Kieran Ricketts
Encyclopedia
Kieran Ricketts is an Australian journalist
, broadcaster
and filmmaker
.
border town
of Tweed Heads and studied at Brisbane's
Griffith University
. In his final semester, he came to the attention of the ABC
's Q&A after his satirical video mashups
were broadcast by the show's producers, and interned on the program briefly. He then applied for ProjectNext, a callout for newcomers to the media to participate in an experimental new ABC factual program.
-produced news program Hungry Beast
in 2009. His work for the program included both political satire
(notably profiling the career of former Liberal politician Wilson Tuckey
) and news reporting
. He analysed the scope of the Woolworths
and Coles
supermarket duopoly for the program's popular Beast File segment, and investigated impediments to cross-border policing in his hometown of Tweed Heads. Ricketts himself had been one of a number of bashing victims in nearby Coolangatta.
forum program and currently produces for ABC News 24
, the ABC's continuous digital news channel.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and filmmaker
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
.
Early life
Ricketts grew up in the NSW/QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
border town
Border town
A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states or regions. Usually the term implies that it is one of the things the town is most famous for. Border towns can have highly cosmopolitan communities, a feature they share with port cities...
of Tweed Heads and studied at Brisbane's
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
. In his final semester, he came to the attention of the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Q&A after his satirical video mashups
Mashup (video)
A video mashup is the combination of multiple sources of video—which usually have no relation with each other—into a derivative work, often lampooning its component sources or another text. Many mashup videos are humorous movie trailer parodies, a later genre of mashups gaining much popularity...
were broadcast by the show's producers, and interned on the program briefly. He then applied for ProjectNext, a callout for newcomers to the media to participate in an experimental new ABC factual program.
Hungry Beast
Ricketts was then selected to report for the resulting Andrew DentonAndrew Denton
Andrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique...
-produced news program Hungry Beast
Hungry Beast
Hungry Beast is an Australian television program, that is broadcast on Wednesday nights on ABC1 and repeated on Thursday night on ABC2. It is produced by Andrew Denton's production company,...
in 2009. His work for the program included both political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
(notably profiling the career of former Liberal politician Wilson Tuckey
Wilson Tuckey
Charles Wilson Tuckey , a former Australian federal politician, was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of O'Connor in Western Australia for the Liberal Party from 1980 until 2010.-Biography:...
) and news reporting
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
. He analysed the scope of the Woolworths
Woolworths Limited
Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is the:* largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand by market capitalisation and sales...
and Coles
Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Limited is one of Australia’s largest public companies and one of Australia's largest retailers. Its headquarters are in Perth, Western Australia....
supermarket duopoly for the program's popular Beast File segment, and investigated impediments to cross-border policing in his hometown of Tweed Heads. Ricketts himself had been one of a number of bashing victims in nearby Coolangatta.
Post-Hungry Beast
Since Hungry Beast wrapped in April 2010, Ricketts has remained active in the media. He produced a satirical video about Australian politics for action group VibeWire and blogged about the "Queensland Effect" leading up to the 2010 federal election on the ABC's The Drum. He was also nominated for Best Director at the 2010 Queensland New Filmmakers Awards for his short film Hardcore Mode. He has since worked for the ABC's Big IdeasBig Ideas (Australia)
Big Ideas is a weekly radio program on ABC Radio National which presents lectures or panels on ideas or issues of particular importance. It is broadcast on Sundays at 5:00 p.m...
forum program and currently produces for ABC News 24
ABC News 24
ABC News 24 is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC High Definition simulcast of ABC1 and commenced broadcasting at 7:30pm 5:30 on Thursday, 22 July 2010.-Pre-launch:The ABC announced in January 2010...
, the ABC's continuous digital news channel.