journalism

The Grade Cricketer: recommended reading

Grade cricketer_bookcoverBased on the cult Twitter account of the same name, “The Grade Cricketer” tells the story of a mythical 30-something Grade cricketer and his club, as he struggles from minor success to failure every Saturday, summer after summer.

As you can probably imagine, I’ve read a lot of cricket books in my time… a lot of them. But here is a book I wanted to write about especially, as it really stood out for me. “The Grade Cricketer” is unique for two reasons. Firstly, because it unmasks the often forgotten engine room of Australian cricket, known to those that play it, simply as “Grade.” Secondly, because it dances a cheeky and at times crude jig in the face of the new, highly-marketed image of Aussie cricket. Let me explain what I’m getting at…
Continue reading →

When news stops …

When the news stopsAfter finishing my final day of work at DW in mid-June, ahead of my impending return to Australia, these last two weeks of my life have been a real seachange. To start with: it’s the first time I’ve stopped working as a journalist for nearly 10 years. It’s also the first time I’ve taken a self-imposed Twitter break for over five years.

In fact, since stopping work, I’ve even avoided watching the evening news. After all, there’s been no need to appear informed at the next day’s morning meeting, so why bother to put yourself through the non-stop happiness of a typical German evening news program? 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 →