Ross Coulthart

The investigative journalist who pursued the stigmatized subject of UFOs.

Name	Ross Coulthart
Age	63
Born	August 30, 1962
Famous for	For claiming that the government is covering up knowledge of the extraterrestrial

“I do believe that there is evidence that has been kept from the world. We’re on the cusp of possible revelations of non-human intelligence.”

During his podcast interview with Talking Australia, Ross Coulthart emphasized his belief that the government is in possession and is on the verge of exposing evidence of extraterrestrials. Although it has become commonplace to hear this conspiracy-esque thought in the media, hearing it from a renowned journalist makes it even more unsettling.

Ross Coulthart is a stickler for the facts, a requirement for his career as an investigative journalist. As someone who has built his name around exploring serious controversies that benefit the public interest and holding people in power accountable, it seems way off the script for Ross to dabble in UFO research, something typically labeled as hearsay, but he did.

How did he start this pursuit?

His Early Life and Career

There isn’t much published information about Ross’s early life. However, it’s known that his passion for journalism, particularly investigative reporting, started at an early age.

Ross Coulthart has laid a solid foundation for his career throughout his academic years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics from the Australian National University. This not only gave him an understanding of socio-political issues but also honed his analytical skills, both of which are critical for the journalism field he would later pursue.

He further enhanced his skills upon entering the University of London, where he pursued a Master of Arts in Journalism. This academic background and excellence became a bridge to his impressive career as a journalist.

His Achievements as a Journalist

The name Ross Coulthart was first known in The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia’s oldest newspaper. This recognition helped him transition into television, where he became a reporter for Four Corners and 60 Minutes.

Ross is widely regarded as a journalist, evidenced by the impressive awards he got, such as:

• The Gold Walkley Journalism Award
• The 1996 Logie Award for the Most Outstanding Achievement in Public Affairs
• The Gold Medal at the 2002 New York Film Festival for Best International Report

He also has a list of notable investigative materials under his name, which includes:

• The medical scandal of The Butcher of Bega
• An exposé of cronyism in Aboriginal Legal Services
• His reinvestigation into the murders by the IRA terrorists
• His investigation into the unpunished militia killers in East Timor

All of his earlier materials were focused on major affairs and controversies. So, how did he end up investigating UFOs, a highly polarizing and questioned subject?

His Entry Into UFO Research

The journalist isn’t ignorant of the UFO phenomenon. In fact, he shared his early fascination with the subject, sparked by the 1978 Kaikoura Lights, in his book, In Plain Sight.

In his 30 years as a journalist, Ross has encountered numerous discussions on the topic, although he hasn’t engaged in any. That is until the pandemic occurred, and he spent most of his time researching and writing his book.

In Plain Sight discusses some compelling UFO sightings, documents witness accounts, and examines how the government responded to them.

When asked what compelled this shift in interest to a taboo topic, Ross answered, “Isn’t it intriguing how there is such a stigma associated with this extraordinary subject?”

The emphasis on the media’s almost condemnation of the topic reflects the journalist’s primary motivation for entering the UFO space.

Writing the book doesn’t mean he’s had a firsthand experience of a UFO sighting. It doesn’t mean he won’t contest the existence of UFOs.

Instead, Ross delved deeply into the UFO phenomenon to understand why the media and journalists were instructed not to take the subject seriously despite thousands of reports about it. To him, this was suspicious, and he suspected that the government was involved.

His Research Methodology

In the interview with Talking Australia, the journalist firmly described himself as a skeptic despite expressing some level of intrigue about UFOs. From this alone, one can already deduce how Ross’ research methodology reflects his ethics as an investigative journalist.

Most UFO researchers are believers. This is what makes it a challenge to find materials that are free from biases and self-interest, but this is where Ross Coulthart stands out.

He leveraged his investigative competence and utilized his connections to create an indisputable proof of his claim that the government might be hiding something related to UFOs.

