Alison Sandy is the Freedom of Information editor for the Seven Network and the executive producer for The Lady Vanishes and Shot in the Dark true crime podcasts.
I first heard of Alison when she spoke via Zoom at the University of Queensland in 2021 as part of a Walkley Masterclass series on journalism. Her presentation was about Freedom of Information, the laws that enable citizens and journalists to request access to public information which public institutions are legally required to provide.
Alison is an expert in the subject – as FOI editor for Seven, she lodges hundreds of applications a year across Australia, navigating the complexities of the different state and federal legislation, and sometimes going to tribunal hearings to fight for access to information.
Alison is also heavily involved in true crime podcasting, which led me to reach out to her in April. I’ve helped write and produce a true crime podcast myself, Shandee’s Story, and I was keen to speak with her about the power in these podcasts to create renewed interest in unsolved cases. As Alison tells me in the interview: “I love the podcast format … I don’t think you can a story justice in any other medium as well.”
Our conversation touches on Alison’s national role as FOI editor for Seven; her love of history; the power of true-crime podcasting; why the inquest won’t be the end of Marion Barter’s case; who police should investigate further in relation to Marion’s disappearance; the time Alison found herself recording a sensational speech by an unsuspecting former liberal senator Amanda Vanstone which went on to make front-page news; the time police raided her newsroom for confidential information she had received; and Alison’s experience working as a young journalist in the Victorian town of Portland where her eagerness and commitment to journalism rubbed some people the wrong way.
The inquest findings into Marion Barter's disappearance were released a week after my conversation with Alison. Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan found that Marion Barter was dead, that she had died soon after she vanished nearly three decades ago, and that Ric Blum was involved in draining her bank account at the time and was deliberating withholding information. She referred the case to NSW homicide police for further investigation but did not recommend charges of perjury against Blum.
The book version of The Lady Vanishes will be released later this year (a current May release date) by HarperCollins.
For a full episode transcript and links to Alison’s work visit our website: https://bylinespodcast.com
Sound production by Jonathan Koster: https://www.instagram.com/djjonnysounds
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