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PODCAST

We Used to be Journos

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

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All Episodes

1:05:41

BBC’s ‘bias’ blow-up, John Laws’ lasting legacy,...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/11/11

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

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56:16

Mamdani AI attack ads, Coalition’s net zero backflip,...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/11/04

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

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43:09

BONUS: Omar El Akkad x Lattouf on ways to resist...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/30

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

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57:45

Ita’s reputation rehab tour, Melbourne’s machete...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/28

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

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37:17

BONUS: Chris Hedges x Lattouf: Late Night Live, Press...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/23

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

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1:06:24

What ‘Ceasefire’? + Rudd’s manufactured media moment,...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/21

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

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55:22

THE SCOOP: PM’s phone number published in AI leak +...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/14

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

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1:00:57

Inside Press Club mess, Trump deports journalist +...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/10/07

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

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48:22

Why are you agreeing with Candace Owens? Media...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/09/30

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

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1:02:25

Kimmel gets Lattoufed, SBS’s tunnelvision on...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/09/23

We’re live at the Wheeler Centre 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:

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1:03:05

EXCLUSIVE: A lifeline for Meanjin, Kirk’s killing...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/09/16

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

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55:00

Meet the BBC journalist who quit over Gaza coverage

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/09/09

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

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57:50

Neo-Nazi march minimised, Lebs on Bob Katter + news...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/09/02

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

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55:59

ABC’s social media gag order, Sky News’ war criminal...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/08/26

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

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55:00

Bendigo's big backfire, Woodside fishy ties with...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/08/19

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

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56:29

Media parrots Israel after killing of journalists,...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/08/12

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

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1:00:52

Historic bridge march leaves media scrambling, Logies...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/08/05

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

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57:04

Media wakes up to starved kids in Gaza…or does it? +...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/07/29

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

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1:03:21

Have we really stopped being journalists? A terrible...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/07/22

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

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59:27

An envoy influencing media, coverage of PM in China +...

We Used to be Journos ·

2025/07/15

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

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