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Live: Journalist Kate McClymont gives evidence in Alan Jones case

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Cite

Rix, E., & Roe, I. (2026, November 2). Live: Journalist Kate McClymont gives evidence in Alan Jones case. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-03/nsw-sydney-alan-jones-court-smh-kate-mcclymont/107312774

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-11-02 · by Ethan Rix, Isobel Roe

Quick Summary

Kate McClymont, an investigative journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, is providing evidence in the criminal trial of broadcaster Alan Jones. Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching involving five men. The article reports that McClymont published stories in late 2023 based on interviews with several men who alleged abuse by Jones; some of these interviewees did not file complaints but spoke to her before doing so. Today, she faces questioning from both the prosecution and defense regarding her reporting process and interactions with potential complainants and Jones himself.
Written by AI on 2026-11-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 2, 2026, Kate McClymont, an investigative journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, is testifying in the criminal trial against former broadcaster Alan Jones. Jones, who has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts involving five male complainants over a period from 2003 to 2020, faces charges of indecent assault and sexual touching without consent. McClymont's reporting led to the police investigation by Strike Force Bonnefin, which prompted several men to come forward with allegations against Jones. During her testimony, McClymont stated that none of the alleged victims received any benefit from telling their stories or from the media company. The trial is currently underway at the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney.

Written for “Kate McClymont Testifies Against Alan Jones” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 124323 · logged 2026-11-03

Story

📰 Kate McClymont Testifies Against Alan Jones
Crime & Law · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4688 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ethan Rix
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 She will face questions from the Crown first, about her involvement in reporting on Mr Jones's alleged conduct.
🔮 Cameron will be sentenced in December.
🔮 Sydney man recalls moment of being set alight at Prince of Wales Hospital In short: A man said he "thought it was water" when he was doused in accelerant and set alight this week at a Sydney hospital. Radovan Banic told the ABC he was glad he was targeted, and not someone who "couldn't defend themselves" in the Prince of Wales Hospital. What's next? Raymond Dungay was charged with two counts of attempted murder and did not apply for bail in court.
🔮 "Isn't it that the case that your intention was on obtaining as much financial assistance from Mr Jones as you possibly could?" Ms Bashir suggested.
🔮 "I went in there [the bathroom] with a loofah, I just soaked it and scrubbed my mouth as much as I could," he said.
🔮 "She was answering all the [emergency operator's] questions that I couldn't answer, and doing all the things to make sure that this guy was OK."
🔮 "If Alan Jones was brought up in a conversation you could visibly see [Complainant M's] body language change."
🔮 "What I may not be able to give is who was sitting at my table … what direction I was facing.
🔮 The engineer said two from his group of seven, a driver and cook, were not as lucky and were swept away in the flood waters before they could reach higher ground.
Also by Ethan Rix
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Ethan Rix →
Isobel Roe
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 She will face questions from the Crown first, about her involvement in reporting on Mr Jones's alleged conduct.
🔮 Mr Jones's trial has been delayed temporarily due to illness in the defence team, but will return on November 2.
🔮 "You were taking advantage of Mr Jones's generosity for as long as you could," Ms O'Neill put to the woman.
🔮 "I was in a web of dependency with Mr Jones… so a crisis would come up, and I would ask for advice."
🔮 "I went in there [the bathroom] with a loofah, I just soaked it and scrubbed my mouth as much as I could," he said.
🔮 Complainant H will continue to give evidence as the trial proceeds.
🔮 "If Alan Jones was brought up in a conversation you could visibly see [Complainant M's] body language change."
🔮 "What I may not be able to give is who was sitting at my table … what direction I was facing.
Also by Isobel Roe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Isobel Roe →

Topics

McClymont NSW Health Sexual Assault Services SMH Sydney Morning Herald the Sydney Morning Herald

Subjects

Jones PERSON · 10× McClymont PERSON · 9× Kate McClymont PERSON · 4× SMH ORG · 4× the Sydney Morning Herald ORG · 3× Alan Jones PERSON · 2× NSW Health Sexual Assault Services ORG · 1× NSW Sexual Violence Helpline ORG · 1× NSW Victims Services ORG · 1× Sydney Morning Herald ORG · 1×

