Current affairs legend Kerry O’Brien has been inducted into the TV WEEK Logie Awards Hall Of Fame for his incomparable 50 years’ service to Australia television.
The six-time Walkley Award winner earned a standing ovation at the 61st TV WEEK Logies ceremony as he accepted his Hall of Fame award, joining such other journalistic luminaries and previous HOF winners as Laurie Oakes, Peter Harvey and Brian Henderson.
Kerry, who began on TV in 1965 as a reporter at Channel 9 Brisbane, became one of the most respected current affairs presenters in the country for his work on such shows as This Day Tonight, Lateline, The 7.30 Report and previous Hall of Fame winner, Four Corners.
“This is such an honour,” Kerry tells TV WEEK. “I have been on the Logies stage previously when various stories we’ve presented on Lateline and Four Corners have won the Outstanding News and Public Affairs awards, but this is the first Logie I have won.
“Whatever people see as my record or achievements in television are certainly not mine alone. The hallmark of my career has been the enormous bank of talent I have been privileged to work with – some of the most talented people in the TV game.
“So in winning this Hall of Fame Logie, I really am representing an awful lot of people.”
Kerry, 73, has been acclaimed as one of the best interviewers Australian television has ever known. It has been the way he has manoeuvred hundreds of interviews across half a century that earned him unrivalled industry acclaim and respect.
He has had encounters with prime ministers and presidents, politicians and pop icons – from international political titans like Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev through to music superstars like David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen.
On the local political front, he has interviewed a wide range of Australian Prime Minister from William McMahon through to recent leader, Malcolm Turnbull.
“I’ve had an extraordinary ringside seat to so much important history, and what I’ve done is hang onto my seat and go along for the ride,” he recalls.
“One of the important things about journalism was holding the powerful to account. I really enjoy the interviewing and it gave me the opportunity to sit down with some of the great minds in the world.”
Kerry revealed many tales of life on both sides of the camera in his recently released book, Kerry O’Brien: A Memoir.
During his acceptance speech on Sunday night, Kerry gave an impassioned dedication to the ABC and acknowledged the threats the organisation is currently facing.
ABC offices in both Sydney and Melbourne were recently raided by the AFP, as law enforcement sought to uncover the sources who leaked stories to the ABC’s journalists.
“The ABC is still forging its way through strong headwinds, probably never threatened more than it is today,” he said.
“Now even the Federal Police, some of whom have themselves been linked to us in the past, have seen fit to raid the place. Yet as I sat here tonight and watched nomination after nomination after nomination for the ABC, including for Most Popular category which rely on a public vote, I felt so much better about the place.”
But he delivered a heartwarming message to the thousands of journalists who work for the national broadcaster.
“My message to every person working in Aunty’s [the ABC’s nickname is Aunty] embrace today is simple: Keep your heads held high and your eye firmly fix odd delivering programs of relevance, quality and integrity for people in every corner of Australia and those same people will repay your loyalty with theirs as they always have.”
See the full list of winners for the 2019 TV WEEK Logie Awards here.
