football

The perfect assignment?

Germany v Australia, March 2015I’ve waited a long time – nearly 10 years in fact – but finally I was able to cover my beloved Socceroos playing against Germany, in Germany! After such a long wait, I can definitely say it was worth the suspense. From an Australia supporter perspective, it was both entertaining and satisfying. But first… I should probably explain a bit about why I was there.

Together with my DW colleagues Barbara Mohr and Peter Wozny, I journeyed to Kaiserslautern to cover the evening of the game and to do a heap of social media reporting ahead of the fixture. It was a bit of a new experiment for us, focusing on video production and exclusive social media content. Continue reading →

Social media = the news

It’s been a bit of a love-hate relationship with me for a long time: social media is really not my thing. You see – I truly, truly detest it when people showboat their achievements all the time as if they have got nothing better to do. I hated it 20 years ago when kids showed their painting to the art teacher in class saying, “it’s really not that good, Mrs McGregor, is it?”… and I hate it when people these days proudly show me how perfect their last Caribbean holiday was, even if I didn’t ask them to. I don’t know what it is that annoys me so much about it. Call it ‘tall poppy’ syndrome if you want – after all, I am Australian.

On the other hand, as a journalist, social media is becoming an important tool for my daily work. It helps me decipher what our readers, viewers and users want to find out about and it is a practical tool to really engage in dialogue with them. And, it can sometimes offer faster-moving news coverage than traditional media. Continue reading →

In the thick of it…

As part of DW’s sports coverage I was recently asked to go to Germany’s EURO 2016 qualifier in Gelsenkirchen. I had to do a live telephone interview before and after the game, a written post-match report and I also recorded and cut soundbites from the players, for our English language radio shows too.

It was a treat to be given the chance to report from the game, as we often have to do so much football journalism from our desks these days. The match ended in a 1-1 draw – which felt like a loss for the Germans – but irrespective of what the local fans thought: I still had a great time. Continue reading →

Just 20 days to go

For the duration of the Football World Cup in Brazil, it looks like I will be back roaming the sports department at DW. After working as a correspondent for the Euro 2008 tournament and the 2010 World Cup, I’m pleased to be back lacing up the boots again.

This time it won’t be on location though. I’ll be staying in Bonn helping with DW’s special Brazil World Cup webpage.  Once the tournament gets going, the page should be absolutely overflowing with match updates and quirky reports from in and around the World Cup in Brazil. Continue reading →