Brianna Morris-Grant

Brianna Morris-Grant writes for ABC News, focusing on how powerful institutions in business, technology and government wield influence, and translating complex developments into clear, accessible coverage.

Technology giants, AI and corporate battles

Her business coverage centres on large technology companies and the power struggles around them, including an explainer on the legal battle between Sam Altman and Elon Musk over OpenAI that distils the dispute into key takeaways for readers. She reports on corporate responses to emerging threats, such as Microsoft blocking 1.6 million bots an hour as scammers exploit automated systems, drawing out the scale of the problem and its implications for users and regulators. She also uses official data to show how demographic and economic trends intersect, as in her piece on the latest ABS population figures, which found overall growth despite a declining birth rate. Across these stories she foregrounds documentation, numbers and expert voices to show how decisions by major firms and policymakers ripple through markets and everyday life.

Documents, courts and political power

Morris-Grant frequently works with legal filings, government records and investigative reports to illuminate political and judicial battles. In her coverage of US authorities’ search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, she details how thank you notes, Christmas ornaments, magazines and clothing were found mingled with some of the United States’ most highly guarded secrets, drawn from new court documents and National Archives records. She tracks the release of long-awaited material in accountability cases, including United States Department of Justice documents on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, noting how extensive redactions are described as troubling by people close to victims. She has also reported on tens of thousands of records related to a major political assassination, using the documentary haul to probe what the files reveal and what remains unanswered. Her work on US gun violence portrays 24 hours in which seven mass shootings occur as an election approaches, building a detailed picture of how policy debates sit alongside the lived reality of violence. These pieces share a method: grounding political stories in specific documents and timelines so readers can see how power operates in practice.

Global conflict, crime and security

Beyond boardrooms and courts, she covers how conflict and crime shape societies, often through deeply reported narratives. In a feature on the decades-long hunt for a Long Island serial killer, she traces how one woman’s disappearance triggered a prolonged investigation, culminating in a New York City architect taking responsibility for seven of the cases. Her reporting on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region follows a fresh wave of Russian air strikes, including an attack on one of the country’s largest printing houses where thousands of burned books scatter the rubble, turning the destruction of culture into a tangible image of war’s reach. She chronicles the escalation between Israel and Iran, describing how a damning report alleging Iran breached nuclear obligations for the first time in almost 20 years was followed hours later by Israeli strikes on dozens of nuclear-related targets under Operation Rising Lion. She also works across formats to explain how the fallout of the Iran war affects different parts of the world, from local communities to international security, in short-form explainers produced with colleagues. These stories underscore her interest in the consequences of strategic decisions, connecting high-level military and diplomatic moves to their human and regional impact.

Research, climate and mental health

Morris-Grant regularly reports on long-running studies and scientific research, particularly where technology or climate intersects with mental health. She covers a decade-long study following nearly 1,200 students, which finds that adolescents who spend at least two hours a day on social media face a small increase in the likelihood of depressive symptoms and reduced wellbeing, with effects most pronounced among girls aged 12 to 13. She extends this line of reporting to environmental stressors, writing about research suggesting rising temperatures could drive a surge in mental health disorders, with young people identified as most at risk as climate change accelerates. Her work often highlights that these findings show correlations rather than dramatic individual shifts, and she brings in subject-matter experts to frame them in practical terms for families and policymakers. This research-driven approach appears across her portfolio, reinforcing a through-line: she uses data and peer-reviewed work to test assumptions about how modern pressures—from social platforms to heatwaves—affect psychological health.

Culture, history and live coverage

Alongside hard news, she writes narrative features and contributes to rolling coverage that show a strong feel for storytelling. In a piece on Harry Houdini, she explores his reputation as a “handcuff king” and extraordinary showman, and lingers on a trick that defied his abilities even at the height of his fame, using historical detail to bring a century-old figure into sharp relief. Her coverage of Barry Humphries, the comedian behind Dame Edna Everage, includes live updates capturing public reaction and tributes after his death. She has shared a byline on live coverage of the Game Awards from Los Angeles, showing her capacity to work in real-time formats as major entertainment events unfold. Taken together with her business, politics and research reporting, these pieces show a journalist comfortable moving between fast updates, long-form investigations and contextual explainers, while maintaining a consistent focus on clarity and consequence.