When you think about the biggest "gotcha" moments in Australian media over the last decade, you're probably thinking of a story Clair Weaver had her hands on. She isn't just another name in a rolling news credit. Honestly, if you've ever felt that visceral satisfaction of seeing a fraudster finally get caught in a lie, there is a very high chance Weaver was the one holding the microphone or the notepad.
From the high-stakes drama of 60 Minutes to the glossy but gritty long-form investigations at The Australian Women’s Weekly, she has basically made a career out of being the most persistent person in the room. Some people call it being "dogged." She calls it just doing the job.
But who is she, really? And why does her name keep popping up now that the world has moved from print and TV to the ear-shattering popularity of true crime podcasts?
The Flight Attendant Who Wanted More
Weaver’s path to the top of the Australian media landscape was anything but traditional. Forget the expensive private schools or the immediate internship at a national broadsheet. At 19, she was actually working as a flight attendant.
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She was flying long-haul, seeing the world, and basically trying to figure out what her "real" adult life was going to look like. But the itch for journalism was already there. While she was serving drinks at 30,000 feet, she was studying remotely through the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Her first real break? Writing for the airline's in-house newspaper.
She covered stories about staff delivering babies mid-flight or how the airline chose its wine selection. It sounds lighthearted, sure, but it was the training ground for everything that came next. She eventually landed at a local paper in Hertfordshire, then the Watford Observer, and finally the meat grinder of the London Evening Standard.
Clair Weaver: Breaking the Belle Gibson Myth
If there is one story that defines the investigative prowess of Clair Weaver, it is the exposure of wellness fraudster Belle Gibson.
You remember Belle. She was the girl who claimed she was curing her "terminal" brain cancer with nothing but whole foods and an app. The world fell for it. Apple promoted her. Global media outlets swooned over her "miracle" story.
But Weaver didn't buy it.
Working for The Australian Women’s Weekly, Weaver was the one who sat across from Gibson and realized the math just didn't add up. It wasn't just a hunch; it was hours of "going down rabbit holes," as Weaver often puts it. She dug into the medical claims, the charity donations that never happened, and the shifting timeline of Gibson's supposed illness.
That investigation didn't just win Weaver the Journalist of the Year award at the 2015 Publish Awards. It basically dismantled a multi-million dollar lie.
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Other Stories You Probably Remember:
- Pete Evans and the Bone Broth Baby Formula: Weaver helped lead the charge in exposing the dangers of a DIY baby formula cookbook promoted by celebrity chef Pete Evans, which was eventually banned.
- PFAS Contamination: She proved serious chemical contamination in beef cattle near the Richmond RAAF Base, a massive public health story that hit home for farming families.
- Ferry McFerryface: On a lighter note, she used Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to reveal that the NSW Transport Minister had actually lied about a public vote for a ferry name. It turns out the public didn't actually vote for "Ferry McFerryface"—the Minister just liked it.
The Move to Audio: Why Podcasts Are Her New Home
After a long stint as an Investigations Editor at 9News Sydney and a producer for 60 Minutes, Weaver made a jump that surprised a few people. She moved into the world of digital audio.
As of late 2024 and heading into 2026, Clair Weaver is the Head of Factual at LiSTNR.
Why does that matter to you? Because it means she is the gatekeeper for some of the biggest podcasts in the country. She oversees The Briefing and the award-winning Secrets We Keep docu-series. If you’ve been binge-listening to true crime or deep-dive political podcasts lately, her editorial DNA is all over them.
She’s been very vocal about the ethics of this new medium. She constantly reminds her team that "it’s not entertainment." When you’re dealing with crime, you’re dealing with victims. Real people.
"Most of the time real people have been harmed or even died. It's legitimate to tell these stories, but we must remember to humanise them." — Clair Weaver
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It’s a refreshing take in an industry that sometimes feels like it’s "gamifying" tragedy for downloads.
What We Can Learn From Her Career
Weaver’s trajectory tells us a lot about where journalism is going. It's not about the platform anymore. It doesn't matter if it's a newspaper, a TV segment, or an iPhone app. The value is in the persistence.
She often gives advice to young reporters: be nice, but be dogged. Don't take no for an answer. If a door shuts, find a window. Or a data set. She’s famously happy to spend hours combing through spreadsheets if it means finding that one discrepancy that breaks a story wide open.
Actionable Insights for Aspiring Investigators:
- Use FOI Requests: Weaver’s "Ferry McFerryface" story proves that public records are a goldmine if you’re patient enough to dig.
- Verify the "Miracle": If a story seems too good to be true (like Belle Gibson), it probably is. Check the receipts.
- Humanize the Data: Numbers tell you what happened, but the victims tell you why it matters.
- Embrace New Media: You don't need a printing press to be a journalist. Some of the best investigative work in 2026 is happening in 15-minute podcast episodes.
Clair Weaver has shown that whether she's a flight attendant or a "factual boss," the secret to a great story is just refusing to look away when things get complicated.
To stay updated on her latest investigations, you can follow her work on the LiSTNR platform or look for her editorial contributions in major Australian news outlets. If you're looking to sharpen your own investigative skills, start by examining the public disclosure logs of your local government—often, the best stories are hidden in the data no one else wants to read.