Ben Roberts-Smith v the media: episode one of a new podcast

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media is a five-part series available via Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast feed. All episodes streaming now. In the defamation trial of the century, Australia’s most-decorated living soldier is seeking to defend his reputation against reports in three newspapers that he says falsely accuse him of being a war criminal. His lawyers argue Roberts-Smith has been unfairly targeted by envious comrades and assisted by credulous journalists. The newspapers’ lawyers say their reporting is true, and that Roberts-Smith broke the ‘moral and legal rules of military engagement’, something he denies outright. But who is Ben Roberts-Smith, and how did he earn the military’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:06.5	Hi, I'm Gabrielle Jackson.
0:08.2	I'm an associate editor at Guardian Australia.
0:11.0	And today instead of playing you a long read,
0:12.9	we wanted you to hear the first part of a special New Guardian podcast series
0:17.6	called Ben Robert Smith versus the media.
0:20.6	Australia's most decorated living soldier, Ben Robert Smith,
0:24.3	is suing three Australian newspapers that he says have damaged his reputation
0:28.9	by falsely suggesting he committed war crimes.
0:32.4	This case, no matter the outcome,
0:34.4	will likely have huge ramifications for some of Australia's most respected journals
0:39.8	and newspapers, or for the military,
0:43.3	and a man who has been venerated as a modern-day war hero.
0:48.1	You can find the whole series by searching for Ben Robert Smith versus the media
0:52.7	wherever you're listening to this podcast.
0:55.4	Before you start listening just a warning,
0:57.3	there are descriptions of conflict and violence that some listeners may find distressing.
1:07.5	You're about to hear evidence as set in court read by voice actors.
1:12.1	The evidence has been edited in some respects for time and ease of listening,
1:16.5	but remains an accurate representation of those sections of the trial.
1:22.5	It was overcast.
1:23.8	I think it may have been slightly raining.
	...

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