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Barrie Cassidy (born 4 March 1950, Wangaratta, Victoria) is a veteran Australian political journalist.

Cassidy was born in Wangaratta and grew up in the Victorian town of Chiltern. He had many brothers and an elder sister, and grew up with a love of football and sports. Starting his career as a cadet on the Albury Border Morning Mail in 1968, he moved to the Shepparton News about a year later before being hired as a court reporter for the Melbourne Herald. Joining the ABC Network, he initially covered state politics. He moved to Canberra to become the ABC's federal political correspondent for radio and television in 1979.

In 1986, Cassidy was approached by the then prime minister, Bob Hawke, to become his personal press secretary. He remained in the job - which he has described as "the most rewarding and interesting period of my life" - until Paul Keating took over the leadership in 1991 following a challenge.

Moving to Washington, Cassidy worked as a correspondent for The Australian, owned by Rupert Murdoch. He returned to Australia, where he hosted a program on Network Ten called The Last Shout. Then it was back to the ABC - this time with The 7.30 Report - before he, his daughter and his wife, Heather Ewart, were sent to Brussels as European correspondents.

Cassidy currently hosts the Sunday morning political discussion show Insiders, the sports panel show Offsiders and was until recently hosting the morning show ABC News Breakfast. He has a keen interest in horseracing, owning one unsuccessful horse, 'Kurrajong,' and is a devout fan of Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Cassidy is also a keen jogger, running almost every day.

He and Heather Ewart have a son, Adam, and a teenage daughter, Caitlin.

[edit] References

Speech delivered by Cassidy and reported in the Chiltern Business Journal, March 16, 2007 - broken link

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