Patrick (Pat) Abboud is a Walkley nominated journalist, TV presenter, broadcaster, and award winning documentary maker. Pat is currently reporting and presenting for The Project on Network 10 while creating an original 8-part true crime series commissioned by Amazon and supported by the Walkley Foundation.
Pat is the founder of Only Human a production company making award winning factual and entertainment television, live broadcasts, branded content, podcasts and interactive experiences. The team at Only Human are multi-skilled creatives bringing original content to your screens, your ears, galleries and public spaces around the world. The human experience is at the heart of everything they do.
In 2020 Pat did a stint hosting ABC Conversations, Australia’s most downloaded radio and podcast program. He also heads up a gun team of storytellers on the new weekly ABC documentary podcast Days like These.
Pat was awarded the inaugural Jesse Cox Audio fellowship and is developing innovative sonic work throughout 2020 with his prize. Pat was also awarded a 2020 Walkley Foundation grant for freelance journalism on regional Australia.
Pat has been working in screen based media and radio broadcasting for more than 15 years. He is the founder of irreverent news, current affairs, satire and long form documentary program The Feed on SBS TV. Across Pat’s 7 years with the multi-cultural broadcaster, he is best known for his work as a presenter, reporter, producer and director on the The Feed, making documentaries for Dateline, and as host of the annual SBS Mardi Gras live TV broadcast alongside Joel Creasy and Magda Szubanski. Pat’s unique insight on the arts and pop culture also saw him curate, write and host a special international queer cinema season each year on SBS, and a 3-part entertainment series profiling Australian LGBTQI+ filmmakers.
Pat’s long form storytelling has been described as ‘Must Watch TV’ (The Guardian) ‘Documentaries every Australian needs to see’ (news.com.au).
As a correspondent, travelling through Europe, Asia, the USA and the Middle East, to date he’s explored 53 countries, scouring almost every continent for untold stories.
As an interviewer his popular digital first series #PatChat where he sits down with pop stars, politicians and everyday people with extraordinary stories has clocked up more than 30 million views across social media. It’s where very public facing people get deeply personal with Pat. Some of his favourites are Rami Malek, Sam Smith & Daniel Johns.
Pat started his storytelling career at the ABC as a multi-media reporter for HACK on the triple j network. He has hosted the summer series of ABC Radio Sydney Drive and appears as a regular guest and commentator on The Drum and Radio National.
In collaboration with SBS Digital Labs and Google Creative Labs, Pat directed ‘Belongings’ an interactive documentary which won the 2019 Webby Award for Best Integrated Mobile Storytelling and was a finalist for the Interactive Innovation Award at SXSW.
Pat won the 2018 Kennedy Award for outstanding nightly TV reporting.
In 2017 Cosmopolitan magazine named Pat one of the most 50 influential LGBTQI+ voices.
Pat has emceed hundreds of events, hosted in-conversations on stage, and delivered powerful keynotes. He is ambassador for Twenty10 and Wear it Purple advocating for LGBTQI+ young people. If you’d like Pat to speak at or host your event please contact his agent Melissa Le Gear at Profile Talent.
Pat is a native English speaker and also fluent in Arabic and German. He’s lived in Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco and Germany. When he’s not on TV or radio, you’ll find Pat in the kitchen cooking up a feast with his Middle Eastern family.
AWARDS
SXSW Interactive Innovation Award
2019 SOCIAL & CULTURAL IMPACT STORYTELLING (FINALIST)
Best Integrated Mobile Storytelling
2019 WEBBY AWARDS (WINNER)
Best Current Affairs Television Reporting
2018 KENNEDY AWARDS (WINNER)
Broadcast Journalist of the Year
2018/ 2017 INTERNATIONAL LGBTQI+ AWARDS (FINALIST)
Best TV Documentary - Special Commendation
2018 AMNESTY AWARDS (WINNER)
Most influential LGBTQI+ voice
2017 COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE (WINNER)
Journalist of the Year
2016 ACON HONOUR AWARDS AUSTRALIA (WINNER)
Best Public Affairs Program
2015 TV LOGIE AWARDS (FINALIST)
Best TV Documentary Series
2014 UNITED NATIONS MEDIA AWARDS (FINALIST)
Best Multimedia Storytelling
2013 WALKLEY AWARDS (FINALIST)