Since October 2022, I have been the executive producer of the national video team at Australian Community Media (former Fairfax Media).
I started in the video team in June, 2021, as the first senior video journalist, and built the company’s video presence from the ground up. Over the first year, I managed to drive up video views to well over 4 million a month. I implemented the first nationwide video strategies and best practices in our 140+ newsrooms.
I have overseen the development of major cinematic documentary releases, as well as producing in-depth explainers and mobile journalism (mojo).
Cinematic release: The Forgotten River
The Forgotten River project was a collaboration between the ACM Voice of Real Australia podcast team, reporters and photographers at The Canberra Times and myself in the national video team.
Produced in September 2021, the documentary supports the Forgotten River podcast and is the largest multimedia project made by the ACM team to date.
A four-part podcast special and accompanying series of articles, photos and videos telling the stories of the Darling River and its people.
The special investigation series includes seven separate video pieces produced by myself and Canberra Times photographer Dion Georgopoulos.
In-depth interview: The day Chris Cairns died
Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been battling his way back from the brink of death. The 51-year-old still does not know whether he will walk again after an aortic dissection in August 2021 incapacitated him.
In December 2021, Cairns gave reporters at The Canberra Times exclusive access to his hospital rooms to document his journey to recovery.
Historic journalism: Anniversary of September 11, 2001
In a series of pieces-to-camera, former BBC reporter and current Canberra Times stalwart Steve Evans told his harrowing story of survival in New York on September 11, 2001.
The above was one of three video stories produced by myself for Australian Community Media to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks.
Politics: 2022 #AusVotes Federal Election
Federal elections are the bread and butter of national reporters.
Not content to only cover the daily scuttlebutt of the campaign circus, I decided to write a series of articles focusing on the questions the average voter might be too embarrassed to ask. The kinds of questions we’re all expected to know even though no-one has explained the answer clearly and correctly.
The eight-part series focused on the following questions:
- What is pork-barrelling and is it illegal?
- What is a bellwether seat, and why do they matter so much?
- What is a hung parliament?
- History of the ‘gotcha’ question: How political gaffes cost elections
- Corflute wars: How political ads, vandalism and graffiti change voters’ minds
- Can opinion polls be trusted, aren’t the polls always wrong?
- Why your postcode matters in an election: Who are the swing voters and which seats really matter?
- Don’t be a donkey: How to make sure your vote is counted correctly
Major events: Two years in a pandemic
Since taking on the national video journalist role at ACM in June, 2021, I have produced upwards of 40 in-depth, behind-the-headlines stories on the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have interviewed epidemiologists and medical experts from all over the world to grasp an understanding of how this virus has shifted and changed over the past two years.
The ‘video explainer’ series I have produced with expert assistance has been used across our 140+ news titles in Australia and have generated a majority of the millions of views the company records every single month.
Mojo: Documenting the world’s events on a phone
It was edging 45-degrees outside my office in country NSW. The news was quiet, it was a day before Christmas and nothing seemed to be happening. Very few cars drove past, but when they did, they seemed to disrupt the air sending visible heatwave ripples across the sun soaked road.
The drivers remained blissfully unaware, sheltered from the blistering day inside their metal cabins of comfort. A soon as that engine switches off though, they would feel the discomfort rising as quickly as the mercury in a thermometre.
How quickly would it become unbearable? How quickly would the conditions inside that parked car turn critical?
I decided to find out. I moved one of the work vehicles out into direct sunlight and sat with the air conditioner running for about 20 minutes, bringing the cabin to a comfortable 22-degrees. I set up my go-pro inside the car and fixed a thermometre to the dashboard. Then I turned off the air conditioner and stepped out of the vehicle.
Watching the live feed on my phone, it took only seconds for the temperature in the car to begin rising. And then, only minutes later, the temperature began to eclipse 40-degrees, 50-degrees, hitting the edge of the thermometre itself.
On the feed, I could see the go-pro camera was starting to fail too. It was even too hot for a device made especially for extreme conditions!
It was a simple video idea, and a simple execution, born out of the boredom of being in an empty newsroom on a hot day. But this video has generated the most views and engagements across ACM’s social media channels since it was first posted in 2018.
Breaking news: Digital and social video
After spending half a decade telling stories with words and static images, I’ve turned my attention to visual storytelling through video.
Above is a compilation of stories told through the medium of video.