His departure comes just months after Grant,59,stepped down as host of Q+A after sustaining a torrent of racial abuse on social media,particularly following his contribution to the ABC’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles III.
“When it[the coronation coverage] all blew up,it made me reflect. I don’t think the media is up to this moment. It made me feel I didn’t want to be in the media anymore. I’m not putting myself above it,I am part of it,I am complicit with it. But it made me pause and made me think I don’t want to be in an environment where conflict frames so much of what should be in the public discourse,” Grant told this masthead on Tuesday.
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“I am part of the problem,and I want to be part of the solution.”
Grant confirmed he will direct the Asia-Pacific arm,which is based at Monash University,and will soon embark on a six-week visit to Denmark to develop an understanding of how the institute works.
Its offer came at the perfect time,he said,allowing him to begin the next phase of his career.
“I get to draw on my 40 years of journalism and my academic work,and I hopefully get to make a difference. It’s really exciting to me,” he said.