Chris Johnson joins Region Media in mid-August. Photo: Supplied.
Chris Johnson will join the Region team in mid-August as our Public Sector Editor.
Chris is currently the editor of The Mandarin and will bring a wealth of public sector reporting experience to his new role.
A Walkley Award-winning journalist, Chris is a longtime member of the Canberra Press Gallery at Parliament House. He was the bureau chief for Fairfax Media and has written about politics, the public sector and foreign affairs news from the press gallery for The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The West Australian, as well as the digital-only New Daily and Mandarin online publications.
“I have been very impressed with what Region has achieved to date, and I look forward to joining this progressive team to help build a must-read public sector news service,” he says.
My Public Sector
Chris’s career began with community newspapers in regional Western Australia where he cut his teeth on the West Australian newspaper group.
“I’ve had a huge interest in politics from the beginning and I’ve worked around Australia,” he says.
“I even spent a few years in Tasmania before coming to Canberra to join the Press Gallery. I felt I had to be part of the main game here in the national capital.”
His reporting beat has included foreign affairs with a strong focus on the Asia Pacific, the environment and industrial relations, as well as general political news.
During Chris’s time with the Press Gallery, he was chief political correspondent for The Canberra Times, national political correspondent for The Sun-Herald and Sunday Age and Canberra bureau chief for Fairfax.
Chris says that during that time the profession of journalism has changed dramatically, as has the content being produced by multiple sources.
“I’m interested in keeping people informed, in wanting to be part of providing a trustworthy source of news for readers,” he says.
“There’s now a plethora of social media where everyone is trying to be a commentator and a journalist. I want to work with news sources that are trusted and deliver solid news and analysis. I’ve always associated myself with those kind of mastheads.”
Region‘s public sector content includes news and analysis from the APS, the ACT public service, the diplomatic corps and the policy, politics and people affecting the sector.
“When it comes to public sector news, I’m their champion,” Chris says. “I like to report the news warts and all, but I’m on their side. I think the public service needs to be highly valued in this country.”
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