We used to be journalists, but now we mostly just bitch about them. (Kidding. Kind of.)
This weekly podcast brings you honest and original media analysis from two insiders who’ve broken plenty of news and been broken by it, too. Hosted by long-suffering journalists and even longer-suffering friends, Jan Fran and Antoinette Lattouf, We Used to Be Journos is your guide to the way the media works.
Join us every Wednesday as we unpack the headlines you see, and the power you don’t. We’ll take you through the week’s sketchy editorial decisions, suspect sources and thinly veiled bigotry. We’ll show you how the media sausage is made —so you know what you’re being fed.
Armed with a low tolerance for spin, zero patience for BS, and just enough humour (and delusion) to keep working in the media, We Used to Be Journos serves up hot, sharp, unapologetic media tea.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We used to be journalists, but now we mostly just bitch about them. (Kidding. Kind of.)
This weekly podcast brings you honest and original media analysis from two insiders who’ve broken plenty of news and been broken by it, too. Hosted by long-suffering journalists and even longer-suffering friends, Jan Fran and Antoinette Lattouf, We Used to Be Journos is your guide to the way the media works.
Join us every Wednesday as we unpack the headlines you see, and the power you don’t. We’ll take you through the week’s sketchy editorial decisions, suspect sources and thinly veiled bigotry. We’ll show you how the media sausage is made —so you know what you’re being fed.
Armed with a low tolerance for spin, zero patience for BS, and just enough humour (and delusion) to keep working in the media, We Used to Be Journos serves up hot, sharp, unapologetic media tea.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Jan and Antoinette examine the BBC ‘bias’ scandal that saw its director general and head of news resign. They go through the complaint letter that kicked off the scandal and examine other accusations of bias that haven't gotten nearly as much attention.
Plus, as two Leb chicks who grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs in the early 2000s - Jan and Antoinette have memories of John Laws that are very different to the gushing media coverage of his passing.
Also, Antoinette salutes the AFR for sniffing out The West Australian’s suspiciously glowing coverage of one ASX darling, while Jan backs the Italian journalist fired for asking a question about Gaza - and the colleague who asked it again, just louder.
Buy tickets to our LIVE SHOWS in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Canberra here.
Support Ette Media by becoming a SUBSCRIBER here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can WATCH THE EPISODE in full here.
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In this episode, Jan takes a look at the use of AI in New York’s mayoral race and finds Cuomo’s campaign ads against Zohran Mamdani don’t just bend the truth but snap it completely and add a good dose of racism. This can’t be the future of political advertising…or can it?
Also, the Coalition reckons net zero is “too toxic” but Antoinette discovers it’s only toxic to billionaires with an agenda and a media empire.
Plus, news of long running atrocities in Sudan find their way into Western headlines but why now?
It’s a Yes: The new magazine that mixes politics, culture and art to achieve a lofty goal and a much-loved indi media company tries to break free of the algorithm.
Sudan coverage tips: follow Yousra Elbagir Sky News UK’s Africa correspondent, Yassmin Abdel-Magied or Sudanese journalist Almigdad Hassan and follow updates from Sudanese Journalists Syndicate.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Egyptian-Canadian journalist Omar El Akkad joins Antoinette Lattouf on stage at the Queenscliff Literary Festival for a searingly honest and intimate conversation.
The author of ‘One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This’, confronts a brutal question: what does it mean to live in the US while its government bankrolls, supports and enables Palestinian ethnic cleansing? He speaks to his sense of personal complicity, silence and the media’s role in manufacturing consent.
Yet even as despair presses in, El Akkad refuses to surrender hope. He explains why giving up is a luxury Palestinians cannot afford and neither can those who claim to stand with them.
This is a conversation that refuses comfort.
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Buy our new Etterati and It’s A No From Me T-shirts here.
Omar El Akkad's book One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.
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As former ABC chair Ita Buttrose promotes her latest book Jan and Antoinette pull apart the plentiful puff pieces.
Antoinette hunts for proof of Melbourne’s machete epidemic and finds it exists mainly in headlines.
