Ray Martin _Journalist - Life On The Job

Ray Martin (20 December 1944 - ) Famous Australian TV Journalist [contributed by Ella Barry, ACU Education student]

Ray Martin

Introduction

Raymond George "Ray" Martin AM (born 20 December 1944) is a five-time Gold Logie winning Australian television journalist and entertainment personality. He is best known for his various on-air roles on Channel Nine from 1978. (Source: Art of Healing)

Ray is married to Dianne Martin, and has two children: Jenna and Luke.

with family
Ray with his wife Dianne, and children Jenna and Luke.
(Source: News)

Early Life

Raymond George Grace was born on the 20th of December, 1944, at the air-force base in Richmond, NSW. He was born into an Irish-Australian Catholic family. He has three older sisters.

During his childhood Ray and his family moved many times, settling in Adelaide and Tasmania. Due to a lack of housing, they often stayed with relatives or couch-surfed. Ray and his family stayed with the Salvation Army, and also spent some nights on the streets.

When Ray was around 11, his mother and all four children fled Ray’s abusive father. Ray’s mother changed their surname to Martin so that they couldn’t be found. His mother changed the family surname to Martin to prevent her abusive, alcoholic husband from finding her and their children after they fled from him in c. 1955. She and the children moved many times, settling in Adelaide and in Tasmania.

In the early 1990s, Martin found out that his great, great grandmother [Bertha] was an Indigenous Australian woman from the Kamilaroi nation, near Gunnedah. Ray’s Maternal Great Great Grandfather William Leamy, a convict, was from Ireland. He was first assigned on his arrival to Keepit Station, a lawless and isolated property beyond the legal limits of the NSW colony. Ray knows that William had two children with Bertha whom he called "beloved" in his will.

Ray Martin +Borah Crossing + Kamilaroi elders
Ray is welcomed by Kamilaroi elders at Borah Crossing - his great, great grandmother's country.
(Source: SBS - Who do you think you are?)

Education

Due to his tumultuous childhood, Ray moved around a lot and had a disrupted early education. The longest school Ray attended was the Launceston College, where he remained for 5 years.

Later in life, Ray attended the University of Sydney, studying engineering on a scholarship. He changed his mind and abandoned the degree, instead studied to become an English and History teacher. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967.

“I would have been a good history teacher. I love history. I wouldn’t have been very good at anything else, but I love history, and I devour it now. I just can’t get enough of it. But I also wanted to see history being made, rather than report on the way it used to be 200 years ago. So I think journalism allowed me to go places and see history being made.”
Ray Martin, 2010. (Source: ABC Talking Heads)

Employment & Experiences

Ray began working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a cadet in 1965. Within 4 years he was appointed as the ABC’s New York City correspondent. Over the next 10 years, Ray covered many significant events, including race riots, anti-Vietnam War protests, Olympic Games, and presidential elections.

In 1978, Ray joined the Nine Network to launch the program 60 Minutes with George Negus and Ian Leslie.

60 minutes
Ray, George Negus & Ian Leslie
(Source: TV Tonight)

Over the next 6 years Ray visited over 40 countries, interviewing everyone from Prince Charles to rock-band KISS. He won a handful of prestigious awards for his investigative work, including Reporter of the Year twice, and Best Public Affairs Report twice.

From 1985 to 1993 Ray presented the daily variety show Midday with Ray Martin, as well as top-rating specials such as Ray Martin Presents, Up Close and Personal, and The Ray Martin Show, interviewing many celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, and Madonna.

From 1994 to 1998 Ray hosted A Current Affair, which saw the shows ratings soar. The program began a new era “on-the-road”. Ray reported from areas stricken by drought, bushfire, and flood, and from where the news was breaking: Port Arthur, Vietnam, London, and the USA. A highlight of Ray’s time at A Current Affair was the Farmhand Appeal, which raised over $19 million for drought affected farmers around Australia.

He briefly returned to 60 Minutes to do special reports, but was back to hosting A Current Affair in 2003.

In December 2005 he became Nine Network’s Senior Reporter.

In 2006, Ray was replaced by Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair. He continued working with Channel Nine as a senior Correspondent, hosting diverse television events with them- from the Logies, to the Commonwealth Games, to the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

From 2007 Ray took over as co-host of Sunday, replacing Ross Greenwood.

In 2008, Ray left the Nine Network.

Later that year Ray lead the official broadcast of the World Youth Day event in Sydney.

In 2009, Martin released his best-selling autobiography Ray: Stories of My Life.

In 2014, Ray worked as a presenter for the SBS series First Contact.

In 2015, he featured on the SBS Australian version of the popular international franchise genealogy television documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?

