It’s the job of a journalist to bring light to stories and people, but it’s not often they are in the spotlight.

At PritchittBland Communications we run a special blog series where we put the spotlight on Australian financial journalists and dig a little deeper to find out where they’ve come from and what drives a good story. See it from their perspective and read the interview with our next guest, Sue Lannin.

Why did you decide to go into journalism?

I was an idealistic young feminist Marxist and I wanted to save the world so journalism seemed the most logical option.

I also wanted to be a foreign correspondent so I went to Hong Kong straight out of journalism school. 

I covered the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule, and how Hong Kong was change by Chinese rule. 

When the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened in the US, I went to Pakistan to work as a freelance journalist for ABC News, BBC News, NationalPublic Radio, and Deutsche Welle. 

I feel so fortunate to have started as a young journalist during the golden age of journalism. There have been so many changes to our industry, not all of them good. 

When I started out I was a radio journalist cutting audio tape and shooting TV stories on Betacam video tape!!

Now it’s all digital, and we film stories on our iPhones and transfer the files via the cloud. 

The technological changes are amazing, but now everyone has to deal with work intensification, meaning we do one story for all platforms: radio, TV, online, and social media.

I love being a journalist. I get to be a witness to history and interview the protagonists. 

What about the finance industry interests you the most?

I am very interested in financial literacy. It is crucial for all levels of society.  

There is a high level of financial illiteracy in Australia, especially among Indigenous communities, migrant communities, working class and low income communities. 

We need to devote more government spending at all levels of government to financial literacy because it increases inequality in Australia. 

I came from a working class background and I went to a public school so I feel passionate about social and economic justice. 

I think everyone should have the opportunity to have a good life with access to food, shelter, education, and a job that pays an adequate salary.

I don’t think people should be excluded from the housing market because they don’t have intergenerational wealth. 

Also around half of Australians own shares, but how many really understand the stock market?

Being a business journalist allows you to help increase financial literacy and explain complex economic jargon in simple terms. 

It is a privilege and an honour. 

What are you looking forward to seeing happen in the financial landscape in the next 5 years?

I want to see more financial literacy!  I think artificial intelligence (AI) will really help in that respect. 

I would like to see tougher financial and corporate laws to curtail cowboy capitalism and dodgy companies. We have had too many corporate scandals with too little accountability. 

I loved the banking royal commission, but I would have liked to see more meaningful change from it. 

It will be fascinating to see how AI revolutionises the finance industry especially in terms of reg tech (regulatory technology), and the future of crypto assets and digital currencies.  

What makes a good story?

“If it bleeds, it leads”:  old newsroom saying! A strong angle with strong talent and provable arguments, meaning that there is evidence for what the interviewee is arguing or putting forward. David and Goliath stories. New developments in business e.g. new technology, new markets, entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. Accountability for corporate wrongdoers. Indigenous businesses and empowerment. 

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What advice would you give to executives when they are talking to the media?

Be straight. Don’t lie. You will be found out in the end. Look at Rupert Murdoch and News of the World. 

Fess up and drop the spin.

Answer the question. If you don’t answer it, I will keep asking (I’ve done my research). 

Do interviews and not just with the print media. ABC and other broadcasters are important too and they have a much bigger audience. 

Drop the corporate jargon. Use simpler language when speaking to general broadcasters. People are really interested in business, but they get turned off by corporate speak.  

Don’t “share” a story with me or “reach out”. I hate those words!!

Make sure your media team know the company’s history. Most senior business journalists know more about the company than the media team (hello FMG!)

Don’t complain to journalists that they made the “wrong interpretation” of the chief executive’s comments at the press conference/interview and demand they change the story (this has really happened to me and the lawyer’s advice was “you can’t be sued for wrong interpretation!). 

If a journalist has made a mistake,  it is totally fine to ask for a correction. Professional journalists want to get things right. 

If you have done something wrong, then get on the front foot and own up to it. 

Compensate customers and underpaid workers before it becomes a public scandal. Go public before you are forced to by the Fair Work Ombudsman or the ACCC. Your brand depends on it. 

Most importantly: give me an exclusive!!