Narrative

Live updates Sexual assault support services: - NSW Health Sexual Assault Services - NSW Sexual Violence Helpline on 1800 424 017 - NSW Victims Services on 1800 633 063 - Bravehearts (support for child sexual abuse survivors) on 1800 272 831 - MARS Australia (for men affected by rape and sexual abuse) on (07) 3857 1222 - National Survivors Foundation on 1300 124 433 New: Filters Choose what information you see below by using filters Proceedings underway We’ve got straight into it this morning, with Ms McClymont answering questions about an article outlining allegations of abuse against Mr Jones in December 2023.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-03
🔮 She will face questions from the Crown first, about her involvement in reporting on Mr Jones's alleged conduct.
2026-11-03 · ABC News (AU)
Live: Journalist Kate McClymont gives evidence in Alan Jones case · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

live Live updates of SMH journalist Kate McClymont's evidence in Alan Jones trial The investigative journalist whose stories kicked off a police investigation into broadcaster Alan Jones has been called to give evidence in his criminal trial. asserted
stories → kick → trial
Mr Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching relating to five men, many of whom spoke to Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) journalist Kate McClymont before they made a police complaint. asserted
they → plead → complaint
The reporter published a series of stories from late 2023 that contained accounts from a number of men who alleged Mr Jones indecently assaulted them. asserted
Jones → publish → them
Live updates Sexual assault support services: - NSW Health Sexual Assault Services - NSW Sexual Violence Helpline on 1800 424 017 - NSW Victims Services on 1800 633 063 - Bravehearts (support for child sexual abuse survivors) on 1800 272 831 - MARS Australia (for men affected by rape and sexual abuse) on (07) 3857 1222 - National Survivors Foundation on 1300 124 433 New: Filters Choose what information you see below by using filters Proceedings underway We’ve got straight into it this morning, with Ms McClymont answering questions about an article outlining allegations of abuse against Mr Jones in December 2023. asserted
McClymont → affect → December
The reporter confirms she sought comment from Mr Jones by text and email two days before the first story was published in the Sydney Morning Herald. asserted
story → confirm → Herald
Ms McClymont says she did not receive a response from Mr Jones, but she thought she get a response from his lawyers. asserted
she → say → lawyers
McClymont arrives at court Kate McClymont arrived at court to a large media pack. asserted
McClymont → arrive → pack
Asked how she was feeling about today's evidence, the journalist responded, "fine." asserted
journalist → ask → evidence
Word appears to have got around that Ms McClymont was due to give evidence, because the courtroom has once again attracted members of the public, as well as a larger contingent of media. asserted
courtroom → appear → media
She will face questions from the Crown first, about her involvement in reporting on Mr Jones's alleged conduct. asserted
She → face → conduct
She will then be cross-examined by Mr Jones's defence team, who has accused her, among others, of being part of a media conspiracy to bring down their client. asserted
who → cros → client
Key Event What has the court heard so far? asserted
court → hear → What
This case is being heard in the local court in a judge-only trial. asserted
case → hear → trial
The court has previously heard in relation to McClymont: - Complainant C agreed to meet her in 2023 after she contacted him about his experiences with Mr Jones - asserted
she → hear → Jones
The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) published an article about Mr Jones in December 2023 detailing allegations against him - asserted
Herald → publish → him
McClymont also spoke to or contacted 2GB employees and an ex-politician during research into the story - asserted
McClymont → speak → story
Author and journo Peter FitzSimons said he spoke to Complainant C about his experience with Mr Jones. asserted
he → say → Jones
FitzSimons said he passed his notes from the call onto McClymont - asserted
he → say → McClymont
Complainant H reached out to McClymont after her coverage. asserted
H → reach → coverage
His allegations were published in May 2024 in the SMH McClymont to give evidence soon Welcome to live coverage of investigative journalist Kate McClymont's evidence in court today. uncertain
McClymont → publish → court
The author and award-winning reporter is giving evidence about her coverage of allegations against the defendant in the Sydney Morning Herald. asserted
author → win → Herald
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