We Used to be Journos

Nigel Farage has resigned…or has he? In this episode Jan Fran looks at the biggest political story unfolding in the UK: the resignation of right-wing, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.  He’s stepped down as the member for Clacton-on-Sea but - and there is a but - he’ll recontest his own seat in an upcoming by-election. Oh did we mention this is all a ploy to stem criticism about millions of undi...

In late 2023, rapper and hip hop artist Miss Kaninna made headlines when she disappeared from triple j airwaves after sharing her views on Palestinian human rights. A few weeks later, in the very same building a similar fate awaited Antoinette Lattouf. While Lattouf took her fight to Federal court, Miss Kaninna took hers on the road, touring the UK and Europe with Irish rap trio Kneecap, Miss Kani...

In this episode, we examine allegations by right-wing politicians and influencers that the UK’s ‘Rape Gang Inquiry Report’ is being ignored by the mainstream media. We take a look at what the report is, where it came from and discover things are not quite what they seem. Plus, Jan gets a pat on the back for getting to the bottom of what sparked the saturated coverage of Albanese saying he’d shag K...

If you think Pauline Hanson is popular in real life you should see how popular she is online. Pages have sprung up all over Facebook this year in support of One Nation. One small problem - they’re run out of Indonesia and half the stuff they post isn’t real! It’s AI slop yet one post by one page can rack up thousands of reactions from genuine Australian accounts.  Jan Fran asks whether Paulin...

In this episode we eat cake and celebrate our first birthday! That’s right Ette Media turns one and to mark the occasion Jan and Antoinette do a  Rose-Thorn-Bud analysis of the past year - what’s been good, what’s been bad, what’s showing promise.  Plus, a 45-year-old Australian man has been charged with murdering 17-year-old Thai teenager and stuffing her body in a suitcase. We take a l...

This week one of Australia’s highest paid media personalities parted ways with the Nine Network where he’s worked for the last 21 years.  He is now officially independent… or free as he puts it. But free to do what?  In this episode, Jan Fran explores Karl’s transformation into a right wing culture warrior and why she reckons his quest for “free speech” is a load of bollocks.  Hoste...

In this episode Jan and Antoinette look at the way both Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson used Keir Starmer’s resignation to further their own anti-immigrant, anti-climate change agenda and how the media helped out.  Plus, Gina Rinehart’s ‘Bush Summit’ speech gets the coverage she asked for but not the coverage it deserved.  And we unpack the decision by the Australian Health Practitioner...

Far-right leader Pauline “there are no good Muslims” Hanson walked into the  National Press Club this week with her middle finger firmly up to the journalists in the room. It stayed up for the duration of her 90 minute address.  And while some reporters tried to hold her to account, most gave her free reign to espouse a disjointed, frenetic, racist agenda that in Jan Fran’s view will onl...

In this episode, Antoinette fact-checks two feel-good narratives that emerged after the Socceroos’ World Cup win over Türkiye -  including claims about Australia’s youngest-ever World Cup goalscorer. Yes we know she’s a killjoy...but also right.   Plus, Jan brings some inconvenient reminders to help unpack Anthony Albanese’s response to the latest US-Iran ceasefire deal.  Also:...

This week Jan looks at the mammoth trilateral security pact known as AUKUS and asks how much are those submarines costing us again? Be warned, there’s not a clear answer to that question because even those in charge don't really know.  Let’s just say hundreds of billions of dollars for deliverables that just keep changing??   That’s a lot of tax payer dollars at stake - not to menti...

In his first interview since his trial ended, pianist Jayson Gillham sits down with Antoinette Lattouf to talk through his 15-day Federal Court trial against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Jayson believes the MSO canceled his performance after he dedicated a piece of music to Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza. He talks about why he fought back so hard, the cost of standing his ground and w...

In this episode, Jan and Antoinette react to news that Charlie Pickering's swipe at Grace Tame didn’t breach ABC’s code of conduct, which leaves them very confused about who gets to have opinions at the national broadcaster and who doesn’t.  Plus, they take stock of the weekend articles that compared Pauline Hanson to various important historical figures and they dissect an A.I-related quanda...

