Veteran journalist Stan Grant has been named regular host of ABC’s Q+A just months after he said the national broadcaster had “completely failed” by not lifting people of color.
Grant will take over the coveted role after a year of hosting duties alongside ABC radio host Virginia Trioli and journalist David Speers.
“The ABC is pleased to announce that Stan Grant, one of our most talented journalists and presenters, will become the full-time host of the weekly flagship discussion program Q+A,” the ABC said in an announcement.
Stan Grant has been appointed in the high profile role of being the sole host of the ABC flagship program Q+A
Grant said hosting Q+A was a “huge responsibility.”
“I feel the weight of the public’s trust in me and the program,” he said.
“I will approach my role with integrity, decency and humility.”
Grant’s first appearance as the new permanent host is on August 1 in a special episode of the program that will be broadcast from the Garma Festival in the northeast of Arnhem Land at 9.35 pm.
“Garma is a talking point where the nation asks itself tough questions about who we are,” Grant said.
“It’s an honor to take the helm of Q+A from there.”
For the past year, Q+A has been hosted by a revolving door of hosts such as David Speers (pictured left)
Just two months ago, Grant, a Wiradjuri man, was highly critical of his employer in a speech saying the ABC was still “overwhelmingly white.”
“When I look around (media and the ABC), there are still not enough people like me,” he told a conference of Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists on May 16.
“The ABC, where I work, is still mostly white.”
Grant said he had always felt “the exception” at the ABC, despite hosting some of the company’s top shows.
Stan Grant said in his speech at the RANZCP conference that the ABC was “still overwhelmingly white.”
“I’m on Q+A or China Tonight or any of the programs I do and I know my presence makes me the exception,” he said.
“And when we report Aboriginal issues, we still do so through the lens of something that is somehow the other.
“Look, a nigger.”
He told The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) 2022 Congress in Sydney that the national broadcaster is still very much run by whites.
“Now I love the ABC, it’s a wonderful organization. I am proud to be there. But it failed completely,” he said.
“When I look at the programs that are on the air right now – yes, there are a few different faces and different colors.
“But the people who run it are white and the executive producers are mostly white and the main show hosts are white and I’m still here.”
ABC News Director Justin Stevens said Grant’s appointment as sole Q+A host was a natural fit.
“In addition to being a hugely experienced journalist and broadcaster, Stan Grant plays a respected role in Australia’s most important national conversations. Leading Q+A is a role that fits the breadth of his knowledge and talents,’ he said.
Grant has been with ABC full-time since 2017. Above with wife Tracey Holmes
Grant has more than 30 years of experience in journalism and has spent most of his career abroad as a foreign correspondent.
He worked for the ABC in the early 1990s before going abroad as a foreign correspondent for Seven.
He then worked for CNN as an international correspondent before rejoining ABC in 2012.
Grant took on the role of Indigenous Affairs Editor at the ABC in 2017 before being named an International Affairs Analyst in 2020.
He will continue to host the ABC show China Tonight and write a weekly column for ABC News Digital, as well as be involved in other ABC News projects.