Andrew Fowler (journalist)

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Fowler in 2011

Andrew John Fowler is an Australian TV reporter, author, and journalist. Born in the United Kingdom, he worked as a journalist in London before migrating to Australia. He specialises in human rights and national security issues.[1]

Reportage[edit]

Julian Assange and WikiLeaks[edit]

Fowler has reported extensively on the rise of WikiLeaks on ABC programs Four Corners and Foreign Correspondent and published the book, The Most Dangerous Man in the World: the inside story of WikiLeaks.[2][3][4][1]

In 2013 Fowler reported for ABC's Four Corners on foreign hackers who had penetrated several Australian Government departments and defence manufacturing companies. The program, Hacked, revealed that the blueprint for the then new headquarters of Australia's domestic spy agency ASIO, had been discovered on an internet server based in China, thus potentially compromising the agency's security.[5]

Personal views[edit]

Fowler is critical of the rising power of executive government. He sees the prosecution of Julian Assange as a political attack on journalism and an attempt to intimidate all journalists from their central role of holding governments to account.[6]

South Africa[edit]

In 1993 Fowler reported on South Africa's transition to democracy after the release of Nelson Mandela.[7]

For ABC's Foreign Correspondent he exposed details of the allegations that then South African President Jacob Zuma had been bribed by the French arms manufacturer, Thales.[8]

In Somalia he reported on the kidnapping by pirates of tourists on the French ship Le Ponant and their subsequent release.[9]

The Australian Liberal Party’s attack on Paul Keating[edit]

In 2001 he reported an expose of a Liberal Party dirty tricks attempt to discredit former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating.[10]

It was widely reported that the broadcast of the program – Party Tricks - was delayed by the ABC's managing director Jonathan Shier, an ex-Liberal party staffer who was strongly critical of its contents. It was eventually broadcast unchanged.[11][12]

Other stories[edit]

Fowler covered the former Soviet Union’s move to a market economy under Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika and Glasnost and the overthrow of Manuel Noriega in Panama.[13] In 1987 he covered the Iran-Iraq War and the Contra-Gate affair.[14]

In 2009 Fowler exposed the details of the unexplained death of a mining magnate and his shadowy relationship with a west Australian entrepreneur for the Four Corners report Dirty Business.[15]

Career[edit]

Fowler started his career in journalism as a reporter on the Mid-Sussex Times and later moved to the London Evening News where he covered the IRA bombing campaign. In 1976 he moved to Australia where he worked as a reporter for News Limited newspaper, before becoming chief of staff of The Australian and later Acting Foreign Editor.[1]

Fowler went on to work as a reporter for Channel 7, SBS TV's Dateline, ABC’s Lateline program, and the ABC flagship investigative program Four Corners.[16][17][18]

In 2002 Fowler was appointed head of the ABC’s Investigative Unit, reporting stories for radio's AM and PM, programs, and ABC TV's 7.30 Report, Foreign Correspondent and Four Corners.[19]

Since leaving the ABC in 2013 Fowler has published two books, on journalism and national security. He has also published stories in The Guardian[20] and The Sydney Morning Herald,[21] The Monthly[22] and has been interviewed several times on the ABC,[23] the BBC[24] and France24 TV[18] discussing WikiLeaks, journalism and national security issues.

Books published[edit]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "The Most Dangerous Man In The World, Andrew Fowler". Melbourne University Publishing. 2 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Sex, Lies and Julian Assange". 23 July 2012 – via www.abc.net.au.
  3. ^ "Running against the tide - the life of an investigative journalist". www.abc.net.au. 17 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Truth or Dare - Wikileaks". 15 October 2010 – via www.abc.net.au.
  5. ^ "HACKED!". 27 May 2013 – via www.abc.net.au.
  6. ^ a b "The War on Journalism by Andrew Fowler". www.penguin.com.au.
  7. ^ "Running against the tide - the life of an investigative journalist". www.abc.net.au. 30 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Is Zuma fit to lead South Africa?". 8 April 2009 – via www.abc.net.au.
  9. ^ "Inside Puntland's pirate heart". ABC News. 28 April 2009 – via www.abc.net.au.
  10. ^ "Party Tricks". ABC Alumni. 9 August 2021.
  11. ^ Brook, Zoe Samios, Lisa Visentin, Stephen (11 June 2021). "How Four Corners became the story in the government's ABC wars". The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "AM Archive - Keating responds to 4 Corners storm". www.abc.net.au.
  13. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on September 21, 1987 · Page 69". Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "30 Years of Dateline: Andrew Fowler" – via www.sbs.com.au.
  15. ^ Deakin University Search [dead link]
  16. ^ "Four Corners - Aired Order - All Seasons - TheTVDB.com". thetvdb.com.
  17. ^ "Andrew Fowler on his most secretive subject: Julian Assange". Conversations with Richard Fidler. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b "The Interview - Julian Assange: The most dangerous man in the world?". France 24. 12 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Contributors Articles | The Interpreter". www.lowyinstitute.org.
  20. ^ "Andrew Fowler | The Guardian". the Guardian.
  21. ^ Fowler, Andrew (11 June 2019). "ABC raids a wake-up call to journalists who left Assange swinging". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  22. ^ "The Turnbull files". The Monthly. 7 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Andrew Fowler". ABC Radio National. 1 July 2020.
  24. ^ "andrew fowler – Stilgherrian". stilgherrian.com.
  25. ^ Fowler, Andrew (3 December 2012). The Most Dangerous Man In The World: The Inside Story On Julian Assange And WikiLeaks. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 978-0-522-86188-4.
  26. ^ "Shooting the Messenger: Criminalising Journalism". Routledge & CRC Press.
  27. ^ "A Secret Australia – Monash University Publishing".
  28. ^ Handbook of Global Media Ethics | SpringerLink. www.springer.com.
  29. ^ "Dumbing down of news - journalism in times of war". ABC Radio. 6 March 2003.
  30. ^ "Q & A with Andrew Fowler - Author of The Most Dangerous Man in the World". Melbourne University Publishing. 17 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Four Corners Awards". www.abc.net.au.
  32. ^ a b "Awards". www.abc.net.au.
  33. ^ "Walkley Book Award 2015 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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