In this special episode of Only Fran Jan chats to author Sarah Wilson about the rising sense of dis-ease she has about the world. With so much upheaval and uncertainty - how is one to navigate a world that feels like it's, well, collapsing? In this conversion they talk about collapse - what it means, how Sarah came to the idea, the difficulty of accepting some hard truths about the world, that thi...

Should we be worried about Pauline Hanson’s latest poll surge? The Etterati asked, so we separate genuine trends from poll hysteria. We also unpack the shocking moment a radio boss groped his employee on stage at Australia’s biggest audio awards night - we saw it happen! Plus, a 25-year-old woman moved to Australia, started a new job, and weeks later she was dead. Her family is demanding answers,...

This week the Teals were chatting about forming a new political party designed - in part - to counter the rise of Pauline Hanson and the far right. This got Jan Fran wondering about the other colour-specific party that’s supposed to be doing that: the Greens.  As she watches the rise of the far right with abject terror Jan wonders why the Australian Greens haven't quite made the same inroads...

In this episode, Jan and Antoinette explore why flotilla activists trying to break Israel’s illegal blockade are finally getting media attention, and look at how one interview took a very bizarre turn.  We explain why the largest mining company in the world is suing the small independent outfit Michael West Media and why you’ve probably not seen much about it. Plus we give you an inside look...

This week One Nation’s Pauline Hanson released a policy that will see more gas industry’s money flow to the public purse. It sounded… legit. And that’s got Jan Fran worried. SUPPORT ETTE MEDIA by becoming a subscriber here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novara Media's Ash Sarkar knows a thing or two about starting (and growing!) an independent media company. In this special episode, the British journalist and author sits down with Antoinette Lattouf for a conversation about independent media, political journalism and the danger of "audience capture". They unpack the rise of indie media in the UK, failures of the BBC, “objectivity” in journalism,...

In this episode Jan and Antoinette respond directly to feedback from the Etterati. We answer questions about the language used to describe certain “regimes,” balance in journalism, why we talk about Gaza and whether we laugh too much about dark subject matters. Plus: what happens when journalists we’ve scrutinised reach out directly?  As a media platform built on critiquing journalism and pow...

This week, Jan Fran examines the Albanese government’s attempt to sell its federal budget like a brand campaign — inviting influencers to pitch for access to the budget lock-up alongside journalists. It’s also an exploration of the line between “newsfluencers” and journalists, and what that means for political media in Australia. Become a subscriber of Ette Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

In this special episode of We Used To Be Journos , Antoinette unpacks her new book Women Who Win through the lens of media literacy, power and representation. Yes, they get into Antoinette’s own headline-making battle — but this episode goes far beyond one story. Drawing on interviews with 30 women, alongside the stories of trailblazing Australian women no longer with us, the conversation explores...

Tucker Carlson has apologised for the role he played in helping bring Donald Trump to power. In this episode of Only Fran, Jan explain why she's have always been suss on him and remains so… even after this apology and maybe even more so now because of it.  Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jan and Antoinette discuss the lead up to the White House correspondents’ dinner and the hundreds of US journalists who protested his presence there …albeit in a very polite way.  They also note living in Trump’s post-truth world as conspiracies abound about the shooting incident that took place that evening.  Plus, we’ve noted four incidents of Aboriginal women and girl...

In this episode, Jan Fran unpacks a Nine newspapers article headlined “Authorities suspect Gaza war drove Bondi shooter to terror,” interrogating the framing, editorial choices and implications of an investigation built largely on insinuation rather than evidence. She examines how the piece invites readers to draw conclusions about those who care about human rights in Gaza with extremism - and wha...

Jan Fran and Antoinette unpack claims Iran is winning the propaganda war - thanks to AI Lego and diss tracks going viral. Meanwhile Jan goes to war with the phrase “breaks silence” (Ben Roberts-Smith edition) and the clickbait line that refuses to die. Plus, a takedown of Seven News’ renewable energy “exposé” - and the fossil fuel interests it skips over. Also, a shout out to some pitch-perfect sa...