Michelle
Grattan AO

Michelle Grattan AO is an Australian journalist who was the first woman to become editor of an Australian metropolitan daily newspaper. Specialising in political journalism, she has written and edited for many significant Australian newspapers.

Previous experience

Michelle was recruited by The Age newspaper in 1970, and joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 1971. In 1976, she was appointed the Chief Political Correspondent for The Age, a position she would hold until 1993. After leaving The Age in 1993, she was appointed Editor of The Canberra Times, becoming the first female editor of a metropolitan daily newspaper in Australia. After two years in this position she returned to The Age as Political Editor.

In 1996, Michelle joined The Australian Financial Review as a senior writer, and three years later was appointed Chief Political Correspondent at The Sydney Morning Herald. She returned to The Age in 2002 as a columnist, and was made Political Editor and Bureau Chief in 2004.

Author:

She has co-authored several books, including Can Ministers Cope? and Reformers, and has edited collections such as Australian Prime Ministers and Reconciliation.

Awards:

In 1988, Michelle was awarded the Graham Perkin Award as the Australian Journalist of the Year. In the Australia Day Honours in 2004, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her long and distinguished service to Australian journalism. She won a Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership in 2006 and is and is professorial fellow at the University of Canberra and chief political correspondent for The Conversation.