Richard Carleton
Encyclopedia
Richard George Carleton (11 July 19437 May 2006) was a multi-Logie Award
winning Australia
n television journalist
.
. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School
and graduated from the University of New South Wales
.
as well as being the presenter of State of the Nation
, both on the ABC
. He continued these roles until he left for a role on 2GB
Radio in 1976, followed by what began as a lifelong love of travelling and researching overseas, producing films in Indonesia
(including being the only journalist to be allowed to visit the newly "integrated" East Timor
) and the Middle East
.
Carleton joined the BBC
in London
in 1977 for the Tonight
program, before returning to Australia in 1979. During 1986, Carleton was a co-presenter of The Carleton-Walsh Report on the ABC
, with financial journalist Max Walsh
.
Carleton ran for election in 1983 as the staff representative on the ABC Board. He was defeated by Tom Molomby, who wrote:
visited Chernobyl
and were given unprecedented access to the sarcophagus built over the ruined nuclear reactor, including a brief visit to the abandoned control room. Carleton was parodied on the Australian sketch-comedy shows Fast Forward and Comedy Inc.
for his perceived over-prominence on 60 Minutes.
In July 2000, the ABC's Media Watch program accused Carleton of plagiarising the BBC documentary
A Cry from the Grave. Carleton denied the claims, suing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
for defamation. In 2002 the case was heard and the judge found that while Carleton had "misled his audience by misrepresenting a mass grave site shown in the programme, and that 60 Minutes had copied film directly from the British documentary", the allegations made by Media Watch were in fact untrue and had defamed Carleton. Carleton was greatly relieved by the ruling.
Carleton won five Penguin Award
s and three Logie Award
s during his time with 60 Minutes and at the ABC.
leader Bob Hawke
in 1983: "Mr. Hawke, could I ask you whether you feel a little embarrassed tonight at the blood that's on your hands?" which was a reference to the alleged involvement of Hawke in the resignation of former Labor leader, Bill Hayden
. The question outraged Hawke, who criticised Carleton for his "damned impertinence".
. In 2005 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer
.
On 7 May 2006, Carleton collapsed from a massive heart attack during a press conference at the Beaconsfield gold mine
, shortly after questioning mine manager Matthew Gill on previous safety issues at the site. His last words were:
"On 26 October last year, not 10 metres from where these men are now entombed, you had a 400-tonne rock fall. Why is it, is it the strength of the seam, or the wealth of the seam, that you continue to send men into work in such a dangerous environment?".
First-hand reports from the scene indicated that Carleton had a weak pulse when taken by ambulance to the Launceston General Hospital
and that he had been puffing and gasping not long before he collapsed. Carleton died at 2:12 p.m, in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
winning Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television journalist
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...
.
Education
Carleton was born in Bowral, New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
and graduated from the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
ABC/BBC
In the 1960s he was a reporter on This Day TonightThis Day Tonight
This Day Tonight was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs program of the late 1960s and early 1970s.- Overview :...
as well as being the presenter of State of the Nation
State of the Nation
-Releases:The 12" version of the song is almost twice as long as the 7" version, and includes an additional verse.The B-side was an alternate arrangement entitled "Shame of the Nation", which included, among other elements, backing vocals...
, both on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. He continued these roles until he left for a role on 2GB
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting on 873 kHz, AM. It is one of Australia's most popular talk-back radio stations, and is the number one station in Sydney.-History:The station commenced broadcasting in August 1926...
Radio in 1976, followed by what began as a lifelong love of travelling and researching overseas, producing films in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(including being the only journalist to be allowed to visit the newly "integrated" East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
) and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Carleton joined the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1977 for the Tonight
Tonight (1957 TV series)
Tonight was a BBC television current affairs programme presented by Cliff Michelmore and broadcast in Britain live on weekday evenings from February 1957 to 1965. The producers were the future Controller of BBC1 Donald Baverstock and the future Director-General of the BBC Alasdair Milne...
program, before returning to Australia in 1979. During 1986, Carleton was a co-presenter of The Carleton-Walsh Report on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, with financial journalist Max Walsh
Max Walsh
Max Walsh is an Australian economic and political commentator, journalist, author and broadcaster. Max has held senior positions with two of Australia’s largest publishing companies and television networks.-Career:...
.
Carleton ran for election in 1983 as the staff representative on the ABC Board. He was defeated by Tom Molomby, who wrote:
- "His was a remarkable policy statement, the most blatant demonstration of political cynicism (I cannot believe it was the only other alternative, stupidity) which I have ever seen in an ABC election.".
Nine Network
In 1987 Carleton began his most famous television journalism role, as a reporter on 60 Minutes. In a career with the program that spanned almost 20 years, he visited many locations around the world investigating political climates. In 2006 he and producer Stephen RiceStephen Rice (journalist)
Stephen Rice is an Australian journalist, author and television producer. He has been a producer on Australia's 60 Minutes since 2004, following ten years as executive producer of the Nine Network's news and public affairs program, Sunday....
visited Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
and were given unprecedented access to the sarcophagus built over the ruined nuclear reactor, including a brief visit to the abandoned control room. Carleton was parodied on the Australian sketch-comedy shows Fast Forward and Comedy Inc.
Comedy Inc.
Comedy Inc. was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Nine Network from 1 February 2003 to 26 December 2007. The series was produced by Crackerjack Productions. It first premiered in February 2003 in the new wave of Australian sketch comedy shows being launched across the...
for his perceived over-prominence on 60 Minutes.
In July 2000, the ABC's Media Watch program accused Carleton of plagiarising the BBC documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
A Cry from the Grave. Carleton denied the claims, suing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
for defamation. In 2002 the case was heard and the judge found that while Carleton had "misled his audience by misrepresenting a mass grave site shown in the programme, and that 60 Minutes had copied film directly from the British documentary", the allegations made by Media Watch were in fact untrue and had defamed Carleton. Carleton was greatly relieved by the ruling.
Carleton won five Penguin Award
Penguin Award
The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954.The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin....
s and three Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
s during his time with 60 Minutes and at the ABC.
Interview with Bob Hawke
Carleton is probably most famously known for a comment made to the incoming federal Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
leader Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
in 1983: "Mr. Hawke, could I ask you whether you feel a little embarrassed tonight at the blood that's on your hands?" which was a reference to the alleged involvement of Hawke in the resignation of former Labor leader, Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
. The question outraged Hawke, who criticised Carleton for his "damned impertinence".
Death
Carleton had experienced a number of health scares, the first in 1988 when he underwent heart bypass surgery, which was nationally televised, and another in 2003 when he suffered a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. In 2005 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
.
On 7 May 2006, Carleton collapsed from a massive heart attack during a press conference at the Beaconsfield gold mine
Beaconsfield mine collapse
The Beaconsfield Mine collapse occurred on 25 April 2006 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia. Of the 17 people who were in the mine at the time, 14 escaped immediately following the collapse, one was killed and the remaining two were found alive using a remote-controlled device...
, shortly after questioning mine manager Matthew Gill on previous safety issues at the site. His last words were:
"On 26 October last year, not 10 metres from where these men are now entombed, you had a 400-tonne rock fall. Why is it, is it the strength of the seam, or the wealth of the seam, that you continue to send men into work in such a dangerous environment?".
First-hand reports from the scene indicated that Carleton had a weak pulse when taken by ambulance to the Launceston General Hospital
Launceston General Hospital
The Launceston General Hospital is one of the three main public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia. It is located in Launceston and serves the north of the state...
and that he had been puffing and gasping not long before he collapsed. Carleton died at 2:12 p.m, in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
External links
- Sixty Minutes - Profile [dead link]