Plus who is watching free to air TV… no really who? Because we crunched some numbers and they don't add up.
Also a double shout out to the Labor Party (yes, shocking): first for new AI laws that make it harder for big tech to take artists’ work for free, and second to the junior staffer whose leaked memo lays out the party’s Gaza gaslighting talking points.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
Buy an ‘Etterati: Members Only’ or ‘It’s A No From Me’ tee here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this bonus episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning US journalist Chris Hedges joins Antoinette Lattouf to unpack his time in Australia so far, including some fraught interactions with sections of the Australian media.
We also discuss what he flew all this way to talk about: how western journalists are betraying their colleagues in Gaza.
Plus, Chris offers some honest advice for young people who still want to tell stories and speak truth to power.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
Buy our new Etterati and It’s A No From Me T-shirts here.
If you want to see our mugs as well as hear our dulcet tones you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, as Anthony Albanese meets Donald Trump at the White House we take a look at the manufactured moment that saw former PM Kevin Rudd hit the headlines.
Plus, we unpack the media’s warped definitions of a “ceasefire” in Gaza as near-identical coverage around the world tows the Israeli line and ignores Palestinians.
And, with the commentary creep in journalism leaving audiences confused we proffer an unlikely solution. Also in medialand women get punted, men get promoted.
It’s A Yes From Me: the U.S reporters resisting Trump’s creeping authoritarianism by hitting the pavement… in more ways than one.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
Buy our new Etterati and It’s A No From Me T-shirts here.
If you want to see our mugs as well as hear our dulcet tones you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, a tip off leads Jan and Antoinette to discover a U.S. website had published the private phone numbers of high profile Australians including the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and the NSW Premier.
Some awkward verification calls followed as well as some questions about what the PM knew and when.
We take you through the story from start to finish and wade through the world of AI-driven data scraping to understand what this means for your privacy (and the PMs)
In It's a No From Me, Antoinette adds The West Australian’s ceasefire editorial to the “vile pile”, plus some TLDR tips on spotting below average “expert” takes on Gaza.
In It’s a Yes From Me, Jan Fran salutes The Shot and The Sunday Shot and Antoinette cheers on an opinion piece about Senator David Pocock tackling the gambling lobby.
LinkedIn spokesperson statement: “Our policies are clear that any unauthorised scraping of data from LinkedIn is prohibited. In addition to the technology and teams we’ve long had in place to stop unauthorised data scraping, we continue to invest in new defenses to protect our members’ data. You can read about our latest efforts here.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode we reveal what really happened behind the scenes of Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges’ National Press Club address - a talk that vanished from the schedule. Was it ever confirmed, did it get cancelled or did the NPC, as Hedges alleges, cave to the Israel lobby? We’ve got the paper trail.
Also, the Trump administration’s crackdown on press freedom takes a dark turn: a veteran journalist is arrested while live streaming an ICE raid and then kicked out of the country by the same immigration body he’d been filming.
We also unpack Israel’s latest influencer campaign targeting Gen Z, a glossy front in the propaganda war during its genocide in Gaza.
Plus, a nod to the SBS doco on robodebt and its inadvertent role in providing much needed media literacy and a quick shout to a new toolkit for starting your own hyperlocal newsroom.
Grab your tickets to A Night of Humanity at Enmore Theatre here.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode Jan and Antoinette try to answer the question many of you have asked: why am I agreeing with Candace Owens? They take a look at the divisions within the MAGA movement over Israel and why things aren’t quite what they seem.
Plus, it costs $25 million to police protests in Victoria - or does it? We dig into that figure and not only is it inflated by we find certain politicians working with certain media outlets to manufacture a story.
And, AI is coming for your ears. Jan looks at Inception Point AI - the new podcast company flooding the zone with thousands of podcasts episodes each week with not a human in sight.
There’s also a shout out to one of our favourite columnists who also used to be a journo.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’re live at the Wheeler Center in Melbourne this week, handing out a report card on independent media now that Ette Media has survived its three-month probation.
Jan Fran, once reporting on Eurovision for SBS, is now not-happy-Jan at the broadcaster’s refusal to boycott if Israel takes the stage.
