Producer and presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National, Dr Norman Swan is a multi-award winning producer and broadcaster.
Swan’s career has been highlighted by his desire to keep the Australian public informed of health developments as they happen. This allows him to combine medical expertise with investigative reporting, clear analysis and the knowledge to report the latest research in health and medicine. One of the first medically qualified journalists in Australia, Swan is highly regarded by the medical and health professions.
Joining the ABC in 1982, Swan has won numerous awards for his work on RN. He was named Australian Radio Producer of the Year in 1984 and was awarded a Gold Citation in the United National Media Peace Prizes for his radio work. He has won three Walkley National Awards for Australian journalism and in 1989 he was given Australia’s top prize for science journalism, the Michael Daly Award.
A famous example of Swan’s work is his much publicised and controversial investigative program on scientific fraud and the well-known gynaecologist William McBride. The program exposed fraudulent research, sending shock waves throughout the medical world and led to William McBride being de-registered. It earned Swan the 1988 Australian Writers’ Guild Award for best documentary, and a Gold Walkley Award.
In addition to the Health Report, Swan appears on local ABC radio. He also presents the popular Health Minutes on ABC NewsRadio each week. Norman edits his own newsletter, The Choice Health Reader, which is published in association with the Australian Consumers Association.