9 episodes
The Reporter: True Stories 9Podcasts
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- News
"The Reporter: True Stories" is a new podcast series hosted by veteran journalist Gary Adshead.
With a career spanning four decades, Adshead has stood on the frontlines of journalism, tackling a vast array of Western Australia's most notorious stories, from murder investigations and national espionage to heroic rescues and missing person cases.
In this gripping new series, Adshead and fellow newshound Michael Thomson bring listeners behind the headlines, offering a unique glimpse into the life of a reporter, unpacking the challenges, triumphs, and complicated realities of pursuing the truth. This podcast underscores what it takes to get the story.
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Fake Medals, Urban Myths
When someone questioned the legitimacy of police and military service medals worn by WA MP Barry Urban, the Reporter began weeks and months of investigation. The twists and turns finally found that Barry Urban became a politician based on a web of lies - Urban myths - ending up with him being sent to prison.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Spy Base Echelon
WA has one of the most secret spy bases in the world, operating 35km east of Geraldton. It was called Echelon, a listening station for satellite communications from across the globe. It was something the Reporter saw for himself - and that small visit led to some very interesting interactions afterward.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Finding Bogucki
It was an extraordinary search. Alaskan firefighter Robert Bogucki had been lost for over 40 days in the Great Sandy Desert - and everyone was desperate to find him. The Reporter tells us the real story of how Nine’s discovery of Bogucki went down, the fallout, the stuff-ups and the tension between the Nine crew, other media personnel, and an American rescue leader by the name of Garrison 'Gunslinger' St Clair.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Tow Trucks and Death Threats
WA's tow truck industry was unregulated and out of control. However, once the Reporter began to expose its dark secrets, including how police call centre operators were being paid in drugs and money for crash tip-offs and computer access, his very life came under threat - a threat taken so seriously he had to flee with his family.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Blowing the Whistle on the Whistleblower
Ashton Foley wasn’t her real name, but she was such a convincing con artist that she was made chief executive of the largest hospital south of Perth’s metropolitan area – Peel Health Campus. The pursuit of her true identity, and the phone call from the Reporter that made her flee, was like something out of a movie plot.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
A Man Named T3
He was the secret operative working to sting corrupt police. He was on the fringes of organised crime and used to source and deliver amphetamines to the office of the WA Parliament’s most senior public official. T3 was the codename given to him by the Royal Commission into Police Corruption and the Reporter was the only journalist to interview him – while he was still working undercover.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.