Podcast
We Used to be Journos
Hosted by Ette Media · EN
We used to be journalists, but now we mostly just bitch about them. (Kidding. Kind of.) We also break down broken news.
Episodes drop Wednesday and Saturday.
Hosted by long-suffering journalists and even longer-suffering friends Jan Fran and Antoinette Lattouf, We Used to Be Journos pulls apart the week in media from people who know exactly how the machine runs because they worked inside it for decades.
Every Wednesday, the pair sift through the headlines you saw and the forces you did not. Expect blunt media analysis, zooming in on dodgy editorial calls, anonymous sources doing gymnastics, and the occasional whiff of bigotry dressed up as balance. Consider it a guided tour of the newsroom sausage factory so you know what ended up on your plate.
On Saturdays, the spin-off segment Only Jan hands the microphone to Walkley Award winner Jan Fran. One issue, one sharp monologue, foresincally researched, tightly argued, and, inconveniently for the powerful, quite funny.
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.
40episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Responding to the comments section
5d ago00:37:47Tap to summarizeIn this episode Jan and Antoinette respond directly to feedback from the Etterati.We answer questions about the language used to describe certain “regimes,” balance in journalism, why we talk about Gaza and whether we laugh too much about dark subject matters. Plus: what happens when journalists we’ve scrutinised reach out directly? As a media platform built on critiquing journalism and power, we ask how should we handle criticism of our own work?This is a candid conversation about accountability, truth and what drives us to do the work we do.Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here.Antoinette’s book Women Who Win is here. If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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ONLY FRAN: Influencers v journalists: same same but different this budget lock up
1w ago00:17:58Tap to summarizeThis week, Jan Fran examines the Albanese government’s attempt to sell its federal budget like a brand campaign — inviting influencers to pitch for access to the budget lock-up alongside journalists. It’s also an exploration of the line between “newsfluencers” and journalists, and what that means for political media in Australia.Become a subscriber of Ette Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Women Who Win and how the media shapes their legacy
2w ago00:39:00Tap to summarizeIn this special episode of We Used To Be Journos, Antoinette unpacks her new book Women Who Win through the lens of media literacy, power and representation.Yes, they get into Antoinette’s own headline-making battle — but this episode goes far beyond one story. Drawing on interviews with 30 women, alongside the stories of trailblazing Australian women no longer with us, the conversation explores how women in public life are framed by the media during their fights, their failures, and even their victories.From media smears to myth-making, this is a conversation about power, narrative control, and the women who kept going anyway.GRAB A COPY Women Who Win.MEET ANTOINETTE ON HER book tour across Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne Perth, Margaret River and Sydney.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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ONLY FRAN: Why I trust Tucker Carlson even less after his Trump apology
2w ago00:20:48Tap to summarizeTucker Carlson has apologised for the role he played in helping bring Donald Trump to power. In this episode of Only Fran, Jan explain why she's have always been suss on him and remains so… even after this apology and maybe even more so now because of it. Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Trump shooting conspiracies, Tele lashes anti-war Gen Z, media quiet as Aboriginal women cop it
3w ago00:45:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jan and Antoinette discuss the lead up to the White House correspondents’ dinner and the hundreds of US journalists who protested his presence there …albeit in a very polite way. They also note living in Trump’s post-truth world as conspiracies abound about the shooting incident that took place that evening. Plus, we’ve noted four incidents of Aboriginal women and girls dying in prisons or being assaulted by cops in W.A, all in the last five weeks, not that you’d hear about it much in the east coast press. Plus the Tele’s editor doesn't let statistics get in the way of a good story as he rails against Gen Z for being anti-war.BUY Women Who Win book: Link to The PointLink to Ben English video and Courier Mail articleSupport 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.
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ONLY FRAN: "Gaza war drove Bondi shooter to terror"
3w ago00:09:59Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jan Fran unpacks a Nine newspapers article headlined “Authorities suspect Gaza war drove Bondi shooter to terror,” interrogating the framing, editorial choices and implications of an investigation built largely on insinuation rather than evidence. She examines how the piece invites readers to draw conclusions about those who care about human rights in Gaza with extremism - and what that kind of speculative framing means for public discourse in Australia after the Bondi attack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Seven’s renewables hit job, Iran’s AI Lego war spin + Roberts-Smith 'breaks silence'
4w ago00:58:34Tap to summarizeJan Fran and Antoinette unpack claims Iran is winning the propaganda war - thanks to AI Lego and diss tracks going viral.Meanwhile Jan goes to war with the phrase “breaks silence” (Ben Roberts-Smith edition) and the clickbait line that refuses to die.Plus, a takedown of Seven News’ renewable energy “exposé” - and the fossil fuel interests it skips over.Also, a shout out to some pitch-perfect satire of government statements that say everything and nothing, and a former BBC journo spelling out why normal journalism falls apart when covering Trump.Women Who Win: Antoinette’s new book.Women Who Win: tour in Canberra, Perth, Margaret River, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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ONLY FRAN: WTF is Angus Taylor's immigration policy really about?
Apr 1700:19:11Tap to summarizeThis week, federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor unveiled an immigration policy built on “values” and, well… values according to who?Jan Fran sat through the whole speech so you don’t have to, and let’s just say the logic didn’t quite make it through customs. So what’s it actually about?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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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BONUS: The Murdoch media’s campaign against Dr Randa Abdel- Fattah
Apr 1500:33:46Tap to summarizeIn this bonus episode, Antoinette shares the findings of an exclusive investigation into the Murdoch media’s sustained smear campaign against Dr Abdel-Fattah.The data, gathered in partnership with analyst and mathematician Dr Richard Bean, points to relentless coverage, loaded language, and front-page attacks targeting the Palestinian-Egyptian academic. We break down the figures, the headlines, and reveal the one newspaper that has published HUNDREDS of articles about Dr Abdel-Fattah in two and a half years, four times the amount of some of its competitors.Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah’s new book Discipline. Write a letter to The Australian newspaper letters@theaustralian.com.au 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Albanese can’t say ‘Lebanese’, Hasan Piker drama + whistleblower David McBride’s missing media moment
Apr 1401:00:23Tap to summarizeIn this episode Jan and Antoinette unpack why the US political and media establishment is losing its mind over left-wing streamer Hasan Piker and what this case tells us about the shifting tides of power in America.Plus, we look at Anthony Albanese’s borderline offensive answer to a journalist's question about Lebanese-Australians; imprisoned whistleblower David McBride’s missing media moment and the headline journey of a story on Israeli settlers that got wilder each time it was republished. We also shout out the Saturday Paper’s for its coverage of the NT’s climate calamity that’s left hundreds if not thousands of Aboriginal people in brutal evacuation shelters. (Check out A. Parkinson instagram photography)Antoinette’s new book ‘Women Who Win’ can be found here.Her book tour event dates across Perth, Margaret River, Canberra, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne can be found 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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