Simon Bouda

Simon George Bouda (born 2 July 1961) is an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nine Network. He is currently Crime and Terror Editor for A Current Affair and was Chief Crime Reporter for Nine News for 20 years.
== Early life ==
Simon was born on 2 July 1961 in Cooma, NSW and raised in Sydney and the United Kingdom. He attended Coogee Preparatory Primary School and achieved his Higher School Certificate at Randwick North High School. 
== Career ==
Bouda got his start in journalism in 1976 as a part-time copy boy on weekend publications for News Corp. In 1980 he started a cadetship with Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, covering police rounds, court reporting and general reporting.
From 1982-83 Bouda worked as a journalist for the Northern Daily Leader newspaper in Tamworth, before moving back to Sydney as senior journalist to write for the Daily Mirror, covering police rounds.
Bouda was promoted to Chief Crime Reporter for the Sydney Sun newspaper in 1986, where he covered the shocking murder of Sydney nurse Anita Cobby. After the Sun’s closure in 1988, he moved back to the Daily Mirror to take on the same role as Chief Crime Reporter.
In 1990, Bouda made the move to the Nine Network, where he has now spent more than 30 years of his career. His early roles at the Nine Network included Chief of Staff for Nine News, reporting for the magazine news program Sydney Extra, and Nine News’ Chief Crime Reporter where he reported on high-profile stories including the Thredbo Landslide, the Sydney bushfires and the Ivan Milat backpacker murders case in 1994.
In 1999 Bouda was embedded with the Australian military on the first day of the INTERFET Mission to East Timor. He spent several weeks reporting on the conflict with the Militia before contracting Dengue Fever and being evacuated back to Australia.
In 2000, while covering the Fijian Coup, Bouda survived an attack in which a cameraman was shot. Later that year, he moved to London to work as a Nine News foreign correspondent.
During his tenure as European Correspondent, Bouda covered several high-profile events including the September 11 terrorist attacks, Middle East Intifada, the second Gulf War, the war in Afghanistan, as well as the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.
He also covered the Commonwealth Games in Manchester as well as the British Open and the Wimbledon Championships.
On his return from the UK, Bouda was appointed Nine News’ State Political Correspondent, covering NSW Parliament and political issues.
In 2005, Bouda moved to the Nine Network’s national current affairs program A Current Affair as Senior Investigative Reporter. In this role Bouda was despatched to Sri Lanka to cover the Boxing Day Tsunami, which claimed an estimated 300,000 lives across Asia.
After achieving a wide range of experiences as a Foreign Correspondent, State Political Reporter and Investigative Reporter with A Current Affair, Bouda had built a level of trust with the NSW Police Force, which provided a practical transition back to crime reporting with Nine News.
As Chief Crime Reporter from 2007-2017, Bouda was credited with breaking some of the nation’s biggest stories in major crime as well as domestic and international terrorism, including the 2014 Sydney Lindt Café siege. 
From 2017 Bouda has been the Crime and Terror Editor for A Current Affair.
== Author ==
Bouda is the author of six books, including the bestselling ‘Survival’, the story of the Thredbo landslide, with Stuart Diver. Bouda also wrote his autobiography, ‘Deadline’, which outlines his distinguished career in journalism. He also co-authored ‘The Garden of Evil’, which focused on the hunt for Sydney’s notorious Granny Killer, ‘Picking Up The Pieces’ with Salvation Army Lieut-Col. Don Woodland and ‘Man’s Best Friend’ with NSW police dog handler Luke Warburton.
From 2009, Bouda has also been a freelance contributor to Reader’s Digest magazine.
== Charities ==
Bouda is an Ambassador for the Homicide Victims’ Support Group Grace’s Place as well as the Snowy Ride, which raises funds for the Steven Walter Children’s Cancer Foundation. A keen motorcyclist, Bouda founded the Ride For Justice, which raises awareness and funds for the Homicide Victims’ Support Group. He also participates in the annual Police Remembrance Ride, the Wall to Wall and has been heavily involved in the Black Dog Ride, which raises awareness of depression and suicide prevention.
Bouda recently accepted the position of Patron of The Last Over charity, which inspires and influences inclusion for people who live with intellectual challenges. 
== Awards ==
In 2013 Bouda was awarded a Kennedy Award for Outstanding Television News Reporting for his coverage of the Mosman Collar Bomber Investigation. In 2020 he was awarded a Kennedy Award for Outstanding Crime Reporting for his coverage of the death of backpacker killer Ivan Milat and Operation Pinnacle – a police investigation into the ice scourge in regional NSW.
In 2000 Bouda was a finalist in the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism for coverage of the Fijian coup. 
Simon Bouda’s 45-year career was recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours in June 2021, when he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the television and print media, and to the community.
Category:1961 births
Category:Australian people
Category:Australian journalists