BEN KNIGHT

Ben grew up in Mildura, graduating from Mildura High School in 1988 before moving to Melbourne to embark on what he describes as a ‘spectacularly unsuccessful academic career’

Five years and two failed attempts at university later, he returned to Mildura, and somehow managed to talk his way into the local ABC station, where he eventually landed a job as a radio producer. It was the beginning of a long and unexpected career in journalism. After moving back to Melbourne in 1998, Ben made the shift from live radio to TV news and current affairs reporting.

In 2008, he was appointed as the ABC's Middle East Correspondent and spent four years in the Jerusalem bureau. His coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings in Libya and Egypt were nominated for a Walkley Award. In 2012, Ben returned to Australia to become ABC's Olympics reporter, covering the London Games. The following year, he was posted to Washington as North America Correspondent, where he spent three years covering the lead up to the 2016 Presidential election.

Last year, Ben reported for the ABC's flagship current affairs program, 'Four Corners'. He is now a senior reporter in the Melbourne newsroom, and regularly returns to Mildura to visit his family, who apparently, still can't quite believe he has bluffed his way this far.