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Stuart Littlemore
KC is an Australian
barrister and former journalist and television presenter. He created
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
's long-running ''
Media Watch'' program, which he hosted from its inception in 1989 to 1997.
Early career
Littlemore was educated at
Scots College, and later studied law at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
, winning the
Australian Law Students' Association Championship
Moot
Moot may refer to:
* Mootness, in American law: a point where further proceedings have lost practical significance; whereas in British law: the issue remains debatable
* Moot court, an activity in many law schools where participants take part in s ...
in 1978.
His broadcasting experience began in the late 1960s when he worked as a television current affairs journalist for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in London, and then the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
's TV network, firstly on ''
This Day Tonight
''This Day Tonight'' (TDT) was an Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) evening current affairs program from 1967 to 1978.
Founding
When ''TDT'' premiered in 1967 it was the first regular nightly current affairs program on Australian TV, an ...
'' and then on ''
Four Corners''. Having established his legal career, Littlemore created for the ABC in 1989 the media commentary program ''
Media Watch'', which he presented for a further nine years. His motivation was "I want to show people the problems – not tell them. The program will be contentious. I hope. And idiosyncratic." He published a book about his media experiences entitled ''The Media and Me'' in 1996.
Following ''Media Watch'', he had a short-running discussion program, ''Littlemore'' (2001), which, like the former program, examined issues about the media.
Littlemore has made a few film and television appearances, playing a reporter in the 1978 film ''
Money Movers
''Money Movers'' is a 1978 Australian crime action drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film was based on the 1972 book ''The Money Movers'' by Devon Minchin, founder of Metropolitan Security Services. The story deals loosely with two ...
'' and in the 1983 TV series ''
The Dismissal''. He made guest appearances on the 1990s comedy series ''
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
'', playing himself in his role as ''Media Watch'' host.
Writing
Between 2011 and 2014 he published the 'Harry Curry' series of novels about a renegade barrister's life at the Sydney Bar: ''Counsel of Choice'', ''The Murder Book'' and ''Rats and Mice''.
Legal career
Littlemore began practising law in 1979, and now specialises in media law and criminal law. He has lectured in journalism and politics at three Australian universities, and been awarded a number of fellowships, including ones from the
Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...
,
Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
, and the
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...
. As a lawyer, Littlemore has spoken publicly about how he feels it is a professional challenge to knowingly get the guilty acquitted at trial. In an interview in October 1995 on
Channel 7 when asked by host
Andrew Denton if he could defend "someone who you yourself believe not to be innocent", Littlemore's response was "Well, they're the best cases. I mean, you really feel you've done something when you get the guilty off. Anyone can get an innocent person off. I mean, they shouldn't be on trial. But the guilty – that's the challenge."
Littlemore represented Mercedes Corby, the sister of
Schapelle Corby
Schapelle Leigh Corby (born 10 July 1977) is an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. She spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison. Since her arrest Corby has publicly ...
, in her defamation action against Australian television broadcaster the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
which was decided in her favour.
He also represented
Pauline Hanson in her defamation action against
News Ltd., after ''
The Sun-Herald
''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' published (and later retracted) nude photographs that they claimed showed a young Ms Hanson. A settlement was reached between the parties out of court. In 2012, Littlemore represented former NSW
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
politician
Eddie Obeid
Edward Moses Obeid (born 25 October 1943) is a retired Australian politician, and convicted criminal, who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1991 and 2011, representing the Labor Party. He was the Minister f ...
in hearings before the
Independent Commission Against Corruption. In 2020, Littlemore represented actor
Craig McLachlan
Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...
in a high-profile sexual assault case. After delivering the verdict the magistrate criticised Littlemore for asking inappropriate questions of the complainants "such as the length of the average female labia majora, or whether a complainant was proud of her figure or other troubling and outdated stereotypes of sexual assault victims".
Honours
In 2001, Littlemore was appointed an
Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite by the President of France,
Jacques Chirac, for services to Law and Journalism.
References
External links
Profile 13th Floor St James Hall chambers
* ,
''Media Watch'' Australian Screen Online
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...
"Lunch with Stuart Littlemore"by Raymond Gill, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 September 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Littlemore, Stuart
Australian journalists
Australian television presenters
Australian King's Counsel
Australian barristers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
University of New South Wales Law School alumni
People educated at Scots College (Sydney)