It’s safe to say that triple j’s Hack program host Tom Tilley has had a mammoth couple of months. The host steered the program through the recent federal election, chatting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, dissecting first homes and delving into swing voters. Now he’s announced that he’ll be taking a break from the daily hosting duties of Hack for three months to work on an ABC Foreign Correspondent assignment, as well as a book.
That doesn’t mean that the show will be going anywhere. For the next three months, Hack will sound a little different. You’ll be joined by three different journalists, and to give you an idea of the caliber of these journos, they’ve all had a Walkley Award nod.
You may recognise some of these voices. triple j Brekky newsreader Alice Matthews, Hack reporter Avani Dias and The Feed presenter Laura Murphy-Oates will be taking the reins for this period, each reporter taking over the program for a month.
Dias grew up in South West Sydney, and since commencing her time at triple j, she’s worked as a reporter for both Hack and triple j news, and has brought you stories from around the country on ABC TV, radio and online. She’s a 2019 Walkley Finalist for this year’s Young Journalist of the Year for her ongoing reporting into a student who was wrongly accused of terrorism offences.
Next up, Alice Matthews, who first joined the ABC in 2015. She’s done everything from research for ABC Radio’s Current Affairs, to reporting out in Bega and then joining triple j as a news presenter in the mornings. She’s another Walkley alumni, copping an award in 2015 for Young Journalist of the Year. She’s also done two publications for the UN on confidential sources and fake news.
The last guest host you’ll be hearing on Hack is Laura Murphy-Oates, a Ngiyampaa Weilwan and the 2018 Walkley winner for Young Journalist of the Year. She’s been working at SBS and NITV for the last six years, most recently as a presenter and producer at The Feed. Her reporting largely focuses on racial discrimination and gender equality and will be a refreshing voice on the Hack guest panel.
Tune into Hack on triple j from 5:30pm weekdays.
