world. Find out what it is, and how to use it to harness the power of audio in this episode. Masterclass Episode 1 The Power of Audio; Learning Through Listening One word is all it takes to sum up t…