Antoinette brings the receipts on The Daily Telegraph’s dodgy hit job against the Jewish Council of Australia, which just happened to interrupt the Council’s paid ad opposing genocide.
And yes, it gets raw: the audience pulls no punches in the Q+A, and neither do we.
It’s A Yes From Me:
Antoinette tips her hat to ABC’s John Lyons for irritating President Trump.
Jan Fran can’t get enough of Greg Larsen’s eulogy of Charlie Kirk.
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In an exclusive investigation, we look at Melbourne University Press’s decision to close one of Australia’s oldest literary journals. MUP says it’s about money, we reveal new testimony that says otherwise. So what’s it really about?
Plus, we look at the saturation of media coverage following Charlie Kirk’s murder. We explore how the media should cover the far right, how “centrist media” gets it wrong and how the focus on one man distracted us from the biggest story in the world.
And the Islamophobia envoy’s findings landed on a Friday - a slot reserved for news no one wants noticed but that’s not our main gripe.
A Yes From Me:
Zeteo News: Charlie Kirk in His Own Words
ABC ‘The federal press gallery is ceding power to the Albanese government’
Our earlier episode on Antisemitism envoy findings
Support Ette Media, join the Etterati by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With Antoinette away this week, Jan Fran holds down the fort with former BBC journalist and presenter Karishma Patel. Karishma walked out of the BBC in October 2024 over its coverage of Gaza and has since become one of its loudest and most public critics.
In this episode, she and Jan dive into life inside the BBC, what finally pushed her to resign, and why she’s now taking the organisation to task in public. They unpack the slippery word “impartiality” – how it so often doubles as a muzzle for journalists who dare to prod the status quo - and ask whether it’s more effective to stay and fight from the inside or cut loose and build something different. The pair also unpack the momentum around building a new media ecosystem.
Regular programming resumes next week.
You can find Karishma on Instagram
You can read her piece in The Independent
You can read her piece in The Guardian
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan and Antoinette have been busting to share their inside Lebbo goss about Bob Katter.
Also, we cover the coverage of the so-called March for Australia - a rally led by neo-Nazis and followed by limp reporting.
The Herald Sun dibberdobs … again and the Canberra Midwinter Ball leaves Jan feeling icy as she watches old-school journalists and new school content creators clink glasses with the same old politicians.
Plus: praise for the independent media organisation (of course) that delivered the much-needed analysis of the “anti-immigration” march, and a cartoonist whose pencil cuts straight through inequality.
It’s a Yes From Me:
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
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In this episode Antoinette (finally!) gives her reaction to the ABC’s new Public Comment Guidelines, which Jan calls the ‘Lattouf guidelines.’ The broadcaster says the new rules aren’t due to its Federal Court loss to Antoinette but we’re not so sure. We also examine the messy, co-dependent and ever-changing relationship between journalists and the public comments they were encouraged (then discouraged) to make on social media.
Elsewhere, Sky’s Sharri Markson “interviews” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a “world exclusive” but it was less interview and more stenography with a side of flattery for the wanted war criminal who’s also credibly accused of committing genocide. Plus, the Bush Summit - a billionaire–backed, media-run roadshow - rolls into town where words like “net zero ideology” and “climategate” get cooked up, and served reheated as news.
Plus, some recognition for journalism-done-good, reassurance that cynicism hasn’t fully eaten our souls.
It’s a Yes From Me:
+972 Magazine Independent journalism from Israel-Palestine
The Guardian: Australia’s gun lobby says it’s ‘winning’ the fight against firearm control
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Jan examines the fishy relationship between Woodside Energy and Seven West Media. Antoinette looks at The Daily Telegraph revving up far-right, anti-immigration protests despite demonising other protests, a move that gives Jan flashbacks to the Cronulla Riots.
Meanwhile, as Deepcut News breaks a story of censorship at the Bendigo's Writer's Festival, we spill some insider tea on a backflip of Palestinian voices at another publication.
Plus, Jan and Antoinette swap survival tactics for dodging news fatigue without sticking their heads in the sand - and point out who’s tuning out, and why that’s a problem.
