lmitchellturner

Brisbane News Magazine Story

My story regarding the Star Wars cosplaying group was one that I had intended to pitch day one, having followed the group for some time previously, however after the other stories on similar topics had been rejected I felt that I should leave it be due to what I thought would be a niche appeal. Nearing the end of the internship however I brought the subject up with the editor of the magazine and found that she was interested, and it was after talking with her about it I found that niche subjects can find wider appeal because of that niche quality rather than despite it. In the end, what needed to change was the angel of the story shifting from my original; “What they are currently doing” to “Look at this strange and amazing thing!”.

After having the story approved I wanted to test myself to see how quickly I could get the story sorted, after being there for almost a week at this point I had seen stories pulled together in a number of hours, rather than the days that was typical for university work. It was this drive that helped me to secure interviews the next day, and a photoshoot and additional interviews the day after. While this was not the ‘same day’ as I had hoped, it was still a massive confidence boost to see that I could work at the pace required of a working newsroom, with the story coming together the next day and only requiring a few additional points after the shoot.

Below is a copy of the final story as submitted.

Star Wars Villains raise money for Pink Stumps

Electric cars coming to Australia – Bridie Barry

Working with Bridie took place a few days into the internship and at this point I was beginning to get a feel for how the process at Nine was working, it was due to this and a personal interest in the story content, that I was able to contribute more to the angle and content of the story rather than simply assisting those involved.

The first step in the story was visiting a warehouse in order to test drive the new Hyundai Kona electric and interview a representative from Hyundai. During the test drive, I was able to assist as I had brought my own camera gear along on this day, providing gear to assist with filming an interview within the car as it was driven. After finishing the test drive the Hyundai rep was interviewed again, going into greater depth about the car and the interest in electric vehicles in Australia. Once again, I was given the opportunity to assist with the filming of the interview under the direction of the camera operator.

After this we moved on to an Electric Car trade show that was taking place on the day, getting another opportunity to interview experts in the field as well as film several other models of electric vehicles. During the show, I was able to contribute with interviews of guests and experts, as well as the filming of the show itself.
One of the key elements I learnt about Nine’s process during this story was how the promotion department can impact on a story. During the trade show, Bridie was required to send back a quick overview of the story as well as footage so that the promotions team was able to get ready for the afternoon promotions. What I did not expect however was just how much sway they had over what the story would be on, as after receiving the content the promotions department created a set of promos that locked the story in one direction and as the day progressed another, slightly better, angle was found but was unable to be taken due to the promos already in place.

Bellow is a copy of the completed story, as well as clips of a number of interviews that I was able to contribute to the story.

Brisbane Electric Cars

Brisbane shopping strip redevelopment – Harry Clarke

Working on this story was my first true step into television journalism, and frankly, it was not what I had first expected. At the start of the day I had been told that I would be shadowing Harry while attending a Brisbane Council press conference. Previously the only press conferences I had seen in person were either for the police or government, both of which had large press gatherings and typically small crowds of onlookers. It was a small surprise to attend my first presser as a journo and see the three members from the council and several public relations officers all going over what was going to be said. No bustling crowds, no large group of onlookers, and in fact more PR people than journalists. While looking back this shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise given what was being announced it was a reminder that what you see through the camera, online, or on your tv isn’t the whole picture.

Once the press conference began, I helped by assisting Harry with information, asking questions (that I was prompted by Harry), and working with the Camera operator in setting up for shots of the renovated strip. It was interesting to watch the camera operators from the apparent competitors, the ABC, Channel 7 and 10 all working together to get footage. While I had no reason to assume it was the case, I had always assumed that the competition that is on display on the front end of each of these companies was mirrored behind the camera, truthfully it was refreshing to see just how much the teams from each of the companies worked together.

Following the press conference, Harry sent me out with another camera operator to question members of the public on their opinions of the redevelopments that the council had undertaken. This had been something previously I had been quite nervous about doing, approaching the public and trying to stick a camera in their face, but after attempting it personally, and now with a company’s logo in my hand attached to a microphone, I found it surprisingly easy. Following the interviews, I assisted the camera operator again in getting shots of the redevelopments taking place around the city.

