Kimmel gets Lattoufed, SBS’s tunnelvision on Eurovision + getting real about independent media
We’re live at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne this week, handing out a report card on independent media now that Ette Media has survived its three-month probation.Jan Fran, once reporting on Eurovision for SBS, is now not-happy-Jan at the broadcaster’s refusal to boycott if Israel takes the stage. Antoinette brings the receipts on The Daily Telegraph’s dodgy hit job against the Jewish Council of Australia, which just happened to interrupt the Council’s paid ad opposing genocide. And yes, it gets raw: the audience pulls no punches in the Q+A, and neither do we.It’s A Yes From Me:Antoinette tips her hat to ABC’s John Lyons for irritating President Trump.Jan Fran can’t get enough of Greg Larsen’s eulogy of Charlie Kirk.We Used To Be Journos live was originally presented on 20th September 2025 inpartnership with The Wheeler Centre Follow Wheeler for more smart, passionate and entertainingpublic talks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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EXCLUSIVE: A lifeline for Meanjin, Kirk’s killing media mayhem + buried Islamophobia report
In an exclusive investigation, we look at Melbourne University Press’s decision to close one of Australia’s oldest literary journals. MUP says it’s about money, we reveal new testimony that says otherwise. So what’s it really about? Plus, we look at the saturation of media coverage following Charlie Kirk’s murder. We explore how the media should cover the far right, how “centrist media” gets it wrong and how the focus on one man distracted us from the biggest story in the world. And the Islamophobia envoy’s findings landed on a Friday - a slot reserved for news no one wants noticed but that’s not our main gripe. A Yes From Me:Zeteo News: Charlie Kirk in His Own WordsABC ‘The federal press gallery is ceding power to the Albanese government’Our earlier episode on Antisemitism envoy findingsSupport Ette Media, join the Etterati by becoming a subscriber here.If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Meet the BBC journalist who quit over Gaza coverage
With Antoinette away this week, Jan Fran holds down the fort with former BBC journalist and presenter Karishma Patel. Karishma walked out of the BBC in October 2024 over its coverage of Gaza and has since become one of its loudest and most public critics.In this episode, she and Jan dive into life inside the BBC, what finally pushed her to resign, and why she’s now taking the organisation to task in public. They unpack the slippery word “impartiality” – how it so often doubles as a muzzle for journalists who dare to prod the status quo - and ask whether it’s more effective to stay and fight from the inside or cut loose and build something different. The pair also unpack the momentum around building a new media ecosystem.Regular programming resumes next week.You can find Karishma on Instagram You can read her piece in The Independent You can read her piece in The GuardianSupport Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Neo-Nazi march minimised, Lebs on Bob Katter + news influencers echo old media habits
Jan and Antoinette have been busting to share their inside Lebbo goss about Bob Katter. Also, we cover the coverage of the so-called March for Australia - a rally led by neo-Nazis and followed by limp reporting. The Herald Sun dibberdobs … again and the Canberra Midwinter Ball leaves Jan feeling icy as she watches old-school journalists and new school content creators clink glasses with the same old politicians. Plus: praise for the independent media organisation (of course) that delivered the much-needed analysis of the “anti-immigration” march, and a cartoonist whose pencil cuts straight through inequality. It’s a Yes From Me: Lamestream analysisCathy Wilcox cartoonSupport Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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ABC’s social media gag order, Sky News’ war criminal chit-chat + Gina Rinehart’s net zero ideology spruiked
In this episode Antoinette (finally!) gives her reaction to the ABC’s new Public Comment Guidelines, which Jan calls the ‘Lattouf guidelines.’ The broadcaster says the new rules aren’t due to its Federal Court loss to Antoinette but we’re not so sure. We also examine the messy, co-dependent and ever-changing relationship between journalists and the public comments they were encouraged (then discouraged) to make on social media. Elsewhere, Sky’s Sharri Markson “interviews” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a “world exclusive” but it was less interview and more stenography with a side of flattery for the wanted war criminal who’s also credibly accused of committing genocide. Plus, the Bush Summit - a billionaire–backed, media-run roadshow - rolls into town where words like “net zero ideology” and “climategate” get cooked up, and served reheated as news.Plus, some recognition for journalism-done-good, reassurance that cynicism hasn’t fully eaten our souls.It’s a Yes From Me:+972 Magazine Independent journalism from Israel-PalestineThe Guardian: Australia’s gun lobby says it’s ‘winning’ the fight against firearm controlSupport Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We used to be journalists, but now we mostly just bitch about them. (Kidding. Kind of.)This weekly podcast brings you honest and original media analysis from two insiders who’ve broken plenty of news and been broken by it, too. Hosted by long-suffering journalists and even longer-suffering friends, Jan Fran and Antoinette Lattouf, We Used to Be Journos is your guide to the way the media works. Join us every Wednesday as we unpack the headlines you see, and the power you don’t. We’ll take you through the week’s sketchy editorial decisions, suspect sources and thinly veiled bigotry. We’ll show you how the media sausage is made —so you know what you’re being fed. Armed with a low tolerance for spin, zero patience for BS, and just enough humour (and delusion) to keep working in the media, We Used to Be Journos serves up hot, sharp, unapologetic media tea.Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here. Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Australia