Sarah Ferguson (journalist)

Sarah Ferguson (born 31 December 1965) is a British/Australian[1] journalist, reporter and television presenter now based in Australia and formerly in Britain. She is currently working with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Sarah Ferguson
Born (1965-12-31) 31 December 1965
Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationJournalist, reporter, TV presenter, producer
EmployerAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
Known forHitting Home, The Killing Season
Spouse(s)Tony Jones (1993–present)[1]
AwardsGold Walkley, Walkley Award, AACTA Documentary Award

In late 2019, Ferguson was appointed ABC's China Bureau Chief. Previously, she was a reporter and presenter on ABC's Four Corners.[2]

Personal life

Ferguson was born in Lagos, Nigeria, where her British-born parents lived. The family moved to Britain as the Biafran war broke out, and Ferguson studied English literature at King's College, London. She married fellow journalist and radio and TV presenter Tony Jones in 1993 and they have three sons (one from a previous relationship of Jones).[1]

Career

Ferguson began her career in journalism in Britain, writing arts reviews for The Independent before moving to France where she worked for the BBC. In Australia, apart from her ABC career, Ferguson has worked for the SBS programs Dateline and Insight as a reporter and producer.[1][3] She won the Gold Walkley Award in 2011 for her work on the Four Corners investigation "A Bloody Business" into cruelty to animals in Indonesian abattoirs.[4] In 2015, she presented Hitting Home, reporting from the frontline of Australia's domestic violence crisis. The series won Best Documentary at the 2016 AACTA Awards[5] and the Walkley Documentary Award.

In May 2017, Ferguson presented The Siege, a two-part special investigating the siege at the Lindt cafe, Martin Place, Sydney.[6][7] In 2018, Ferguson started working on Revelation, a three part documentary series for ABC about the sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.[8]

In February 2019, Ferguson was appointed as ABC's China Bureau Chief.[9]

In 2020, Ferguson hosted Revelation when it aired on ABC on 17 March, 31 March and 2 April.[10] During the special, she interviewed two men, identified as Bernie and Peter Clarke, who accused convicted Australian Cardinal George Pell of sexually abusing them as boys when he served the Diocese of Ballarat and investigated their accusations. The alleged sexual abuse occurred when Pell spent time at the Catholic orphanage where they resided in the 1970s. The show's premiere scored 645,000 viewers and was even more watched than a coronavirus special that aired the same night. Despite the fact that the third episode was temporarily removed after Pell's conviction in Melbourne was overturned, reruns of Revelation still remained online, with the third episode to be restored after undergoing some re-editing to update the content;[11] all three episodes also remain available on ABC Radio's website.[12] ABC also released a statement which stood by the program's original content, stating “The ABC has – and will continue to – report accurately and without fear or favour on stories that are in the public interest, including this one.”[11] On 13 April 2020, police began an investigation of the sex abuse allegations discussed in Revelation.[13]

Filmography
  • 2008 – Buying Back The River
  • 2009 – Code of Silence [14]
  • 2011 – A Bloody Business [15]
  • 2012 – Growing Up Poor [16]
  • 2012 – Another Bloody Business [17]
  • 2013 – Trading Misery [18]
  • 2015 – The Killing Season
  • 2015 – Hitting Home
  • 2016 – The Leaders [19]
  • 2017 – The Siege [6]
  • 2018 - Trump/Russia [20]
  • 2018 - Bitter End [21]
  • 2019 - Revelation

Awards
Key Awards and Nominations
Award Title Year Category Recipient(s) Result
AACTA Awards Hitting Home 2016 AACTA Award for Best Documentary Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Won
AACTA Awards The Killing Season 2015 AACTA Award for Best Documentary Sarah Ferguson, Deborah Masters Won
Walkley Awards Hitting Home 2016 Documentary Award Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Won
Walkley Awards A Bloody Business 2011 Gold Walkley Award Sarah Ferguson, Michael Doyle, Anne Worthington Won
Walkley Awards A Bloody Business 2011 Documentary Award Sarah Ferguson, Michael Doyle, Anne Worthington Won
Walkley Awards Code of Silence 2009 Best Sports Journalism Sarah Ferguson, Kate Wild, Anne Connolly, Ivan O'Mahoney Won
Amnesty International Australia Media Awards Hitting Home 2016 Television Award Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Won
Screen Producers Australia Hitting Home 2016 Series Documentary Production Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Nominated
Our Watch Awards Hitting Home 2016 Best Longform Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Won
TV Week Logie Awards Hitting Home 2016 Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton, Ivan O'Mahoney Nominated
TV Week Logie Awards The Killing Season 2015 Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report Sarah Ferguson, Deborah Masters Won

Bibliography
  • Ferguson, Sarah (2016), On Mother, Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Publishing, ISBN 978-0-522-87408-2
  • Ferguson, Sarah; Drum, Patricia, (authors.) (2016), The killing Season Uncut, Melbourne University Publishing, ISBN 978-0-522-86995-8CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Carlton, Victoria : Melbourne University Publishing

References
  1. Maley, Jacqueline (5 July 2014). "Sarah Ferguson on 7.30 and what makes her tick". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. McManus, Bridget (30 January 2014). "Journalist Sarah Ferguson on fresh search for the truth on 7.30". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ABC's page on Ferguson
  4. "A Bloody Business". ABC. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  5. "Past Awards". www.aacta.org. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  6. The Siege - Part One, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 22 May 2017, retrieved 14 March 2020
  7. "Sarah Ferguson: 'One of most compelling things I've ever heard'". NewsComAu. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. "Sarah Ferguson to investigate forces behind Catholic Church child abuse in new 3-part special". Australian Television News - TV Blackbox. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. "Sarah Ferguson Appointed ABC China Bureau Chief". tv.press.abc.net.au. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  10. "Revelation | Episode 3". ABC Radio. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  11. Meade, Amanda (8 April 2020). "ABC to re-edit and restore George Pell episode of Revelation as News Corp goes on attack". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  12. "Revelation | Episode 3". ABC Radio. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  13. Torre, Giovanni (13 April 2020). "Australian police investigating new child abuse allegations against Cardinal George Pell". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  14. Code of Silence - 2009, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 8 August 2011, retrieved 14 March 2020
  15. A Bloody Business - 2011, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 8 August 2011, retrieved 14 March 2020
  16. Growing Up Poor, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 24 September 2012, retrieved 14 March 2020
  17. Another Bloody Business, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 5 November 2012, retrieved 14 March 2020
  18. Trading Misery, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 November 2013, retrieved 14 March 2020
  19. The Leaders, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 27 June 2016, retrieved 14 March 2020
  20. "Four Corners: Trump/Russia". ABC iview. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  21. Ferguson, Sarah; Drum, Patricia; Brigid; Andersen (12 November 2018). "Guthrie and Milne reveal explosive relationship breakdown at ABC". ABC News. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
Media offices
Preceded by
Kerry O'Brien		 Four Corners
Presenter
February 2016 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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