July 2020 – current
Agricultural journalist for Country News (Shepparton, VIC)
Country News is a weekly ag paper which runs inside small-town papers from Deniliquin to Euroa. We cover a vast area across one of Australia’s richest and most diverse ag regions. In this role I’ve done stories on canola, record price rams, Murray-Darling Basin water politics, rodeos, minister visits, intimate family stories and – of course – farm dogs, which the paper is famous for.
Many of my stories have been picked up by the local ABC radio programme – very flattering!
I also appear on local radio every Tuesday morning for an ‘ag spotlight’ with Terri Cowley.
December 2019 – March 2020
General journalist for Riverine Herald and affiliated publications (Echuca, Heathcote VIC)
At the Riverine Herald I worked as a reporter for the masthead but was utilised by the editor on two weekly, one-journo country papers also published by the McPherson Media Group.
This was done because I was capable of working independently and in small towns where it often takes a bit of legwork and gossip to find good news. I was filling over 20 pages of news weekly on my own without instruction.
I was laid off in March due to the COVID-19 financial shock but was asked back two months later (see Country News, part of the McPherson Media Group).
January – September 2019
General journalist for the North West Telegrapher (Port Hedland, WA)
For eight months I worked as a regional reporter covering the vast area of North Pilbara and Western Deserts. This weekly paper averaged 40 pages per issues. The paper is normally staffed by two Port Hedland-based journalists with editors in Broome but for the first three months of my employment I was the sole journalist and later the “senior journalist”.
As a subsidiary of the Western Australian Regional Newspapers group several of my more unique/major stories were published in The West Australian. Notable example is the scrub cows which kept wondering into Newman at night and eating people’s flowers and lawns.
I established excellent relationships with the local police, covered Cyclone Veronica as the only journalist on location and interviewed all levels of government officials including State Premier Mark McGowen.
I achieved a good repour with leaders of remote communities and local Indigenous corporations, giving the paper access to both good yarns and important stories usually missed.
I enjoyed this job immensely but left because of differences between myself and the editor. He didn’t like running stories done with remote Indigenous communities (“not interesting”) and we had a big clash over how we should cover the Yule River on-country bush meeting.
December 2018
Graduation from bachelor’s degree in Journalism (Queensland University of Technology)
September 2018 - January 2019
Dreamland Magazine contributor (remote)
I mainly wrote satire for a small fee.
August – December 2018
Announcer for Nundah Activity Centre Digital Radio (Brisbane, QLD)
2017 – 2018
Reporter for The Wire Friday on the Community Radio Network (Brisbane, QLD)
July 2018
Channel Nine News Internship
May to June 2019
QUT Radio News and QUT TV News
January – April 2018
Newsreader at 4ZZZ 102.1 FM
August – December 2017
University Exchange at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2016
Communications intern (short-term) Anglicare Queensland