His research, as reflected in In Plain Sight, is based on witnesses’ accounts of UFO sightings and government officials’ exposés and insights rather than opinions or beliefs. He ensured that his argument was grounded in facts, matters that have been written, recorded, and verified by officials or relevant individuals. For that, he referenced these materials:

• U.S. and Australian National Archives
• Defense Department Documents
• Air Force Records

His Research Findings 

After gathering relevant documents and statements, and piecing them together, Ross Coulthart arrived at the following observations:

• There was a sudden shift in how the government views UFO events
• The government stigmatized UFOs to stop the media’s interest
• The government was still seriously investigating UFOs behind the scenes
• The government might have hold of UFO evidence
• The government is covering up UFO sightings

The Sudden Shift in How the Government Views UFO Events

In Plain Sight covers the constant shift in the U.S. military and government’s stance on the phenomenon, and this sudden disinterest or alleged stigmatization of the subject piqued Ross’s suspicions.

In the 1950s, it was ethically acceptable for the media to engage with the subject. The period was marked by numerous accounts of UFO sightings in newspapers and on television, as well as the government’s evident interest in the matter.

Ross cites an account of a 1947 sighting when a man saw saucer-like objects in Northern California. Reflected in the national archives was the involvement of military officials in the investigation. In fact, the founding member of the CIA even mentioned that the government allegedly retrieved evidence from the site.

Following this sighting, more accounts were reported, and officials took it upon themselves to gather these and examine their legitimacy.

The government’s involvement has been documented in studies such as Project Sign and Project Grudge. However, after the discontinuation of the renowned Project Blue Book in 1969, the government and the media suddenly became increasingly indifferent about these matters.

The Government-Created Stigma About UFO Events

Upon reviewing the national archives, Ross Coulthart discovered that a deliberate decision had been made to restrict the public’s scrutiny of UFOs.

The journalist discovered from the declassified files of the 1990s that the CIA created a policy to stigmatize the subject in the 60s.¹ This meant that the government was behind the shift in the media’s stance: how they went from having an intellectual interest in UFOs to ridiculing the thought and preaching that they weren’t real.

A general attributed this decision to take UFOs off the media to the unnecessary reports. People were constantly calling in sightings, but the military claimed that it was only testing aircraft. Hence, the policy was created and promoted within the media to reduce these instances.

The Government’s Secret Investigation of UFOs

Around the time that the government encouraged the media to drop UFO discussions, Ross spoke out that it was still secretly investigating the phenomenon.

When he went through the U.S. and Australian documents, both countries, alongside the U.K., France, and Canada, had active UFO Surveillance programs. The documents also included sightings, methodically recorded by the Australian Air Force Intelligence Group (DAFI), which they were unable to explain.

Aside from the surveillance program, Ross also shared about an older UFO file he had obtained, which showed that the government had, indeed, taken the phenomenon seriously, even after stigmatizing it. 

The file was recorded in 1973, at the height of the Arab-Israeli War, when Henry Kissinger ordered the U.S. military to move from Standard Defense Condition 4 to Condition 3.

This move alerted the entire U.S. bomb group, making them more wary of any movements caught in their frequency devices. Two witnesses allegedly saw a black sphere hovering over the American base. The witnesses were asked to draw what they saw, and it appeared to be an object with a plasma ring surrounding it.

Other documents detailing this incident are now reported missing from the archives, alongside the government’s investigations and conclusions.

Ross Coulthart mentioned Lue Elizondo, a former Counterintelligence official who ended up in a top-secret classified program at the Pentagon to investigate UFOs. Lue shared in an interview with Theories of Everything that the government is in possession of crafts, even mentioning that these vehicles had occupants inside.

This claim can be supported by the government’s initial interest in the subject, as evidenced by its deployment of substantial resources to investigate it. The U.S. Air Command established the 4602D Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS), which was tasked with collecting information on unidentified flying objects from the field.

The Government Is Covering Up UFO Sightings

Ross Coulthart brought up the April 6, 1966 incident when over 200 people saw three lenticular, metallic disc-shaped crafts hovering near their school, Western High, in Melbourne, Australia.

The government made no initial statement explaining the event. It didn’t even secure the area to investigate the massive number of witnesses.

However, the government was alleged to have covered the incident up when, days after it, two officials (an Air Force officer and a policeman) allegedly went to the house of a witness, a science teacher, who had just finished an interview sharing what he saw and threatened him. They reportedly told him that if he spoke about what he saw, he would lose his job and be defamed with a false accusation of being an alcoholic.

