Leigh Sales’ Accidental Exposé

I was so keen to read Leigh Sales’ new book on journalism I pre-ordered it. It’s called Storytellers: Questions, Answers and the Craft of Journalism. It’s already an Amazon best-seller. What’s not to like? The ABC icon interviewed some 30 well-known practitioners. They’re not just front-of-house, such as TV anchors, investigative reporters and columnists. They include editors, producers, “cammos” (camera) and technical people.

For sure, Sales lives within the ABC bubble, a shrinking one judging by the massive fall-off in radio and flagship TV ratings. But I wasn’t fussed by her take on things or her constant reminders of how impartial she is. The book’s insights are about the nitty-gritty of journalism, not ideology.

Did you know, for example, that Stan Grant has a clock inside his head that tells him when to finish his segment? “I can feel what five , ten , thirty seconds , a minute feels like,” he writes (p203). Did you know that investigative journalist…