2016

Forget the election… just for a few minutes

Trump_&_ClintonSometimes it’s hard to comprehend the level of hype surrounding this US election. I certainly have never seen anything like it in over 10 years working in journalism.

With just a week to go until it is finally over, now is a good time to remember that there are many other important stories and issues out there in our world, that are just as worthy of our attention as what is on the left. (Photo montage: Copyright CNN)

In the week leading up to November 8, I’ll be posting one story here each day which I reckon is worth a read.

When we all wake up on November 9, countries around the world will have to keep dealing with their own problems – not all of them can be fixed by Ms Clinton or Mr Trump. After all: it’s America making this choice, not all of us. 😉

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Europe: Aussie style

DPA offices SydneyIt’s been a month now since I started my new role as an editor at the Deutsche Presse Agentur (the German Press Agency, dpa). Based in the Sydney suburb of Rhodes, our office is responsible for editing work that comes in from dpa’s correspondents in over 100 countries around the world.

The job involves lots of fact-checking, liaising with correspondents and – most importantly – an eye for detail! The texts we then put on the wire go straight to our customers – local newsrooms all across the world, who then use the information as a basis for their reporting, or publish our stories directly. Continue reading →

Shock and awe

One of the many differences that I have noticed between practicing journalism in Australia and in Germany, is that things are a lot tougher Down Under.  Be it in the workplace, or in the media market itself: there is a no-holds-barred attitude to reporting here. Whereas you need to be at the Bild Zeitung before you can really confront the reader in Germany, I feel like it is completely par for the course in Australia.

I’m still not immune to the pain of real tragedy. I was really shocked and saddened by the shooting massacre that happened in the gay nightclub, Pulse, in Orlando. No matter how often these horrible tragedies occur in the USA, the loss of life is chilling. The fear of those innocent people in the Pulse nightclub is terrible to consider.

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Sports presenting on ABC TV

Since February I have been presenting sports on ABC News 24, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s round-the-clock TV news channel. The work is pretty full on – and on any given Saturday afternoon it can involve reporting on four different versions of “football” as well as coverage of sports as diverse as netball, surfing and V8 motorcars.

How do you win the Coleman Medal in the AFL? Where is The NRL Bunker located? And, what’s the original name for 1300 Smiles Stadium? I now know the answers to these very specific questions and more… even if you don’t want to know 😉 Continue reading →