Another blatant example of the government covering up the possibility of UFOs can be evidenced by its attempts to explain sightings as conventional objects like balloons, aircraft, etc.

His Published Materials and Recent Works

To this day, much of Ross Coulthart’s career is devoted to his investigation into the UFO phenomenon. He is spending most of his time debunking or explaining sightings and the government’s involvement. He’s had multiple popular materials and contributions in the space, such as:

• His book, In Plain Sight
• His Reality Check segment on NewsNation
• His exposé about a Wall Street Journal article

In Plain Sight

One of Ross Coulthart’s most significant works in the UFO space is his book, In Plain Sight. It explores some of the most popular sightings in UFO history.

The journalist points out inconsistencies in the government’s claims and explanations of the recorded events, emphasizing the fact that this would be a reflection of its clumsy attempt at covering up the existence of UFOs.
In Plain Sight concludes with Ross’ belief that a momentous revelation regarding UFOs might soon be brought to light. He stated that in 2022, legislation was signed that created a secure method for UAP-related investigations. He believes that secret government hearings have already taken place, and only time will tell when the public will learn the outcome.

NewsNation’s Reality Check

Ross Coulthart is currently focusing on his work as an investigative reporter and special correspondent for NewsNation. He typically handles notable projects and documentary-style pieces on a range of topics. One of his most popular projects is a regular segment on the American cable news network called “Reality Check.”

Ross explores the untold controversies surrounding UFOs and government allegations, or “cover-ups,” related to extraterrestrials. Through a fact-based approach and interviews, he answers pressing questions and addresses the public’s curiosity.

The Wall Street Journal Exposé

In one of his Reality Check episodes, Ross Coulthart discussed The Wall Street Journal article entitled “The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology.”

He called out the journal for blindly allowing itself to be used by the government as a desperate attempt at a UFO cover-up. Ross highlights its timely release: precisely when the former senior Pentagon official who investigated UAPs gave a detailed speech at a conference about being a firsthand witness to non-human intelligence.

Written in the article is the government’s “confession” that it has been lying about the cover-up of aliens. However, it doesn’t admit to covering up the UFOs’ existence, instead stating that the government itself was creating these theories it spent decades debunking. The UFO story was allegedly done as a smokescreen for genuinely highly sensitive new weapons being developed by the government.

This theory attempts to discredit evidence from multiple credible witnesses, such as Robert Salas, who had previously confidently discussed his experience of a giant UFO hovering over a silo and deactivating 10 missiles he was in charge of.

Ross calls the entire article the deafest cover-up done by the government. He speaks up about its impossibility, saying that the U.S. Air Force would never launch a massive electrical discharge over 10 missiles without knowing the possible effects it would have.

Ross Coulthart’s “Legacy in the Making”

“We’re going to subject it (UFO investigation) to the same kind of scrutiny that all good scientific research is subjected to, and if we think that we’ve found something significant enough to share with the government, of course, we would.”

Aside from his investigative reports about UFOs and documentary-style videos of exposés, Ross Coulthart is establishing his name and contributions within the UFO community.

He’s currently serving as the Head of Projects at the NHIRI (Non-Human Intelligence Research Institute), an organization focused on researching and investigating UAPs linked to non-human intelligence. The group aims to understand these phenomena scientifically and genuinely explore their possibilities.

To this day, Ross Coulthart will be known as the journalist who has emphasized source protection and document verification in terms of investigating UFOs. He has raised the standard across the field, pushing for greater transparency in the government while maintaining a skeptical approach that sets him apart in the field.

Want to explore more UFO investigations, news, and expert insights? Visit UFO Connect to dive deeper into our library of articles, interviews, and research updates.

FAQ

Has Ross Coulthart seen classified UFO material?

Ross hasn’t had much direct encounter with UFO materials aside from national documents and reports kept by the government.

What makes Ross Coulthart’s reporting different from others?

He firmly bases his reports on actual witnesses and credible sources who approach him to share information they’ve gathered while serving the government.

Is In Plain Sight based on real sources?

Yes, his book, In Plain Sight, is written based on actual recorded accounts of UFO sightings, government officials’ statements, and archived official documents about these incidents.