Southern Cross Austereo has invested into its news on demand offering with a brand-new daily news show – The Briefing.
The new daily podcast will be hosted by Tom Tilley and co-hosts Annika Smethurst, Jan Fran and Jamila Rizvi who will join Tilley on different days of the week. This award-winning team has interviewed some of Australia’s and the world’s biggest personalities, they are known for their own unique styles and opinions when it comes to news and current affairs.
Guests on the first episode include Mark Andrejevic (Professor of Communications and Media Studies at Monash University) and John Dawson (an Australian living in Shanghai). Co-host today was Annika Smethurst from Canberra.
Available weekday mornings, The Briefing will cover three to four of the biggest news stories over the past 24 hours, in under 20 minutes. Tilley and his co-hosts will select one of these stories to ‘brief’ the audience with in-depth interviews.
Tilley will add The Briefing to his schedule which also sees him continuing to work as a roving reporter for 10’s The Project. The long-time host of triple j’s Hack will be working at the other end of the day with an early start for Tilley. He told Mediaweek his alarm is now going off at 4am with the aim of reaching PodcastOne’s Sydney studios by 5am.
SCA chief content officer Dave Cameron said: “Access to trusted news on demand is needed now more than ever before, there’s a huge demand for credible information and familiar voices in an uncertain world. At SCA, we are constantly working to create bespoke content for our audiences and we are proud to be able to collaborate with some of Australia’s best journalists to deliver one of the most credible news on demand products in the market.”
Meet The Briefing team
Tom Tilley is a radio presenter and one of Australia’s leading voices in current affairs for young people. He’s best known for his eight years as host of triple j’s Hack program and now works with Network 10’s The Project.
Commenting on his new venture Tilley said: “This show made sense from the first demo we recorded, there was a great mix of journalistic insights and laughs.”
Annika Smethurst is a double Walkley award-winning political journalist with News Corp. In 2019, her home was raided by the Australian Federal Police, a search warrant the High Court recently ruled as invalid.
Smethurst said: “I am really looking forward to contributing to The Briefing and taking a deep dive into some of the biggest news stories of the day. I hope to offer an insight into the workings of Canberra and bring a fresh look at politics to the podcast.”
Jan Fran is a Walkley award-winning journalist, TV presenter, podcaster and commentator. She has worked on ABC podcast, The Pineapple Project, co-hosted The Project and was host of The Feed on SBS VICELAND.
Fran said: “As a podcast listener, maker and sharer I think podcasting is a really exciting and innovative space to be in and I’m really looking forward to exploring new ways to deliver the news and connect with new audiences. Just so we’re clear, I’m not looking forward to waking up at 4am.”
Jamila Rizvi is author of best-selling books Not Just Lucky and The Motherhood. She is chief creative officer of Nine Network’s Future Women and co-founder of the popular event series Tea with Jam and Clare.
Rizvi said: “Accurate, succinct and compelling news matters today, perhaps more than ever before. Australian young people are hungry for a news podcast that keeps them informed, entertained and engaged – and that’s just what we’re about. I’m absolutely delighted to be part of the team.”
SCA head of news & current affairs Natasha Jobson said: “SCA news has been delivering headlines on demand for three years via our apps and smart speakers, and in just the past year we’ve seen a whopping 1100% increase in people listening to our news this way.
“We believe Aussies are keen for a credible and authentic news on demand option to go deeper into the stories that matter most and we hope The Briefing will become a space for people to discover something new about their world each morning.”
The Briefing is available weekday mornings from Monday April 20. Listen for free wherever you get your podcasts or download the PodcastOne Australia App.