I write books—long form narrative histories about the people, institutions and movements that have shaped Australian public life. My work spans biography, journalism history and political history.
Across my work, I’m interested in the deeper histories of place, culture and memory. By looking beneath accepted narratives and engaging closely with archival sources, I seek to understand how people, institutions and landscapes acquire identity over time.
I’ve also worked as a ghostwriter, collaborating with former Age publisher Ranald Macdonald on his forthcoming autobiography, Battling Murdochracy.
I hold a PhD in Australian history from Deakin University. My doctoral research examined the life and legacy of The Age editor Graham Perkin, offering a critical reappraisal of a figure long celebrated in Australian journalism while tracing the origins of the transformation he led at the newspaper between 1966 and 1975.
That work now underpins my current book project—a full-length biography of Perkin focusing on his early life and formative experiences.
Major Projects
Battling Murdochracy
(forthcoming, Hardie Grant Publishing, 2026)
Working closely with Ranald Macdondald on his forthcoming autobiography, Battling Murdocracy has been one of the most rewarding projects of my career. The book charts Macdonald’s transformation of The Age, his clashes with powerful media interests, the turbulence of Collingwood Football Club’s “New Magpies” era, and the personal consequences of his later ventures beyond journalism. At its core, the book offers a firsthand account of a media landscape in flux and one publisher’s determination to keep journalism honest.
Biography of Graham Perkin
A full-length biography of the influential journalist and newspaper editor whose tenure reshaped Australian journalism in the 1960s and 1970s. While Perkin’s editorial legacy is well known, the project re-examines the formative experiences and influences that shaped his vision for journalism and ultimately informed his transformation of The Age. In doing so, the book moves beyond the familiar legend of Perkin’s editorship to reveal the deeper forces that shaped one of the most influential figures in Australian journalism.
History of the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition
A historical study of one of the most significant grassroots peace movements of the late Cold War in Australia, examining how activists organised against U.S. military installations and how their campaigns reshaped debates about sovereignty, security and Australia’s place in global politics.
Major published work
Upheaval
Disrupted lives in journalism
When Fairfax Media announced in June 2012 that 1900 staff would be made redundant, a group of Australian academics quickly recognised that these redundancies marked a historical turning point — the end of a golden age in journalism — that needed to be studied and recorded. Upheaval, edited by Andrew Dodd and Matthew Ricketson, attempts to tell the stories of those discarded by their employers often in the prime of their careers, and through their eyes tell a bigger story of what journalism was like in its heyday and how it has changed.​​​
Brad's contributions
'Work-life imbalance'
Chapter 11, pages 145-154
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'The constant undercurrent: Sexual harassment and discrimination'
(with Penny O'Donnell & Merryn Sherwood)
Chapter 6, pages 89-101
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'Pickets and payouts: Unions in the newsroom'
(with Penny O'Donnell & Matthew Ricketson)
Chapter 13, pages 199-214
Praise for Upheaval
'I doubt there is anyone who has worked — or currently works — in journalism that would not have tears rolling down their cheeks as they read the stories of redundancy within Australia’s faltering news industry in this carefully edited collection. That’s not to say that Upheaval: Disrupted Lives in Journalism doesn’t also provoke laugh-out-loud moments at memories of newsroom antics or angry agreement about bullying, misogyny and blatant gender discrimination, but there is no getting around the fact that the central point of this book is tell the stories of the human impact of the brutal gutting of Australia’s media.'
— Pacific Journalism Review​
​'While the easier option would have been to tell the story through fewer narrators, the authors of this volume have given a masterclass in how to use oral history in a long form narrative. The result may read as though it were effortless, but I can attest that such an approach is not. Three longer profiles (Marr, Meade and Flip Prior) provide a deeper insight into the effect of the digital upheaval on individuals, and I suspect other interviews would have been equally as rich.'
— Australian Policy and History
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'The early chapters lovingly describe the golden days of journalism at the peak of its influence. We are plunged into frenzied newsrooms with larger-than-life characters … At times, the stories read like the types of yarns, tinged in black humour, that journos would swap in the pub after deadline. But the authors do not shirk from the downsides of that newsroom culture as well: the lack of work-life balance, bullying and sexual harassment, and alcohol abuse.'
— Medium
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This is undoubtedly a powerfully nostalgic book. But it also raises timely questions about the value that we attach to public interest journalism and whether we can find ways to sustain what is valuable in it.
— ArtsHub​
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'Essential reading for those who care about journalism and its struggle to survive. This book captures the essence of what it is to be a reporter amid tectonic shifts in the media and in the world that we strive to make sense of for our audiences. Anyone who follows the news and politics will be absorbed by Upheaval.'
— Nick McKenzie
'Essential reading for those who care about journalism and its struggle to survive.'
—Nick McKenzie
Consultancy
I write books – long form, rigorous histories that explore how individuals and institutions have shaped Australian public life. My work spans biography, journalism history and political history, seeking to understand who we are, where we’ve come from, and how we can make better decisions for the future.
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I hold a PhD in Australian history from Deakin University. My research examined the life and legacy of The Age editor Graham Perkin, drawing on concepts of collective memory, gender, masculinity, and journalism culture to explore how a celebrated but mythologised figure was constructed and remembered.
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I’m also a ghostwriter. I worked on Ranald Macdonald’s forthcoming autobiography, Battling Murdocracy, one of the most rewarding projects of my career. A story of ambition, upheaval, and an unrelenting fight for press freedom, the book charts Macdonald’s transformation of The Age, his battles with media giants, the turbulence of Collingwood Football Club’s New Magpies era, and the personal cost of his foray into the fitness industry. Through it all, Battling Murdocracy offers a firsthand account of a media landscape in flux and one man’s fight to keep journalism honest.
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That project sits alongside my broader work on journalism and political history.
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Published works include:
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Contributions to Upheaval: Disrupted Lives in Journalism (UNSW Press, 2021), shortlisted for the Oral History Australia Book Award:
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Chapter 11 – “Work–Life Imbalance”, pp. 145–154
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Chapter 6 – “The Constant Undercurrent: Sexual Harassment and Discrimination” (with Penny O'Donnell and Merryn Sherwood), pp. 89–101
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Chapter 13 – “Pickets and Payouts: Unions in the Newsroom” (with Penny O'Donnell and Matthew Ricketson), pp. 199–214
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Current projects include:
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Biography of Graham Perkin
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History of the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition
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Chapter contribution to A Comparative History of Journalism Cultures in Australia and the United States (Palgrave, forthcoming)
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A chapter on Ludwig Leichhardt and Aboriginal Massacres
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Alongside independent writing, I lead a historical consultancy working with clients to uncover the stories behind people, places, and organisations. Find out more here.
