Mark Davis (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Mark Davis, an Australia
n investigative journalist
, is best known for his work on Dateline for SBS TV
, where he is currently a co-presenter and video journalist.
Foreign Correspondent
and Four Corners programs.
Working on Foreign Correspondent in North Korea
, Davis was awarded the 1998 Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism for his report on North Korea Famine and in the same year was awarded the The New York Festivals award for coverage of an ongoing news story, The Lion of the Panshi. Whilst at Four Corners, Davis won the 1998 Walkley Award for Best International Report with Peter McEvoy for The Survivor's Story and the 1999 Walkley Award for Best TV Current Affairs Report, called Blood on the Cross.
and preceding George Negus
. Davis went on assignment and returned to the program in 2011 as a co-host with video journalist Yalda Hakim
. Both Davis and Hakim take turns presenting the program in approximately six week blocks, while the other is away on assignment.
Whilst on assignment, in 2007 Davis was just metres away from the bombings that greeted Benazir Bhutto
’s return to Pakistan
and was in the thick of the action during Madagascar
’s coup in 2009. He has also won acclaim for reporting on the trial of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks
. His previous interviews have also included Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed and Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf
.
During 2010, Davis gained unprecedented access to Australian WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange
, secured the first interviews with two of the Bali Nine
and gained worldwide attention via the Dateline website for his profile of Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders
.
Davis was nominated for the Most Outstanding Public Affairs category at the 2011 Logies Awards for The Condemned, an intimate portrayal of Bali Nine members Andrew Chan
and Myuran Sukumaran
, partially filmed inside Indonesia
's Kerobokan
death-row prison.
Davis has won a Logie
and five Walkley Awards, including the Gold Walkley
in 2000 for a Dateline report on pro-Indonesian militias in East Timor
, called Blood Money.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n investigative journalist
Journalism in Australia
Journalism in Australia varies from international practices in areas as diverse as legal freedoms and editorial practices.- History :Most of the published material in the first twenty years of the New South Wales colony was to inform residents of the rules and laws of the time. These were printed...
, is best known for his work on Dateline for SBS TV
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
, where he is currently a co-presenter and video journalist.
ABC TV
Prior to commencing at SBS, Davis' background was an an investigative journalist with the ABC TVAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (TV series)
Foreign Correspondent is a weekly Australian documentary series and current affairs program screened on ABC1, Tuesday at . Premiering at on Saturday 14 March 1992, the aim is to give informed information about the happenings in other countries either on the light side of life or during crisis.-...
and Four Corners programs.
Working on Foreign Correspondent in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Davis was awarded the 1998 Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism for his report on North Korea Famine and in the same year was awarded the The New York Festivals award for coverage of an ongoing news story, The Lion of the Panshi. Whilst at Four Corners, Davis won the 1998 Walkley Award for Best International Report with Peter McEvoy for The Survivor's Story and the 1999 Walkley Award for Best TV Current Affairs Report, called Blood on the Cross.
SBS TV
Davis first hosted Dateline from 2003 to 2004, succeeding Jana WendtJana Wendt
-Early life:Wendt was born to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, and was educated at the University of Melbourne.-Career:Wendt's television career began as a news presenter for ATV-10 evening news...
and preceding George Negus
George Negus
George Edward Negus is an Australian author, journalist, and television presenter. He previously presented 6:30 with George Negus on Network Ten, until it was axed by the Network on 19 October 2011.-Education:...
. Davis went on assignment and returned to the program in 2011 as a co-host with video journalist Yalda Hakim
Yalda Hakim
Yalda Hakim is an Australian video journalist and presenter of the international current affairs program Dateline for SBS.She came to Australia in the 80s after her father smuggled his young family out of Afghanistan on horseback to escape the Soviet invasion to Pakistan and then to Australia in 1983...
. Both Davis and Hakim take turns presenting the program in approximately six week blocks, while the other is away on assignment.
Whilst on assignment, in 2007 Davis was just metres away from the bombings that greeted Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
’s return to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and was in the thick of the action during Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
’s coup in 2009. He has also won acclaim for reporting on the trial of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
. His previous interviews have also included Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed and Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
.
During 2010, Davis gained unprecedented access to Australian WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
founder Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
, secured the first interviews with two of the Bali Nine
Bali Nine
The Bali Nine is the name given to a group of nine Australians arrested on 17 April 2005, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, in a plan to smuggle of heroin valued at approximately A$4 million from Indonesia to Australia...
and gained worldwide attention via the Dateline website for his profile of Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
.
Davis was nominated for the Most Outstanding Public Affairs category at the 2011 Logies Awards for The Condemned, an intimate portrayal of Bali Nine members Andrew Chan
Andrew Chan
Andrew Chan , an Australian citizen, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar...
and Myuran Sukumaran
Myuran Sukumaran
Myuran Sukumaran Myuran Sukumaran Myuran Sukumaran (Tamil: (மயூரன் சுகுமாரன்) (born 17 April 1981 in London, England) is an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta with three...
, partially filmed inside Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
's Kerobokan
Kerobokan Prison
Kerobokan Prison is a prison located in Kerobokan, Badung Regency, on the Indonesian island of Bali. The prison opened in 1979 and contains about 1000 male and female prisoners of various nationalities.- Notable prisoners :...
death-row prison.
Davis has won a Logie
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
and five Walkley Awards, including the Gold Walkley
Gold Walkley
The Gold Walkley is the most prestigious of the Walkley Awards for Australian journalism. It is chosen by the Walkley Advisory Board from the winners of all the other categories...
in 2000 for a Dateline report on pro-Indonesian militias in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, called Blood Money.