What’s the first news story you remember? Was it a big international event or something closer to home? And why has it stayed with you?
In a new podcast from the Melbourne Press Club, we ask some of our best-known public figures what was the first news story they recall.
It’s called Have You Heard The News? So, stand by as we revisit some epic moments in time, and get ready to ask yourself – Have You Heard The News?
Perhaps it's no surprise that what global health expert Professor Anna Peeters AM describes as her most memorable news story was an international famine. But for the VicHealth CEO, it was the Friday night conversations around her grandmother's dinner table, among family and friends, that helped her understand the world and shape her career. [Episode 4, Series 2]
28 Nov 2025
Khalid Amiri - Have You Heard The News?
When Khalid Amiri was growing up in Afghanistan he dreamed of being a politician or a journalist, so he could make a difference to his war-torn homeland. In a country where the local news was full of the country's on-going conflicts, Khalid heard horrific stories that stayed with him. Four years after having to leave Kabul, Khalid reflects on his life in Melbourne and the country he had to leave behind. [Episode 3, Series 2]
CONTENT DISCLAIMER: This episode includes discussion of violent stories some listeners may find distressing.
21 Nov 2025
Caroline Ralphsmith - Have You Heard The News?
What was it about one of Australia's worst natural disasters that stayed with Caroline Ralphsmith? Hear from the CEO of the Melbourne Fashion Festival about how she heard the news of a devastating cyclone, the challenges of our social media age and why it's not true that everyone in Melbourne wears black. (Episode 2, Series 2)
13 Nov 2025
Julian O'Shea - Have You Heard The News?
What do a skateboarding duck, tuna tossing and the Montague St bridge have in common? The answer is Julian O'Shea - hear the first news story that this Melbourne video creator, engineer and comedian remembers and listen as he explains how he mines "the curiosity gap'' across the city. All on the Melbourne Press Club's Have You Heard The News podcast (Episode 1, Series 2)
30 Nov 2023
Simon Holmes à Court – Have You Heard The News?
Simon Holmes a Court was just a schoolboy when his attention was captured by frontpage news reports of a multiple shooting at a US McDonalds. It was the first news story that stayed with Simon, and it raised some big questions for the Convenor of Climate 200 about how news is covered.
23 Nov 2023
Kathleen Lively – Have You Heard The News?
It's been Thanksgiving in the USA, and we talk to US Consul General Kathleen Lively about the first news story she remembers - the mystery surrounding the disappearance of two local girls from her hometown, Washington DC, as well as the profound impact of the Watergate revelations.
15 Nov 2023
Barry Judd – Have You Heard The News?
Professor Barry Judd's first news story takes us back to the events of November 11, 1975, and the dismissal of the Whitlam government.
Listen to how that news story changed the Melbourne University academic's view of the world.
2 Nov 2023
Sally Capp – Have You Heard The News?
What's the first news story that Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp remembers? In Have You Heard The News?, we ask prominent Melburnians what news story first galvanised their attention. For Sally, it was an international story that became an obsession.
25 Oct 2023
Miriam Silva – Have You Heard The News?
We start the series with Miriam Silva AM, an experienced businesswoman, who has contributed to organisations across agriculture, multiculturalism and the arts. Her choice of news story is a deeply personal one, that is a timely reminder for us all as we brace for what is forecast to be a hot summer.
Host of Have You Heard The News??
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