Freedom of the press and the year that was 2019

Is press freedom a national security issue? If it is, what does that mean for Australia’s regional relations and its fight against foreign interference? In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Katherine Mansted and Rory Medcalf discuss their recent submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and National Security on freedom of the press. They  also unpack pivotal national security issues for the region in the past year and discuss what policymakers should keep an eye out for in 2020.

Rory Medcalf is the head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional background involves more than two decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks and journalism.

Katherine Mansted is a Senior Adviser for Public Policy at the National Security College and a Non-resident Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.

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