Richard Murray is a former journalist and war correspondent, and the current head of journalism at the University of Queensland.
Richard has a fascinating story to tell and has lived a massive life, much of it spent as a journalist overseas working in places that typically don’t get much of our attention. He’s worked in India, Nepal, North and South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia, covered international politics, a civil war, and helped set up the Associated Press bureau in Pyonyang, North Korea. Richard’s a lecturer at the University of Queensland where I study journalism and has been a great mentor to me the last few years.
There’s a stereotype in the industry that journalism lecturers are just academics who talk about journalism theory but have little to offer in practical experience. Richard breaks this stereotype; he’s a highly experienced journalist with a practical approach to teaching and I know a lot of students appreciate his classes.
Our conversation touches on Richard’s approach to teaching student’s journalism; his experience growing up on Māori tribal lands in New Zealand before being scouted for an elite rugby college; his experience working part-time for The Age in Melbourne while working as a dockhand at the port; meeting some of the most talented journalists he’s come across while working in India and travelling the country; his experience covering a civil war in Nepal what it’s like being shot at; his mental health journey as he comes to process the experiences he’s been through; the time he was thrown in prison in South Korea for a story he published; why he teaches his students social justice storytelling; why he worries about the future of Australian journalism; and how his upbringing informed his approach to journalism and his sense of belonging in the elite of academia today.
For a full episode transcript and links to Richard's work visit our website: http://bylinespodcast.com
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