Peter Charley

Peter Charley
Born	Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Education	Scots School Albury Newington College
Alma mater	New York University The University of Sydney Harvard University European Academy, Berlin Escuela Dinámico, Antigua Academia de Español, Quito
Occupation(s)	Journalist, television producer, author
Employer	Al Jazeera
Parent	Philip Nivison Charley OAM
Relatives	Sir Philip Belmont Charley (grandfather) Major Philip Charley (great grandfather)

Peter Charley is an Australian journalist, documentary film maker, television producer and author. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

Charley was born in Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Philip Nivison Charley OAM ^{[3] [4]} was the son of Sir Philip Belmont Charley and grandson of Major Philip Charley, one of the ‘Syndicate of Seven’ who founded Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd in 1883. ^{[5] [6]} In 2021, BHP's revenue was estimated to be US$60.82  billion. ^[7] Charley spent his teenage years at boarding school in Australia and in Papua New Guinea where his family was based in Goroka, Madang and Port Moresby. In 1973, he was invited to accompany a medical expedition into the remote Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea to investigate an outbreak of the fatal brain disorder kuru caused by ritualistic cannibalism. ^[8]

Charley attended The Scots School, Albury, and Newington College, in Sydney. He studied communications at New York University and holds a master's degree in media practice from The University of Sydney. At Harvard University, Charley studied Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy and the Press (via Ed-X). Charley undertook European studies at the European Academy in Berlin and studied Spanish Language at Escuela Dinámico in Antigua, Guatemala, and Spanish Language and Latin American Culture at the Academia de Español in Quito, Ecuador.

Journalism career

Charley began his career as a reporter on The Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney Sun newspapers in Australia where he worked as a general news reporter, feature writer and music critic. He later worked as an on-air news and current affairs reporter and producer at the Seven Network in Australia before moving to New York, where he worked as Associate Producer at Sixty Minutes, Channel Nine, and as a reporter for National Public Radio.

Charley traveled extensively throughout Central and South America, covering conflict and civil unrest in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.

Charley's coverage of conflict also included unrest in Syria, Cambodia's fight against the Khmer Rouge, East Timor's struggle for independence, the Bougainville war, unrest in South Africa, Libya and the Los Angeles riots.

In 1986, Charley was appointed Show Producer of the weekly, current affairs program, The Reporters, produced by Fox Television, New York.

Between 2000 and 2007, Charley worked as Executive Producer of the ABC TV's flagship news program, Lateline . He then joined Australia's SBS television as Executive Producer of the international current affairs program, Dateline – a position he held for seven years. In 2014, he left Dateline to take up the role of Senior Executive Producer of Al Jazeera's North American investigative unit, based in Washington, DC.

At Al Jazeera, Charley was responsible for producing, writing and reporting the controversial two-part series 'How to Sell a Massacre' which involved a three-year undercover infiltration of the National Rifle Association of America. The program led to the resignation of 'Pauline Hanson's One Nation' Senate candidate Steve Dickson after secretly-recorded video showed Dickson and One Nation's Chief of Staff James Ashby meeting with officials from the NRA and with representatives of Koch Industries in Washington, DC. In 2019, Charley was approached by HarperCollins to write a book on the making of the documentary series. The book, 'How to Sell a Massacre - One Nation, the US gun lobby and $20 million - inside journalism's most audacious sting', was published in August 2020, reaching an Amazon ranking of Number One Best Seller under the categories of Federal Jurisdiction Law, Conventional Weapons and Warfare History, Political Freedom, Journalism & Nonfiction Writing Reference, and Radical Political Thought.

Charley has twice been invited by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to participate as Juror for the International Emmy Awards competition to judge international television programming.

