Linton Besser

Linton Besser (born 1976 or 1977) is an Australian investigative journalist. In 2025 he took over as host of the long-running Media Watch show on ABC TV. He has won numerous awards in journalism, including four Walkley Awards, two Kennedy Awards, and a George Munster Award.

Linton Besser
Born	1976 or 1977
Alma mater	Moriah College
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	ABC Television
Spouse	Married
Children	2

Early life and education

Linton Besser was born in 1976 or 1978^[1] to Jewish parents, Anne and Mike Besser.^[2] His grandparents, Sara Weintraub and Wolf Besser, were Holocaust survivors who were interned at Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.^[3]

He was educated at Moriah College in Sydney.^[1]

Career

In 2003, Besser began his media career as a producer for morning TV program Today. Then, after a stint at rural and regional papers, he moved to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007.^[4] While there, he won a 2010 Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism for his story "The Wrong Stuff", on misspending by the Department of Defence;^[5] and (with Kate McClymont) a Walkley^[6] and a George Munster Award for the 2012 investigative series "The Obeid family business",^[7] followed by a 2013 Kennedy Award for Scoop of the Year.^[8] The pair released the best-selling book He Who must Be Obeid in 2014; its first print run was pulped due to incorrectly identifying one person as another.^[9] The book was a finalist at the 2015 Ned Kelly Awards.^[10]

Having moved to the ABC in 2013, he reported for Four Corners between 2014 and 2018.^[4] During his tenure, he won a second Kennedy Award in 2014, for Outstanding Consumer Affairs Reporting with Janine Cohen and Mario Christodoulou,^[11] and a 2016 Walkley Television/Audio Visual Current Affairs Award for "State of Fear", along with cinematographer Louie Eroglu, producer Jaya Balendra and researcher Elise Worthington.^[12] During that investigation, Besser and Eroglu were arrested in Malaysia for trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal, but were released without charge several days later.^[13][14]

From 2018 until 2021 he was the ABC's Europe Correspondent, after which he returned to providing investigative reporting for ABC News, including programs 7.30, AM, and Four Corners.^[4]

In 2024, Besser and Nina Kopel received the Walkley Business Journalism Award for their strata management industry investigation.^[15]

In November 2024 it was announced that from 2025 he would be the new host of ABC's long-running Media Watch program.^[16][17]

Personal life

As of 2013^[update], he was married with two children.^[18]

See also

• List of investigative journalists