Ross Coulthart is an award-winning Australian investigative journalist who has become one of the most significant figures in UAP disclosure journalism. He conducted the first on-camera interview with David Grusch for NewsNation in June 2023 — the interview that broke the Grusch story to a mainstream audience — and is the author of In Plain Sight (2021), the most comprehensive investigative account of UAP history and government secrecy published by a mainstream journalist. His reporting has connected government insiders, military witnesses, and academic researchers in a way that no other journalist in the UAP field has matched.
Career Background
Coulthart built his reputation over three decades as an investigative journalist in Australia, primarily at Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes Australia and later at the Sunday Night program on Channel Seven. He won multiple Walkley Awards — Australia’s most prestigious journalism prize — for investigations into subjects including organized crime, government corruption, and medical fraud. His reputation for meticulous sourcing and editorial courage established him as one of Australia’s most trusted investigative reporters before he turned his attention to UAP.
Coulthart has described his path to UAP journalism as following the sources: his initial interest was piqued by credentialed government and military contacts who expressed, privately, that UAP were a serious topic being actively suppressed. He spent years cultivating relationships within U.S. intelligence and defense communities before publishing In Plain Sight and before his NewsNation reporting began.
In Plain Sight (2021)
In Plain Sight: An Investigation into UFOs and Impossible Science was published in Australia in 2021 and released internationally in 2022. The book is a comprehensive investigative account covering UAP history from the Roswell era through AATIP, the 2017 New York Times disclosure, the Navy UAP videos, and the emerging whistleblower network that would culminate in the Grusch disclosures of 2023.
What distinguishes In Plain Sight from the broader UAP literature is Coulthart’s application of mainstream investigative journalism methodology to the subject: primary source interviews, document verification, on-the-record attribution wherever possible, and explicit acknowledgment of what cannot be confirmed. The book draws on interviews with senior military officials, former intelligence officers, physicists, and government insiders — including Luis Elizondo and Christopher Mellon — who agreed to speak because of Coulthart’s established credibility as a serious journalist rather than a UFO enthusiast.
The Grusch Interview: June 2023
On June 5, 2023, NewsNation published Coulthart’s on-camera interview with David Grusch — the first time Grusch had spoken publicly about his whistleblower allegations. The interview, conducted alongside journalist Natasha Bertrand, presented Grusch’s claims in full: that he had been denied access to classified UAP programs, that these programs involved the retrieval of non-human craft and biological remains, and that he had filed a protected whistleblower complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General.
The interview broke the story to a mass audience and triggered the congressional interest that led directly to the July 26, 2023 House Oversight hearing. Coulthart’s decision to publish on a mainstream news platform rather than through UAP-specific outlets was deliberate: he understood that the credibility of the story depended on the credibility of its platform, and that the UAP community’s existing media ecosystem could not provide the institutional weight the Grusch allegations required.
NewsNation Reporting
Following the Grusch interview, Coulthart joined NewsNation as a correspondent and continued breaking UAP stories. His subsequent reporting has included interviews with additional government whistleblowers, reporting on congressional access disputes, and coverage of the ongoing tension between the executive branch’s resistance to disclosure and congressional oversight demands. He has been particularly focused on the role of private defense contractors in UAP programs — the issue that animated the contractor-access provisions of Senator Schumer’s UAP Disclosure Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ross Coulthart?
Ross Coulthart is an award-winning Australian investigative journalist who conducted the first on-camera interview with UAP whistleblower David Grusch for NewsNation in June 2023 and is the author of In Plain Sight (2021), the most comprehensive mainstream investigative account of UAP history and government secrecy.
What is In Plain Sight about?
In Plain Sight is Coulthart’s 2021 book investigating UAP history and government secrecy, drawing on primary source interviews with senior military officials, former intelligence officers, and government insiders. It covers UAP history from Roswell through AATIP, the 2017 Navy video disclosures, and the emerging whistleblower network — applying mainstream investigative journalism methodology to a subject long dominated by speculation.
What was the Grusch interview?
Coulthart conducted the first on-camera interview with David Grusch, published by NewsNation on June 5, 2023. In it, Grusch alleged under oath that classified U.S. government programs involve the retrieval of non-human craft and biological remains, and that he had filed a protected whistleblower complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General assessed as credible and urgent.
Where does Ross Coulthart work now?
Coulthart is a correspondent for NewsNation, the U.S. cable and streaming news network. He continues reporting on UAP, government transparency, and the whistleblower community.
Explore the full history of UAP disclosure on our UAP Disclosure Timeline — covering every landmark event from 1969 to 2026.