Awards

Published work	Award name	Award given	Award year	Notes
On Life’s Border – The Plight of North Korean Refugees in China	Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies	First Prize, SAIS Novartis Awards	2000	[9]
On Life’s Border – The Struggle of North Korea’s Refugees	Walkley Award	Winner, Excellence in International Reporting (with Jung-Eun Kim)		[10]
One Last Chance	New York Festivals	Best Investigative Report		[11]
	Columbus International Film & Video Festival	Chris Award Statue
Kidnapped	Human Rights Press Award, Hong Kong	Winner (as executive producer of Dateline , SBS)	2009	[12] [ permanent dead link ‍]
Dateline , SBS	New York Festivals	Best Current Affairs Program	2013	[13] [ permanent dead link ‍]
The Dark Side	New York Festivals	Gold World Medal, Sports	2017	[14]
		Gold World Medal, Current Affairs
The Poacher's Pipeline	Society for Environmental Journalists	Honorable Mention, Outstanding In-depth Reporting		[15]
	Asian Television Awards	Highly Commended		[16] [ permanent dead link ‍]
	CINE Golden Eagle Awards	Finalist, Investigations		[17]
	Association of International Broadcasters	Highly commended, Investigative		[18]
	Headliner Awards	Second Place, Documentary		[19]
	Rockie Awards, Banff World Media Festival	Finalist, Social & Investigative		[20] [ permanent dead link ‍]
	Foreign Press Association Media Awards	Winner, Environment Story of the Year		[21]
	Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, New York	Best Middle East Film		[22]
	Vancouver South African Film Festival	People's Choice Winner		[23]
	Envirofilm Awards	Winner, Best Story Presentation	2018	[24] [ permanent dead link ‍]
	New York Festivals	Silver World Medal, Current Affairs		[25] [ permanent dead link ‍]
		Silver World Medal, Nature and Wildlife
Spy Merchants	DIG Awards, Riccione, Italy	Best Investigative Documentary, Long Form		[26]
	New York Festivals	Gold World Medal, Current Affairs		[25] [ permanent dead link ‍]
	Rockie Awards, Banff World Media Festival	Finalist, Crime and Investigation		[27] [ permanent dead link ‍]
Football's Wall of Silence	Association of International Broadcasters	Highly Commended, Investigative		[28]
	British Academy of Film and Television Arts	Finalist, Current Affairs category	2019	[29]
	New York Festivals	Gold World Medal, Current Affairs		[30] [ permanent dead link ‍]
		Gold World Medal, Sports
Islamophobia	New York Festivals	Gold World Medal, Current Affairs
		Silver World Medal, Religious
	Kennedy Awards	Nominee, Journalist of the Year		[31]
How to Sell a Massacre	Broadcast Awards	Finalist		[32]
	Kennedy Awards	Winner, Most Outstanding Investigative Report		[33]
		Finalist, Scoop of the Year		[31]
	Association for International Broadcasting	Winner, International Affairs		[34]
	Graham Perkin Awards	Finalist, Australian Journalist of the Year		[35]
	New York Festivals	Gold World Medal, Film		[30] [ permanent dead link ‍]
	Walkley Award	Winner, Scoop of the Year		[36]
	Gold Lovie Award	Winner, Documentary	2020	[37]
	Webby Awards	'Al Jazeera Investigates Extra' Nominee	2021	[38]
	Telly Awards	Gold Medal		[39]

Gold Telly Award (Social Impact) Issued by Telly Awards · May 2023 The Truth Illusion https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2023/television/general-social-impact

Silver Telly Award (General Documentary - Long Form) Issued by Telly Awards · May 2023 The Truth Illusion https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2023/television/general-documentary-long-form-above-40-minutes

Silver Telly Award (Political Commentary) Issued by Telly Awards · May 2023 The Truth Illusion https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2023/television/general-political-commentary

Gold World Medal (Documentary - Social Issues) Issued by New York TV & Film Awards · Apr 2023 The Truth Illusion https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/Winners/WinnerDetailsNew/301711dc-00bb-407b-b536-762783bee3d5

Gold World Medal (Social Issues Podcast) Issued by New York Festival Radio Awards · Apr 2023 The Truth Illusion https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/List/7839e438-6aec-439e-bf9a-7ca894d7d5dd

Shorty Award Bronze Medal (News and Politics Podcast) Issued by Shorty Awards · Apr 2023 The Truth Illusion https://shortyawards.com/15th/winners

Silver World Medal (Documentary - Current Affairs) Issued by New York TV & Film Awards · Apr 2023 The Truth Illusion https://tvfilm.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/List/7839e438-6aec-439e-bf9a-7ca894d7d5dd