Deepcut News takes the lead on Bendigo Writer’s Festival
MEAA’s Stop Killing Journalists video
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Jan and Antoinette are gutted by news that more of their Palestinian journalist colleagues - including Al Jazeera's Anas Al-Sharif - were killed in Gaza. Instead of honouring their work, much of the media repeated - nay led- with the Israeli line that they were “terrorists” despite a complete lack of evidence.
We pull apart the evidence and long, well-documented history of Israel deliberately targeting the press, in what remains the only “conflict” where foreign journalists are banned from bearing witness.
Also: we pull apart one tired claim from a former Attorney-General’s opinion piece and we examine the role of the press in the cancellation of a Palestinian cookbook author’s visa and why the outrage is often selective.
We close with a few recommendations of the satirists and comedians landing blows the media won’t - a reminder that sometimes the sharpest truths arrive wrapped in a punchline.
It’s a YES From me:
Geggy on Israel, The Greg Larson Show
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
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In this episode, Jan and Antoinette reflect on their decision to attend what’s being called Australia’s biggest anti-war march. Fresh off that Harbour Bridge high, they grapple with the chaotic, contradictory and downright distorted media framing of the protest.
At the Logies, things felt … well, the same. Veteran Ray Martin’s speech piqued our interest but the moment was quickly lost. There’s also a not-so-stellar call that raises sharp questions about editorial integrity and sharper questions about morality. Under gentle duress, Jan gives (rare) praise to a podcast that cracks a historic code to reveal a dark truth and Antoinette tips her hat to a gutsy little newsletter punching well above its weight.
It’s A Yes:
The Descendants episode 1: decoding a massacre – Full Story podcast
TrueNorth Newsletter curated by Denise Shrivell
Where to donate to support Gaza:
Jayson Gilham’s legal crowdfunding
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode Jan and Antoinette unpack the sudden, strangely synchronised media concern for starving Palestinian children. Why now? What’s changed—and what still hasn’t? A look at the caveats, spin, and selective outrage still dominating the conversation.
We also look closely at the prestigious Andrew OIllie media lecture that is meant to be a forward-looking media lecture but curiously fails to glance at much of the present.
We try not to throw up listening to the Nelk Boys hour-long interview with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu - an internationally wanted war criminal who was given a direct line to millions of young men via their podcast.
And to end on a less soul-crushing note, we spotlight some solid investigative journalism that seeks to hold power to account.
You can listen to Guardian journalist Nour Haydar’s inspiring lecture here.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, Jan and Antoinette have a candid and sometimes chaotic conversation about whether they still see themselves as journalists—and why they threw caution to the wind and launched an independent media company. This honest exploration of the Australian media industry is part reflection, part existential crisis.
It’s A No From Me: A dissection of a political TV debate that’s more spectacle than substance, and the framing of the massacre of Palestinians seeking help is manipulated to fit a narrative that’s as deadly as it is misleading.
It’s A Yes From Me: Antoinette gives a thumbs up to independent media peers who are growing and commissioning writers Cheek Media and DeepCut News.
Meanwhile, Jan shouts out British journalist Mona Chalabi’s interview on Real Talk —because sometimes, you just need a good interview to rewire your brain and remind you that you’re not alone.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, we take a look at Australia's antisemitism envoy and her plan to “monitor” and “advise” public broadcasters. Jillian Segal says her plan wont stifle criticism of Israel but we aren't so sure. We also have an honest conversation about the pro-Israel lobby and its influence on the Australian media, from all-expenses-junkets to Israel for top editors to those same editors punishing journalists for signing an open letter calling for fairer Gaza coverage.
It’s a No From Me: Lattouf dissects the pearl-clutching media panic over Albo’s China visit, while Jan stumbles on a spicy little column in The Australian that takes a personal swipe at this very pod (thanks for listening)!
And just to prove we can still see the good in the world, we shout out some media legends doing solid work.
This week:
Jess Harwood cartoonist
Anthony Klan of The Klaxon.
Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.
If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.
Thanks to @jaidanielpyne for composing the music for our podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.