On the wall of Peter Ryan’s Sydney home hangs a picture bearing the simple title: “Scoop.” The framed and enlarged print of the Penguin cover of the Evelyn Waugh novel of that name often appeared in the background of his live TV reports filed from his home office. The satirical novel about a journalist who, in a case of mistaken identity, finds himself becoming an international news correspondent was a cultural reference point — and possibly a thoroughly-undeserved dig at himself — that Peter could never resist slyly sharing with the ABC’s viewers.
For anyone sharp-eyed enough to pick up on that small, personal indulgence, Pete’s jovial face would always light up with delight as he proudly claimed the joke. It was no small sign of Peter’s generous spirit that he welcomed the Australian viewing public inside his home. When confronted with the challenge of pandemic lockdowns, he transformed his home office into his own remote broadcasting centre, bringing business and finance news uninterrupted to national audiences on radio and television.
Embracing Change and Innovation
Of course, those days were not without the occasional technical hiccup, which Peter always handled with his customary aplomb, just as he did during one fondly-remembered television live cross when an off-camera voice called out in the middle of the report, “Dad, lunch is ready!” Peter embraced working from home with gusto, demonstrating a technological nous, versatility, and adaptability that few could hope to match.
He would delight in showing off his home “studio” to visitors, and he could be paid no greater compliment than when his listeners wrongly assumed he was filing his stories from inside the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters. Versatility and adaptability were always hallmarks of one of the ABC’s most efficient and multi-skilled content-makers.
“He was a technical wizard,” said Peter Cave, former ABC Foreign Affairs Editor and former AM host. “He set up the TV studio there, he set up the radio studio, and he could work from home. And he did right through COVID. And as he became ill and couldn’t get into the office, he still reported from his home bureau.”
A Storied Career and Impactful Journalism
Peter was never a stranger to the office where he was long a fixture as part of the ABC Audio Current Affairs team, working to generate agenda-setting news and current affairs on ABC flagship programs AM, The World Today, and PM, along with creating bespoke content daily for News Radio, Radio National, the ABC local radio network, and the ABC News Channel. His work ethic was always herculean — and his joy in delivering breaking news never diminished over his long and storied career as a journalist.
From his beginnings as a “copy kid” and cadet at Sydney’s Daily Mirror, where he graduated to covering crime and other mayhem on the overnight news beat, he moved on to what he called his “spiritual home” at the ABC. There, he quickly rose to become Washington Bureau Chief, a senior news executive, ABC Business Editor, and Senior Business Correspondent. A Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to journalism, he won a Walkley Award for breaking the Commonwealth Bank’s money laundering scandal in 2017.
His coverage of misconduct in the financial sector was instrumental to the establishment of the banking royal commission, leading to reforms that have affected virtually every Australian in some form or another.
Legacy of Kindness and Mentorship
Regardless of his many accomplishments, Peter was always genuinely pleased to help others and shared that help far and wide throughout his long career. As Peter himself told his colleagues when his medical retirement was announced last month: “Be kind and caring to people who need it. As my father once told me — treat people on the way up, the way YOU want to be treated on the way down.”
It’s no small mark of the man that when Peter learned a younger colleague, AM Technical Producer Khem White, was planning to visit a St Vincent De Paul outlet to purchase a wedding suit, Peter insisted on taking him shopping for a “new quality suit.” White recalls, “I’m sure my wife was thankful I wasn’t sporting the extra-large, mothball-smelling, pin-striped number. From that day forward I came to realise what a lovely man Peter is and how he will always take the time to make everyone feel valued and important.”
It was that fundamental kindness and decency that characterised Peter’s dealings with so many in his orbit. “He maintained a meticulous contact book, it was amazing,” Peter Cave said. “He could within minutes pull just about any business leader of Australia out of his contact book, get on to them and get them on air.”
Enduring Influence and Personal Reflections
Those contacts, his high regard from the business community, and Peter’s reputation as a fair and balanced reporter ensured a steady flow of exclusive interviews. But he was always a fierce and effective warrior against those he saw as responsible for injustice and other misdeeds. A champion of transparency, accountability, and gender equity in the boardroom and the workplace, he was always dogged in pursuing the truth and countering disadvantage wherever it existed.
Among his many other professional credits, he sat on the board of the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance’s Benevolent Fund, which provided help for journalists who had fallen on hard times. Regardless of his accomplishments, Peter always had time to share a joke, some words of advice, and offer a friendly ear to everyone. There are countless journalists who benefited from his advice and mentoring.
Sadly, life just didn’t have enough time for Peter, and we’re all the poorer for it. A lifelong Beatles fan, Peter might have appreciated the words credited to John Lennon: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Peter had great plans for the years ahead, often discussing his plans for retirement and his desire to devote his future to his two favourite people — his wife Mary and daughter Charlotte.
His devotion to them was an inspiration to anyone who juggles the work-life balance and a reminder that the greatest measure of anyone’s success in life is the cherished memories they leave behind for those who loved them. Peter was well-loved and will be well-remembered by those whose lives he touched. We will never see his like again, and we will miss him deeply.