Martin has received five Gold Logie Awards for the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. He received his first Logie Award in 1987 as host of Midday, then he received four in a row at the Logie Awards of 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996. The first two awards were as host of Midday and the last two as host of A Current Affair. He has also received Silver Logies, People's Choice Awards, Variety, Mo and Queensland Entertainer awards.

Martin was awarded a star on Caloundra's Walk of Stars in early 2007.

Martin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2010 for service to the community through voluntary roles with charitable, Indigenous, health and sporting organisations, and to the media as a television journalist.

Martin is a republican and has called for a change in the Australian flag to reflect the nation's increasing multicultural identity.

He has been Chairman of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Chairman of The Fred Hollows Foundation and has supported children's services at Royal North Shore Hospital.

From 1991 through 2000, he was a full-term member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

YouTube Videos

Ray Martin: The Australian Media Hall of Fame
https://youtu.be/p9TNRRa3fNU

Ray Martin acceptance: The Australian Media Hall of Fame
https://youtu.be/HtgLuqrS3Co

(Part 1) Ray Martin: Stories of My Life [2009] 9mins
https://youtu.be/yfpZuVP7tIc

Ray Martin Reveals All
https://youtu.be/e7_4ntKCtr0

Ray Martin on First Contact I The Feed
https://youtu.be/Yn9lK7OOcms

Links:

The Australian Media: Hall of Fame	Wikiwand
Famebytes	SBS - Who do you think you are?
Save Our Voices

Did You Know?

Awards & Honours

Martin has received five Gold Logie Awards for the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, Australia's most popular television award. He received his first at the Logie Awards of 1987 as host of Midday, then he received four in a row at the Logie Awards of 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996; the first two were as host of Midday and the last two as host of A Current Affair. He has also received Silver Logies, People's Choice Awards, Variety, Mo and Queensland Entertainer awards.

with Logie

(Source: Popsugar)

Martin was awarded a star on Caloundra's Walk of Stars in early 2007.

Martin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2010 for service to the community through voluntary roles with charitable, Indigenous, health and sporting organisations, and to the media as a television journalist.[13]

Martin was awarded the Centenary Medal on 1 January 2001.[14]

In 2018, Martin was honoured with a special collection of post stamps issued by Australia Post, with his portrait featured on the stamp, as part of the legends of television series.

Activities

Your area of interest

Primary Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. There are many different types of journalism, for instance sports journalism and investigative journalism. In the BTN style of interviewing, choose an area that interests you, and an Australian famous in that field, and design a series of questions you would ask that person in an interview.

Investigation & Research

Look at the following website, Muck Rack, to see the types of questions you might ask of your famous Australian.

2. Choose your area of Journalism: News; Sports; Lifestyle; Investigative; Online; Political. Select a Famous Australian to interview.

Discuss with your partner.

3. Any thorough Journalist will research the person they are going to interview deeply.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm with your partner the sort of information you would like to know.

4. Think - Pair - Share the 5 questions you would ask.

5. Watch the following video for inspiration:

437-ABC-TV 07' Talking Heads Jimmy Barnes Interview 07'
https://youtu.be/fZbuvad-w7I

6. Re-visit your questions and change if necessary.

In the "Hot Seat"

Primary Middle

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative Learning Activity

1. In pairs, you are going to watch the following video for inspiration on the ‘Hot Seat’ technique in Drama. It is very short and only gives you a shallow glimpse of what you could do in "Hot Seating"!

Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School - Hot Seating Year 3&4
https://youtu.be/52QZEzc4DqM

2. One student assumes the role of an author or character the class has been studying. The other student is to ask questions of the first student [author, character]. You both need to do some research!

The person who is the Journalist is to ask 5 deep questions. Brainstorm these questions.
The person to be interviewed needs to know about the author or the character in detail.

3. With your partner, perform a drama ‘Hot Seat’ skit.

"Your local news"

Primary Middle Secondary

1. Research the local news in your town. This can be done by searching the name of your town, followed by news, on Google.

For example: Goulburn news, Perth news, Byron Bay news.

2. Choose a local recent story that you would pitch to an executive producer if you were working in a TV news team.

A. Write one sentence to describe what your story is about

B. Cover the What, Who, Where, When, Why and How in the next 3 sentences.

C. Organise your information: set the scene, explore the issue, offer solutions to the issue in 1 paragraph.

D. Think about your story’s title- a ‘news hook’. This is the angle that will capture your audience’s interest and make the purpose of your story clear

E. Decide who you will interview for your story. Ensure you have a range of different opinions so your story is balanced and not biased.

F. Pitch your idea to a friend or teacher and ask if it is a story that would interest them. Do they have any criticisms/compliments/suggestions?