Ben Fordham is a multi-award winning journalist who's broken countless stories, both in Australia and overseas.
His coming-of-age in journalism came before he celebrated his 21st birthday. Then a political correspondent with Sydney's 2UE, Fordham won a Walkley Award — Australia's top award in journalism — for his coverage of the Thredbo landslide tragedy. He also won a Raward — the top accolade in the Australian radio industry — for excellence in journalism. He became the youngest reporter in history to win a Walkley-Raward double and was honoured on Australia Day with a Young Citizen of the Year Award.
Fordham made the switch to television in 1998 by joining Sky News Australia. He was soon reading national news bulletins and anchoring live coverage of major breaking stories. Less than 12 months after joining Sky News, he was recruited by the Nine Network.
His investigations have uncovered multi-billion dollar scams, leading to arrests in Australia, Britain and Ireland. In 2003 he exposed the cover-up of child abuse by the Catholic Archbishop of Tasmania — a story that led to the conviction of a high ranking priest. His exclusive exposé of former property high-flyer Cameron Donald led to national media coverage when Fordham was physically attacked and hospitalised while pursuing the Sydney businessman. Fordham's stories have also been broadcast in the United States on the respected ABC Nightline program. He has covered both Commonwealth and Olympic Games and interviewed numerous Hollywood celebrities including Tom Cruise, Charlize Thuron, Nicole Kidman and Drew Barrymore.
In 2006 Fordham achieved a lifelong dream by filing his first report for 60 Minutes. To get the story, he trekked for 10 days into the wild jungles of West Papua to discover the last living tribe of cannibals. It was the highest rating story on 60 Minutes for 2006 to date.
