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Training Day at the State Library of Victoria September 22nd, 2008


 MELBOURNE - The first meeting of New Australian Media’s Roving Reporters and their mentors showed this is an idea that has journalistic legs. While publicity about the event had been kept deliberately low-key, the turn-out on the day was exceptional. Everyone, including the hard-bitten hacks, came away saying it was a worthwhile experience.

Almost 40 trainees were there for the day, and to say they were a diverse group is an understatement. Their countries of origin included Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Congo, East Timor, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, China, Croatia, Lebanon, Turkey and Ireland. Five newly-arrived refugees from Burma had signed up for the day, but unfortunately did not appear. An Irish social worker from their community was a participant, and there are extra mentors seeking a challenge, so we are confident that the Burmese will join us next time.

 

The mentors also arrived in large numbers. There were about 30 representatives from the cream of the established media, who were all happy to start the process of sharing their accumulated journalistic knowledge. Those willing to put their hand up as mentors included the Foreign Editor of The Age, plus the newspaper’s Education, Court and Law reporters. The Deputy Editor of Crikey.com was also there. SBS was represented by the Executive Producers from the African, Arabic and Indonesian programs. Other eager volunteers included the youth officer from the National Ethnic Multicultural Broadcasting Council, several lecturers in the media, highly-regarded retired journalists and public relations spokespeople from the Department of Immigration, the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Worksafe and the Victorian Law Institute.

 

With all these people, the day proved to be a lively exchange of ideas and enthusiasm and the room was certainly buzzing. The “Meet the Mentor” lunch was a highlight for many and a great opportunity to start making the mainstream media more multicultural and the multicultural media more mainstream. The meeting may have created its own bit of media history in breaking down the barriers.

The day was filled with excellent presentations, and got off to a welcoming start with words of encouragement from Sue Hamilton, the director of Community, Learning and Library Partnerships at the State Library of Victoria. Satirist Trent McCarthy took a wry look at multiculturalism and pop culture with a sneak preview of his work “Who is Abdul Smith?”

 

Veteran journalists Brian Abbott and Mike Keats kicked off the day proper examining that critical question “What is News?” with tips on the structure of news stories, such as finding a lead. Charles Wright from the Bleeding Edge column in The Age Green Guide gave us his expertise in getting the most out of technology. Akoch Manheim from South Sudan spoke of his experience as a Lost Boy of Sudan and pulled no punches talking about the failure of the mainstream media to get to the heart of issues affecting his community. Leslie Falkiner-Rose and Jillian Hocking rounded off the day with valuable insights into the art of the interview.