Jorge Branco
Jorge Branco reports on finance and national affairs for Nine, connecting monetary policy, budgets and government decisions to the day-to-day experience of borrowers and taxpayers. As a senior reporter, he works across policy, politics and culture, focusing on how decisions made by institutions play out for individuals. His recent work ranges from central bank moves and federal budgets to government spending controversies, political disputes, royal families and online culture, reflecting a brief that sits at the intersection of finance and public life.
Monetary policy and household impact
Branco’s finance coverage centres on how monetary policy filters through to households, rather than just the mechanics of interest rates and markets. In his reporting on the Reserve Bank’s rate decisions, he frames the story around what borrowers gain and lose, using language that foregrounds the anxiety and relief of mortgage holders and other debtors. He extends this approach to budget coverage, curating newspaper front pages from around the country to show how different outlets interpret federal fiscal policy and its consequences for ordinary Australians. That visual treatment underlines his interest in both the substance of economic policy and the way it is communicated to the public.
Government spending, politics and accountability
A significant strand of his work interrogates how public money is spent and how political decisions are justified. In his coverage of Western Australia paying $4 million to dispose of expired COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, he focuses on the cost to taxpayers and the chain of decisions that led to the waste, framing the issue as a question of accountability and stewardship of public funds. His political reporting includes stories on internal party debates and representation, such as Julie Bishop’s account of how Tony Abbott’s first cabinet might have excluded women, which he treats as part of a broader conversation about who is visible in government and why. He also covers major national honours like Dylan Alcott’s appointment as Australian of the Year, highlighting the intersection of disability advocacy, public recognition and the values that governments choose to elevate. Across these pieces, Branco links finance and politics by showing how budget lines, spending choices and symbolic appointments connect to questions of fairness and inclusion.
Royals, culture and public figures
Alongside finance and politics, Branco writes frequently about royal families and prominent personalities, often with a focus on how tradition meets contemporary culture. His profile of the British-Australian fundraiser and DJ who called Prince Philip “dude” uses a small, surprising moment to explore the relationship between the monarchy and modern, informal modes of address. In co-authored coverage of the son of Norway’s crown princess being jailed for rape, he reports on a serious criminal case within a royal context, balancing the gravity of the legal outcome with the public fascination that comes with royal connections. He brings a similar lens to online culture and intellectual property, as seen in his reporting on recipe plagiarism allegations involving TikTok baking personalities and cookbook authors, where questions of originality, social media influence and commercialisation of content sit alongside the personal story of the creators involved. These assignments show his comfort moving from hard news to softer cultural stories while maintaining an interest in power, reputation and consequences.
Formats and collaboration across the newsroom
Branco works in multiple formats, shifting between straight news reports, feature-style narratives and visual galleries. His federal budget piece built around front pages is presented as an “in pictures” treatment, using a sequence of newspaper covers to tell the story of how the budget landed with editors and audiences around the country. Other articles take the form of conventional news pieces that combine figures, quotes and context, such as his coverage of the COVID-19 test disposal costs and cabinet composition debates. He regularly shares bylines with colleagues on stories that cut across beats, including royal crime reporting, disability awards and social media-driven controversies, reflecting a collaborative approach to complex or high-profile assignments. Across these formats, his reporting keeps returning to the impact of institutional decisions—by central banks, governments, royal households or online platforms—on the people and communities who live with the outcomes.
4 more finance journalists.
Abba Ihonde
Abba Ihonde is a content writer for Guardian Digital at The Guardian whose beat sits where crypto, fintech and mainstream finance meet. He focuses on how cryptocurrencies, trading platforms and digital tools are reshaping business and finance, especially through regulation, crypto policy and their impact on financial services. His explainer pieces follow the practical realities of traders, importers and growing businesses, tracking everyday crypto use in cross-border trade and the turn to stablecoins. He reports on retail trading platforms and market education, drawing on experience in cryptocurrency futures trading and earlier SEO analysis and editing roles to keep finance coverage clear and structured. Abba also writes on business visibility in the digital economy, policy and tax technology, and takes on broader news and lifestyle assignments, from security incidents to celebrity weddings.
Adam Clark
Adam Clark links fast-moving moves in global markets with clear, stock-focused takeaways for investors, combining breaking news with thematic analysis across equities and commodities. He is a reporter at Barron's, covering breaking news and markets, a role he took on in 2022 after five years with Dow Jones Newswires. His beat is how individual stocks, sectors and major indices react to shifts in the economy, monetary policy and corporate strategy, and what those moves mean for portfolios. He covers real-time moves in leading stocks and indices, high-profile names such as Alphabet and Newmont, and themes like technology volatility and gold market resets. He works in fast-turn news and longer market features, drawing on experience as reporter, editor and Insight columnist across print and digital platforms linked to Dow Jones brands.
Alasdair Ferguson
Alasdair Ferguson is a multimedia journalist at The National whose finance reporting is defined by a strong focus on culture, heritage and history. He uses archives, museums and cultural institutions to tell contemporary stories, linking public money and policy to how Scotland understands its past. He covers finance, culture, heritage, sport, arts and civic campaigns, often showing how decisions and events affect daily life and national identity. His work includes pieces on historic conflicts, museum photo releases, lost music, football history, large-scale supporter travel, arts festivals, television industry shifts and grassroots independence campaigns. He reports through news, features and multimedia, including podcast and video interviews. Across formats, he relies on concrete historical material, scholarly research and institutional sources to foreground why discoveries and campaigns matter now.
Alec Whitaker
Alec Whitaker is a senior court reporter for The Westmorland Gazette and also writes for The Mail. He stands out for reporting criminal cases in a tight, court-led way that links offences to fines, bans, compensation and other legal outcomes. His core beat is magistrates’ and crown court hearings, with regular coverage of theft, drugs, motoring offences, harassment, stalking and robbery. He reports on how the justice system turns behaviour into sentences and financial penalties, from short theft cases to serious drug charges. His pieces give the charge, the hearing, the pleas and the final order in plain terms. He also covers inquests and other court proceedings, and his work has included reporting for The Mail, The Westmorland Gazette and the North West Evening Mail.