The first time I met Sarah Ferguson was on a cricket pitch. Or a field. Or whatever you call that big expanse of grass on which cricket is played. Our primary-school aged sons were in the same team and we were talking on the sidelines.
I knew who she was. An incredibly accomplished journalist. But her profile was lower then. It was before she went to Four Corners and her investigative reports leaped from the ABC and into mainstream news for their shocking brilliance.
Sarah Ferguson is married to Tony Jones, but they are not part of a media power couple
The inhumane slaughter of Australian cattle in Indonesia, a story which won her a Gold Walkley (Australia’s top journalism award) and froze the live cattle trade to Indonesia for a time while governments here and in Indonesia scrambled to address the outrage. It put animal rights in hearts and minds of Australians in a way it’s never been before.
Watch Sarah in action on The Killing Season here:
That’s what Sarah does. She shines a light on things we didn’t even know we needed to know about. From the extraordinary relationship between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard (her documentary series The Killing Season on the ABC was as brilliant as her book by the same name which is one of the best political dramas I have ever read) to her outstanding documentary series on domestic violence.
But Sarah is not all serious. She’s actually funny and sweary and beautiful. She’s half of one of Australia’s media power couples and what she has to say about that is hilarious and revealing of who she really is.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the top of the media tree and how one of Australia’s top journalist works and thinks, you are going to love this podcast episode sick.
Listen to Mia’s full interview with Sarah here:
You can buy a copy of The Killing Season: Uncut by Sarah Ferguson here.
