Peter Kennedy (journalist)

Peter Kennedy (born 1942/43)^[1] is an Australian political commentator and retired journalist.

Early life

Kennedy's father, Tom, was a public servant and worked part-time as a football and cricket writer for The Sunday Times. His mother Patricia (nee Lang), was a private secretary with a Perth probate firm before marriage. Kennedy attended Aquinas College from 1957 to 1959.^[2]

Career

After leaving school, he worked in the library at The West Australian newspaper in 1960, but was unable to get a cadetship. He then studied at the University of Western Australia, where he graduated with a bachelor of arts (economics) and a diploma of education. Following that, he became a high school teacher, at Bunbury Senior High School, and a lecturer in economics at Leederville Technical College.^[3] He joined The West Australian as a journalist in 1970. In 1977, he moved to The Sydney Morning Herald, first as its state political correspondent in Sydney and later as its chief of staff in the Canberra Press Gallery. In 1984, he became Press Secretary to Deputy Premier of Western Australia Mal Bryce,^[1][4][5][6] and rejoined The West Australian from 1986-1990.^[3] He then joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where presented the Morning and Drive programs on ABC Radio Perth.^[1][4][5][6]

In 1995, Kennedy was awarded the Clarion Prize at the WA Media Awards. He became state political reporter for ABC News in 2000 and held the post until he retired from daily journalism in 2010. He continued as a political commentator, including writing the Political Perspective column for the weekly (now fortnightly) Business News.^[1][4][5][6] magazine. In 2011, he was appointed Adjunct Professor in Communications and Media at the University of Notre Dame Australia.^[7]

Books

Kennedy wrote Tales from Boom Town, a book about the premiers of Western Australia from David Brand to Colin Barnett. It was published in 2014 by UWA Press.^[3] An updated version was released in 2019, covering Mark McGowan as well.^[8]

References

1. "ABC political reporter Peter Kennedy to retire". ABC News. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
2. "Peter Kennedy". Aquinas College. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
3. Acott, Kent (12 April 2014). "Pursuing the truth in politics". The Weekend West. p. 115.
4. "Peter Kennedy". Business News. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
5. "Peter Kennedy". Museum of Perth. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
6. "The Lawrence Government: Other Perspectives". John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library. Curtin University. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
7. . The University of Notre Dame Australia. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-18. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
8. "Tales from Boomtown: Western Australian Premiers from Brand to McGowan - Revised and updated edition". UWA Publishing. Retrieved 24 September 2022.