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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

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