Working as a news reporter for two years exposed me to a variety of professional challenges and rewarding experiences. Oil spills, house fires, bomb scares, street brawls, protests, plane crashes and political scandals were just some of the events that I helped convey to the general public.
During my final year of university, I was offered a position with Fairfax Digital to work on the new brisbanetimes.com.au project that would launch the following March. It was an exciting experience and I had the opportunity to explore many different aspects of the job – news, feature writing, website production, photography and video.
It’s hard to say which part I enjoyed the most, or even which reporting round I preferred. I honestly enjoyed it all – writing, taking my own photos and putting the package together to go on the web.
I’m a tech nerd, but I got a thrill when I saw my byline in print. My work was often syndicated across the Farifax network, including in major metropolitan outlets like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. My coverage of an Indonesian tall ship washing up on a beach near Gympie during a violent storm made the front page of both.
I won a Queensland Media Award in 2007 for my coverage of a tragic ferry accident on Sydney Harbour that claimed the lives of several people, including 14-year-old Brisbane ice skater Morgan Innes. I also received a highly commended for my investigative series into a long-running property dispute on the Gold Coast.
In addition to news, property was another topic I was particularly fond of and over the course of two years I developed some very strong contacts that helped me break significant stories. Queenslanders love property, so my articles were often top-rating and generated a lot of discussion.
Working in digital media meant there were also a couple of opportunities to try video reporting, including a parade to welcome home returning troops from the Middle East and the launch of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival. Speaking of fun, I also wrote about television and entertainment quite a bit and covered Big Brother for its last two years of production.
It was a wild ride and I loved every moment of it. Here is a look back at some of the more memorable stories I covered.
