Breaking big stories: Tony Boyd’s Chanticleer playbook

We have a treat for you today. Historically the show has focused on outstanding investors and leading executives. Today, we are delving into the other cog of the share market machine - the fourth estate, or as most of us know it, the media. 

Tony Boyd has been a finance journalist for more than 40 years. The latest 13, he's been writing the preeminent finance column in Australia, Chanticleer. Affectionately known as 'The Chook',  the Chanticleer column has held pride of place on the back page of the Australian Financial Review since 1974. 

The Chook columnists include such luminaries as Robert Gottliebsen, Ivor Ries and Alan Kohler. No one, though, has lasted as long as Boyd. 

Writing Chanticleer is a monumental task. 1250 words on the issues of the day, every day. 

It might sound simple enough, but to be cutting edge and relevant all the time takes an extraordinary person. Not only do you need to know the full spectrum of company issues, but you must talk to the key people involved. Conversations with the top echelon of corporate Australia is only reserved for the respected few. 

Boyd started out as a copy boy at Rubert Murdoch's News Limited. From there, he enjoyed stints in Europe, and Japan, and edited sections on banking and IT. A short secondment to investor relations saw him return to the fourth estate to write Chanticleer in 2010. At the end of March this year, Boyd put down his pen for the last time. 

Tune in to the latest episode of Success and More Interesting Stuff via the player below or through your preferred podcasting platform.

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

2:41 - Meeting the demands of a daily business column

7:00 - Early years, education and growing up in Sydney

11:40 - Developing an interest in newspapers and publishing

14:15 - Starting as a copy boy with News Limited

22:22 - A trip to London as a finance correspondent

30:34 - The first time Alan Kohler offered Tony a job

36:06 - A brief career change and the second time Alan Kohler offered Tony a job

39:25 - Tony’s approach to writing opinion and the first time a banker lied to him

42:10 - Rejoining the Australian Financial Review

43:28 - The responsibility of writing Chanticleer

47:05 - The best story Tony covered

49:36 - Interviewing the big names including a run in with Kerry Stokes

54:45 - The role of the Chanticleer column in Australian business

1:01:45 - Closing remarks and the next chapter