lateline

Lateline is a late-night current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It focuses on international politics, business, and public policy, providing analysis and context beyond the day’s headline news. The program is known for long-form interviews, field reports, and expert panels that aim to explain complex issues to a general audience. Its coverage has included diplomacy, global markets, technology policy, and regional developments affecting Australia.

Historically, Lateline was broadcast on ABC television channels and, with the growth of online platforms, its reporting was made available through ABC News websites and social media. The show typically featured a rotating lineup of hosts and guest correspondents, with interviews conducted with political leaders, business figures, academics, and analysts. The format emphasizes clarity and critical examination, occasionally presenting contrasting viewpoints to illuminate policy debates.

The program has been regarded as a training ground for investigative and interpretive journalism within ABC News, helping to shape public understanding of international affairs from an Australian perspective. It has influenced later Australian current affairs programming through its emphasis on depth over speed and by integrating on-air reporting with online, transcripted, and archived material.

In its legacy, Lateline is remembered as a fixture of late-night news that sought to connect global events with domestic implications, and its archived segments continue to be cited as reference material for researchers and journalists. The term Lateline has also appeared as a label for late-night analytical segments in other media contexts.