Sally Neighbour is a multiple award-winning journalist, author and editorial leader, best known for her work with Australia's premier public affairs television program, Four Corners, of which she was Executive Producer for seven years until May 2022. During Sally's stewardship of Four Corners, the program won twenty Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism including two coveted Gold Walkleys, along with two Logie awards for outstanding public affairs.  Sally herself won the Walkley for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2022, her fourth Walkley Award.
Sally was previously Executive Producer of the ABC's nightly flagship current affairs program, 7.30; a foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong and Beijing for ABC TV; and an investigative reporter with Four Corners.  Her most recent story was 'Traitor: Australia's Greatest Untold Spy Story', co-reported with Margot O'Neill, which aired on Four Corners on 19 June 2023. Traitor: Australia's greatest untold spy story - ABC News
Tenggulun, Indonesia 2003
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, Indonesia 2002
Kabul 2008
Sally has reported extensively on Islamist extremism, terrorism and security related issues, for the ABC, The Australian newspaper and The Monthly magazine. She is the author of two books on these subjects:  'The Mother of Mohammed' (Melbourne University Publishing, 2008), the story of Australian woman Rabiah Hutchinson, who spent twenty years on the frontlines of the global jihadist movement in Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan; and 'In the Shadow of Swords: On the trail of terrorism from Afghanistan to Australia' (Harper Collins, 2004), which documented the formation and evolution of the Indonesian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah and its involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings and subsequent terrorist attacks. 'In the Shadow of Swords' won the New South Wales history prize in 2005, and was named by The Economist magazine as one of its best 25 books for 2005.
 
Curriculum Vitae
November 2022:   Winner, Walkley award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism
2015-May 2022:    Executive Producer, Four Corners, ABC TV. 
2012-2015:            Executive Producer, 7.30, ABC TV.
2009-2012:            Freelance journalist, senior contributor to The Australian and The Monthly magazine.
2010:                     'The Mother of Mohammed' published in the United States by the University of Pennsylvania Press and in Indonesia by
                               PT Gramedia.
May 2009:              'The Mother of Mohammed' published by Melbourne University Publishing.
2000-2009:             Reporter, Four Corners, ABC TV.
2005-2010:             Senior writer with The Australian newspaper.
2006:                      Winner, Walkley Award for excellence in international reporting.
2005:                      'In the Shadow of Swords' wins NSW History Prize.
2004:                      'In the Shadow of Swords' published by Harper Collins Australia. 
2001:                      Winner, Walkley Award for excellence in coverage of indigenous affairs.
2000:                      Presenter, 'Lateline', ABC TV.
1996-1999:             Reporter, 4 Corners.
1996:                      Winner, Walkley Award for investigative journalism.
1995:                      Correspondent, ABC TV, based in Beijing, China.
1993-1994:                       "              "              based in Hong Kong.
1989-1992:             Reporter, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, Melbourne.
1988-1989:             Reporter, ABC TV News, Melbourne.
1980-1988:             Journalist - Radio Stations 3UZ and 3MP, Melbourne; Channel Ten 'Good Morning Australia'; and GLV 8, Gippsland, Victoria.
Book Launch for 'In the Shadow of Swords'
Awards
In 2022, Sally won the Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. The 67th Walkley Awards winners announced - The Walkley Foundation (walkleys.com)  You can see Sally's acceptance speech here: Spotlight on Sally Neighbour - The Walkley Foundation (walkleys.com)
In 2006, Sally was awarded the Walkley for best international reporting, along with producer Lin Buckfield and researcher Jo Puccini, for their story titled 'The Kilwa Incident', broadcast on 4 Corners, which reported the complicity of an Australian company, Anvil Mining, in the massacre of villagers by army soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The story was carried around the world.
 
In 2001, Sally received the Walkley for best reporting of indigenous affairs, with producer Morag Ramsay, for a Four Corners report, 'Catch me if you Can', the story of a corrupt white lawyer's exploitation of Aboriginal communities in northern Australia.
 
In 1996, Sally won a Walkley with producer Mark Maley for best investigative reporting for 'The Crown Deals', which examined the political influence wielded by the operators of Australia's largest gaming house, Melbourne's Crown Casino.
 
Sally has been a finalist in the Walkleys twenty times, including in 2005 when 'In the Shadow of Swords' was nominated in the new Walkley category of best non-fiction book.
 
In 2005, 'In the Shadow of Swords' was awarded the $15,000 General History Prize in the New South Wales Premier's History Awards.
 
In 2007, Sally and Four Corners producer Morag Ramsay received a Special Commendation in the United Nations Association of Australia's Media Peace Awards, and a Highly Commended citation in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Human Rights Media Awards, for 'Torture: a two-part series', which documented the use of torture in the global war on terrorism.
On the website Democracy's Watchdogs, established to honor the work of investigative journalists, Sally's work has been highlighted - along with that of other leading journalists - for  exposing corruption and holding powerful governments, criminals and corporate interests to account, and helping 'make society fairer and our democracy healthier'.  Sally Neighbour - Profile — Democracy's Watchdogs (democracyswatchdogs.org)
Four Corners Profile
 
Interview with Sally Neighbour
Hear Sally interviewed by Richard Fidler on the ABC's Conversations
 
'Your time starts now', profile in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Link