Jan Fran

From a young age, Jan Fran's deep curiosity and keen interest in social issues sparked her journey into the world of journalism. As an accomplished journalist, media commentator and broadcaster, Fran's passion for storytelling has always been driven by a desire to explore, question and shed light on the world around her.

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"The teacher said, 'Let's go round the room and everyone can tell us what they watched last night,"" Jan Fran told the Shameless podcast, recalling a moment from her school days. While her classmates mentioned popular sitcoms and soap operas, Fran had a very different answer. "The news.' I think the class just went completely silent.

Even my friend, who was sitting next to me, turned and mouthed 'the news? You watched the news?"" Now an accomplished journalist, media commentator and broadcaster, it was this sense of curiosity and engagement with social issues from a young age that set the foundation for Fran to pursue a passion for journalism and storytelling.

"I was also aware of how powerful the media is," Fran tells WellBeing. "How powerful it is in shaping stories, and shaping perceptions of people, and how wrong it can be, especially when you grow up in a community where the media representation of you does not match your lived experience within that community at all.

I was very conscious of these things, and it kind of felt like [journalism] was the direction that I was always going to head." Fran has filmed documentaries around the world and created her own award-winning online opinion and analysis series to help engage young people in current affairs. She's also co-host of the ABC's Question Everything and is known for her work on SBS's The Feed and Channel 10's The Project.