Ian Leslie is glad his journalism career came before the demanding deadlines and risky immediacy required in the contemporary industry.
Boasting a 45-year media career, including 11 years as a 60 Minutes reporter, Leslie, 66, now runs his own communications business and regularly appears as a keynote speaker.
"I always wanted to be a journalist when I was at school and I lived my dream," Leslie, now a grandfather, told AAP.
Reporting for 60 Minutes has been the highlight of his career, Leslie said, and made him realise how lucky Australians are to have such open access to information.
However, the accuracy of Australia's media was at risk because of "challenging" conditions, Leslie said.
"The immediacy of media means journalists have to work much faster, work to tighter deadlines and think much quicker," he said.
"That's great but risks the balance of truth and research because I don't think journalists these days have as much time to check important facts.
"That's robbed some of the quality of journalism and I'm glad my time came before now."
Leslie has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, in recognition of his services to the media industry.
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