Paul Barry
Paul Barry (born 1952) is a British-born, Australian-based journalist, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting.
Early life
He was born in England and graduated from Oxford University in 1973.
Career
He started his journalistic career in London, as an economics correspondent for Investors Chronicle. In 1978 he joined the BBC as a reporter for The Money Programme, Newsnight, and then Panorama. In 1986 he moved to Australia and started work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
From 1987 to 1994 he worked as an investigative reporter for the ABC's flagship current affairs program Four Corners. He specialised in reports on economic matters, government departmental failures and particularly corporate governance. A series of reports on now-disgraced businessman Alan Bond (and his company Bond Corporation) brought his work to national prominence in 1993. He also wrote The Rise and Fall of Alan Bond, regarded as the definitive account of Bond's demise.
In 1995, he joined the Seven Network to present a short-lived news program The Times. He stayed with the network, becoming presenter of the current affairs program Witness in 1997.
Paul moved back to the ABC to host the Media Watch program from 1999 to 2000. His was effectively sacked by controversial (and himself quickly replaced) ABC head Jonathon Shier after a hard-hitting interview with ABC Director Donald McDonald on the subject of government funding for the ABC.[1][2]
For the next two years he wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald, winning an additional Walkley Award exposing a tax scam involving some prominent barristers in Sydney. He is now on the Walkley advisory board.[3] He also wrote a book Rich Kids, documenting the collapse of One.Tel. In 2004 he moved to Channel 9 to work for 60 Minutes as an investigative reporter, and in 2006 released a biography on Australian cricketer Shane Warne.
Awards
- 1993 Logie Award for Best Public Affairs Report, ABC Four Corners "Other People's Money"
- 1993 Walkley Award for Best Business Report, ABC Four Corners "Rich man, poor man"
- 2001 Walkley Award for Best News Report, Sydney Morning Herald "Tax Cheats"
Books
- 1991 The Rise And Fall Of Alan Bond, [ISBN 1863590374]
- 1994 The Rise And Rise Of Kerry Packer, [ISBN 1863593381]
- 2001 Going For Broke, [ISBN 1863251979]
- 2003 Rich Kids, [ISBN 1863253394]
- 2006 Spun Out, [ISBN 0593056620]