Gold Medal (Best Writing) Issued by Signal awards · Oct 2023 Gold Mafia - Podcast (Executive Producer) https://network.aljazeera.net/en/awards/al-jazeera-wins-four-signal-awards

Gold Medal (General News & Politics) Issued by Signal Awards · Oct 2023 Gold Mafia – Podcast: Episode 6 (‘The Crocodile’) (Executive Producer) https://network.aljazeera.net/en/awards/al-jazeera-wins-four-signal-awards

Silver Medal (General - Documentary) Issued by Signal Awards · Oct 2023 Gold Mafia – Podcast: Episode Three (‘Blowing Smoke’) (Executive Producer) https://network.aljazeera.net/en/awards/al-jazeera-wins-four-signal-awards

Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival - finalist Issued by Cannes Media & TV Awards · Jul 2023 The Truth Illusion https://www.cannescorporate.com/en/

Webby Award (Documentary, Long Form) Issued by Webby Awards (nomination) · Apr 2023 The Truth Illusion https://winners.webbyawards.com/2023/video/general-video/documentary-longform/242602/al-jazeera-investigations--the-truth-illusion

A.I.B. Award (Specialist Factual) Issued by Association of International Broadcasters · Nov 2022 The Truth Illusion https://theaibs.tv/AIBs-2022/Gala-evening/The-AIBs-22-winners-book.pdf

Foreign Press Association Award (TV Documentary of the Year) - finalist Issued by Foreign Press Association, London · Nov 2022 The Truth Illusion https://www.fpalondon.org/fpa-media-awards

Venice TV Award (Documentary) - nominee Issued by Venice TV Awards · Sep 2022 The Truth Illusion

https://venicetvaward.com/winners-and-nominees-2022/

Published works

Books

• Charley, Peter (2020). How to Sell a Massacre. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Australia. ISBN   978-0-7333-4108-3.

Video

• Charley, Peter (reporter, producer/director and cameraman) (2000). Bolivia's Coca Wars. Australia: SBS TV.
• Charley, Peter (writer and producer) (2000). On Life's Border. Australia: SBS TV.
• Charley, Peter (writer and producer) (2001). Border Lives. Australia: SBS TV.
• Charley, Peter (executive producer) (2016). The Dark Side – The Secret World of Sports Doping. YouTube.
• Charley, Peter (executive producer) (2017). Spy Merchants. YouTube.
• Charley, Peter (executive producer) (2017). The Poacher's Pipeline – Dealers, Diplomats and the Illegal Horn Trade. YouTube.
• Charley, Peter (executive producer) (2018). Football's Wall of Silence. YouTube.
• Charley, Peter (reporter and producer) (2019). How to Sell a Massacre (Episode One ed.). YouTube.
• Charley, Peter (reporter and producer) (2019). How to Sell a Massacre (Episode Two ed.). YouTube.