Below is the final story as well as the interviews that I completed all edited into a single clip.

Brisbane Shopping Strips

The 2018 Muslim World Study Tour

The Islamic world, a term that seems to describe a belt that crosses the north of Africa and into the Middle East and sometimes all the way into South-East Asia. When we hear it on the news, in movies, in video games, in any pop-culture, most people imagine the same sorts of things, women in veils, male-dominated society, towns ravaged by war, Islam being practiced openly and defining every moment of peoples lives, but is any of this true? Is that really how an entire region should be defined, how 1.8 billion people should be defined?

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Qatar; the Richest Nation in the World

After 15 hours and two flights, the tour arrived in Doha the first country for the trip and the worlds richest nation per capita. Going into Qatar I didn’t know what to expect, on one hand, I knew how wealthy the nation was, being the 9th largest national wealth fund in the world and, as already stated, the largest GDP (PPP) per capita in the world sitting at an incredible $124,927. On the other hand, however western media, comedy, reporting, and information regarding the 2022 FIFA world cup painted a picture of Qatar as a woefully under-equipped, a country that had no way of hosting an event that required a modern infrastructure and systems to host. Ultimately this resulted in an assumption that acknowledged both points, first that it was undeniably a rich nation but also, that it was not using that wealth to actually progress and develop the country as a whole. Put simply, this assumption might have been true at one point in the past, but during our time in Qatar, it was clear that this was no longer the case. Continue reading “Qatar; the Richest Nation in the World”

Tunisia; The Worlds Newest Democracy

9 Years ago, in December of 2010 Tunisia shook the world with the start Jasmine Revolution, 3 weeks later it was over and the Tunisian people had overthrown Prime Minister Ben Ali, giving birth to the newest democracy on the planet and igniting the Arab Spring. 4 years later Tunisia created their modem constitution. This very recent history plays into why Tunisia was so eye-opening, why it was so exciting, why, frankly, I went a little crazy while there. As a journalism student, a political science student, and most definitely an Islam west student, Tunisia was so interesting for one key reason, it is a 21st century democracy, it is a country not marred by its own democratic past, its decision making is not hampered by constitutions or ideas written down by statesmen and politicians centuries ago. That isn’t to say that Tunisia doesn’t have its own history to reconcile, but the hope, the potential of this nation was why visiting was so interesting. Continue reading “Tunisia; The Worlds Newest Democracy”

Morocco; A Democratic Monarchy

Ruled by one of the oldest monarchies in the world, Ruled by a king whose independent wealth comes in at a striking 5.7billion dollars, and yet whose GDP per capita sits lower than Tunisia, and the lowest on the tour. To put it simply I’m not sure what I was expecting to see when entering Morocco. What little expectations I had leaving Tunisia were not good, after hearing that we were traveling to the country seemingly poorer than the one we had just left meant that I was expecting to see poverty and while in some areas that was the case, overall that expectation was dead wrong.

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Spain; Western Present, Islamic Past

Spain, historically one of the most important counties we visited with its past being dominated by both Islamic and Christian empires, but also to give an opportunity to see Islam within the west right on the border of the ‘Islamic world’. Traveling into Spain I assumed that I knew what to expect, having visited Northern Europe previously I expected something similar, sure it might have its cultural quirks, the differences born out of a warmer climate and slightly different culture, but it would still be ‘Europe’. This might have been true in Madrid, but that assumption grew less and less correct the more south we traveled. Continue reading “Spain; Western Present, Islamic Past”

Summary of the Tour

It’s common for people to describe experiences as ‘eye-opening’, it’s so commonplace its cliché, but it’s hard to describe the tour in another way. The experiences that I had forced me to reconsider and reassess ideas that I had previously believed rock solid, the key one being that democracy is the undeniable right government system, and while I am still unquestionably in favor of democracy, as I’m sure it was clear during the blog, how that democracy takes form is no longer quite so solid. Continue reading “Summary of the Tour”