Old scholar radio star Matthew Pantelis delivers occasional address

Every weekday morning, Matthew Pantelis talks to an audience numbering in the tens of thousands.

But, despite his high profile, Mr Pantelis was “humbled” to be asked to deliver the Occasional Address at Blackfriars’ 2024 Academic Assembly.

“I am very humbled, honoured and feel very privileged to be invited to address you this evening,” said Mr Pantelis (BPS’81), the Mornings presenter on Adelaide radio station FIVEaa.

Mr Pantelis spoke at the Academic Assembly about how changes in technology over the past four decades had shaped and reshaped the media landscape he had been part of since the age of 12, when he sold copies of The News on North Terrace.

Matthew Pantelis, third row, 6th from left, with his 1981 classmates.

“The rise of the smartphone has led to a change in how we get our news and I’ll guarantee, now, 99% of us in this hall have one in our pocket – with the volume off, of course,” he said.

“Smartphone technology allows information to be delivered straight to us and it’s available every minute of every day.

“But the problem is, not all of it is news, not all of it is accurate. Some of it is fake news.

“And that term much is older than Donald Trump thrashing it over the past few years. History is full of examples.”

As young people finishing school and heading out into the world, the graduating Year 12s had a responsibility to discern fake news from truth, “not just in the media but day to day in your personal life and in your career”.

“It is good to trust people when they provide you with information, and sometimes there will be no doubt it’s factual because of what you already know,” Mr Pantelis said.

“(But) if you read, hear, see or are told something that surprises you, or something you haven’t heard before, if you have doubt, trust your inner voice and test what you’ve been told. Do what Blackfriars has taught you, fact check it. Especially when it’s on social media.”

Matthew Pantelis (BPS’81) delivers the Occasional Address at the 2024 Academic Assembly.

Leaving the world of media aside, Mr Pantelis’s final message to the Class of 2024 was very simple – be kind.

“From today, you can be anything you want,” he said.

“You, right now, have the world at your feet and the next decade is very important to what the rest of your life will be like. So, just as you’ve worked hard to get to this point, work just as hard in years to come. Like so many before you, the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be.

“Knock on doors to get where you want, even if they remain shut. The more doors you knock on, the greater are the odds that one will open.

“But whatever you choose to do beyond these grounds, choose to be kind.

“Adelaide is still a small city. Word spreads and, as you get out there, you’ll be amazed at the few degrees of separation.

“But if kindness is the one thing people remember about you after you leave a job, a neighbourhood or this planet … you will have succeeded immeasurably.

“And, trust me, that is not fake news.”