References

1. Stone, Gerald (2011). Say it with Feeling. Pan MacMillan. pp. 299, 301–2. ISBN   978-1-74261-025-2.
2. Little, John (2004). The Man Who Saw Too Much. United Kingdom: Hachette. p. 315. ISBN   978-0-7336-1725-6.
3. "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) entry for Mr Philip Nivison CHARLEY". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 10 June 2002. Retrieved 13 September 2022. For service to broadcasting in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, and through education and training, particularly the development of technical and practical skills and professional attitudes and disciplines.
4. Jackson, Keith (22 August 2014). "Phil Charley OAM, PNG commercial radio pioneer, dies at 89". PNG ATTITUDE. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
5. Weatherburn, Hilary (1993). "Charley, Sir Philip Belmont (1893–1976)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Vol. 13. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 13 September 2022.
6. "Beyond the Surface: The History of BHP" on YouTube
7. "Home". bhp.com. Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd. 2018.
8. Liberski, Pawel (18 July 2013). "Kuru: A Journey Back in Time from Papua New Guinea to the Neanderthals' Extinction". Pathogens. 2 (3). MDPI AG: 472–505. doi: 10.3390/pathogens2030472 . ISSN   2076-0817. PMC   4235695 . PMID   25437203.
9. Kagan, Daniel (10 April 2001). "SAIS Awards Journalism Prizes". United Press International, Inc. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
10. "On Life's Border – The Struggle of North Korea's Refugees". Walkley Winners Archive. The Walkley Foundation. 2000. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
11. "ONE LAST CHANCE". Educational DVD Sales. Ronin Films. n.d. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
12. "Video journalist wins award". Dateline . SBS. n.d.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
13. "ABC, SBS, and Nine awarded at the NY Film Festival". TV Tonight. 2013.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
14. "The Dark Side". Film Freeway. 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
15. "Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, Large Market: Honorable Mention: The Poacher's Pipeline". Winners: SEJ 16th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment. The Society of Environmental Journalists. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
16. "2017 Winners". Asian Television Awards. n.d. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017.
17. "58th CINE Golden Eagle Awards Recipients and Finalists". CINE. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015.
18. "Investigative Video: Highly commended" (PDF). The AIBs: 2017: Winners and finalists. Association for International Broadcasting. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
19. "Broadcast or cable television stations documentary or series of reports on the same subject" (PDF). 83rd National Headliner Awards winners. Press Club of Atlantic City. 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
20. "Agenda: Rockie Awards International". Banff World Media Festival. Brunico Communications Ltd. 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017.
21. "Media Awards". Foreign Press Association London. Foreign Press Association. 2017. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017.
22. "NYC Festival 2017". Wildlife Conservation Film Festival. 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018.
23. "2017 VSAFF People's Choice Awards announced: Best Short Documentary: Poachers Pipeline". 10th VSAFF. Vancouver South African Film Festival. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
24. "Winners and Nominees". IFF Ekttop Film (in Slovak). 2018. Archived from the original on 1 March 2001.
25. "Winners". New York Festivals. 2018. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018.
26. "Home". DIG Awards. 2018. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018.
27. "Agenda: Rockie Awards International". Banff World Media Festival. Brunico Communications Ltd. 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017.
28. "TV/Video: Investigative Journalism: Al Jazeera Investigations - Football's Wall of Silence" (PDF). The AIBs: 2018: The shortlist. Association for International Broadcasting. 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
29. Abbott, Kate (28 March 2019). "Bafta TV awards 2019: full list of nominations". Guardian Australia . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
30. "Winners". New York Festivals. 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019.
31. "2019 NRMA Kennedy Awards' nominees sorted from record field". Media Week. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
32. "Best News and Current Affairs Program: Al Jazeera investigates: How to Sell a Massacre". Broadcast Awards 2020. United Kingdom: Broadcast. 2020. p. 37. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
33. "Media's finest: All 35 2019 NRMA Kennedy Award winners". MediaWeek. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
34. International affairs: Al Jazeera Media Network (PDF). Association for International Broadcasting. 2019. p. 15. Retrieved 13 September 2022.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
35. "2019 Perkin Award Finalists". The Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year. Melbourne Press Club. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
36. "How to Sell a Massacre". Walkley Winners Archive. The Walkley Foundation. 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
37. "How to Sell a Massacre (Part 2): Al Jazeera Investigates". Winners: Video. The Lovie Awards. 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
38. "How to Sell a Massacre (Part 2): Al Jazeera Investigates". Winners: News & Politics Podcasts. The Web Awards. 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
39. "How to Sell a Massacre". The Telly Awards. 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

Further reading

• Guthrie, Bruce (2010). Man Bites Murdoch: Four Decades in Print, Six Days in Court. Melbourne University Press. pp. 118–122. ISBN   978-0-522-85816-7.
• Leith, Denise (2004). Bearing Witness: The Lives of War Correspondents and Photojournalists. Random House Australia. pp. 72–91. ISBN   978-1-74051-260-2.
• Little, John (2004). The Man Who Saw Too Much. United Kingdom: Hachette. ISBN   978-0-7336-1725-6.
• Meade, Amanda (3 December 2014). "The Weekly Beast: ABC staff say no to The Hunger Games". Guardian Australia . Retrieved 13 September 2022.
• Stone, Gerald (2011). Say it with Feeling. Pan MacMillan. ISBN   978-1-74261-025-2. Stone referred to Charley as "(a man with) a scruffy, just-got-home-after-an-all-night-bender appearance" who "was at the very top of his game, the kind of journalist who would never let you down on a good story".