Stan Grant

Journalist

• Born: September 30, 1963
• Birthplace: Griffith, New South Wales, Australia

Significance: Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri Indigenous Australian, is a journalist, writer, and presenter on television and radio, as well as an advocate for Indigenous rights.

Background

Stan Grant was born on September 20, 1963, in Griffith, New South Wales, Australia. He is the son of a Wiradjuri elder, Stan Grant Sr. The Wiradjuri people are an Australian Aboriginal group of central New South Wales, Australia. His mother is Betty Cameron Grant, the daughter of a Kamilaroi Aboriginal father from New South Wales and a White mother who grew up in Gunnedah Hill, an Aboriginal camp on the edge of Coonabarabran. His parents raised him with respect and awareness of his roots, which later became an important part of his professional identity.

The Grant family moved frequently and, for much of Grant’s life, he grew up in the neighboring state of Victoria, where the Wiradjuri people also have ancestral roots. His father worked as a traveling produce vendor during his childhood. By the time he was twelve years old, Grant had attended about twelve different primary schools in New South Wales and Victoria, where he often was bullied for his Indigenous heritage.

For high school, he went to Ginniderra High in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. In the early 1980s, he attended college at the Australian National University, also located in Canberra, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Grant found in Canberra a broader understanding of the issues behind Australian race relations and found inspiration in education.

Life’s Work

After graduation from college, Grant began a cadetship at Macquarie Radio Network, where he gained valuable journalism experience over several years. After that, he became a political correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) network for four years. Then, he joined the Australian network Channel Seven.

During the 1990s, he became a public figure and role model for Indigenous people. However, he often felt uncomfortable in this role due to being economically and socially better off than people in most Indigenous communities. Still, he felt that in some way he could pass on a positive message to others about the concerns facing Indigenous people.

Grant also traveled frequently for his work to cover important news events. In the mid-1990s, he worked at the Channel Seven bureau in London and, in 1997, he was sent to Belfast, Ireland, to cover the tensions there between Protestants and Catholics. During a report, he was hit in the head with a brick and suffered minor injuries and harassment. In 1999, he returned to his home country of Australia to host Today Tonight for Channel Seven, and later the program Real Life, both of which dealt with contemporary affairs.

In 2002, he wrote his first book, The Tears of Strangers, in which he addressed Indigenous history in Australia that had, at that time, been long overlooked. In 2007, he became a co-presenter of the SBS World News Australia news bulletin program with the network Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), but by December of the same year, he resigned from his post. In 2009, he was appointed a correspondent for CNN covering the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he was based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He hosted the news program Prism and covered current event news stories from the UAE and the surrounding region.

In 2015, he took part in a public debate with immigration lawyer Pallavi Sinha, columnist Rita Panahi, and actor Jack Thompson at the Ethics Centre in Sydney, Australia on the topic “Racism is destroying the Australian Dream.” Previously, he had avoided publicly addressing Indigenous issues. During the debate, though, he chronicled his professional journey and stated that he had faced significant racism and injustice. In 2016, he published his second book, Talking to My Country.

In 2017, he once again joined ABC, but this time as the editor of Indigenous Affairs, as well as the host of the Friday night current-events program, The Link. In 2018, he became the host of Matter of Fact on ABC television and news radio, and he was appointed the chief Asia correspondent. After ten months, the show was canceled by the network due to low ratings and he took on the role of Indigenous and International Affairs Analyst and became a professor at Griffith University.

In 2019, he took work with Al Jazeera English and moved to Doha, Qatar. He published three more books, Australia Day, On Identity, and Tell it to World: An Indigenous Memoir. Then in 2020, he replaced several other journalists who were working as International Affairs Analysts with ABC in China due to security concerns. Later that year, he hosted a series for ABC’s interview program, One Plus One. In 2021, he started ABC’s China Tonight, which focused on Chinese culture and politics. In 2022, he became the host of Q+A, but he was criticized for his Indigenous perspective of the coverage of the coronation of King Charles III. He later resigned from the show and stepped away from the media industry, claiming he had experienced extensive racial abuse and unfairness.

Impact

As a prominent journalist with Indigenous heritage and advocate for Indigenous rights, Grant became an ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation in 2017 and serves as the vice-chancellor’s chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging at the Charles Sturt University in New South Wales.

Personal Life

In 1984, Grant married Karla Grant, a fellow journalist and producer. They have three children together: Lowanna, John, and Dylan. In 2000, they divorced after his affair with another journalist, Tracey Holmes, became publicly known. Grant married Holmes that same year. They have one child, Jesse.

Principal Works

The Tears of Strangers, 2002

Talking to My Country, 2016

Australia Day, 2019

On Identity, 2019

Tell it to the World: An Indigenous Memoir, 2019

Bibliography

Butler, Dan. “Stan Grant says we are ‘infected’ by the 24/7 news cycle as ABC cops more heat for his departure.” NITV, 24 May 2023, www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/stan-grant-says-we-are-infected-by-24-hour-news-cycle/tqz5hkr5d. Accessed 2 July 2023.

Grant, Stan. “For years I’ve been a media target for racism and paid a heavy price. For now, I want no part of it – I’m stepping away.” ABC, 18 May 2023, www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-19/stan-grant-media-target-racist-abuse-coronation-coverage-enough/102368652. Accessed 2 July 2023.

“Grant, Stan (1963–).” Indigenous Australia, 2023, ia.anu.edu.au/biography/grant-stan-17827. Accessed 2 July 2023.

Leon, Renée. “Charles Sturt University Stands with Professor Stan Grant” Charles Surt University, 24 May 2023, news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/charles-sturt-university-stands-with-professor-stan-grant#:~:text=in%20our%20communities.-,We%20are%20proud%20–%20now%20as%20always%20–%20to%20count%20Professor%20Grant,Founding%20Director%20of%20Yindyamarra%20Nguluway. Accessed 2 July 2023.

Turnbull, Tiffanie. “Stan Grant: Aboriginal TV host’s exit renews criticism of Australian media.” BBC, May 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-63699881. Accessed 2 July 2023.

Zhuang, Yan. “Australia Reckons with TV Host’s Exit Over Racist Abuse.” NY Times 23 May 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/05/23/world/asia/australia-stan-grant.html. Accessed 2 July 2023.