I began my current career working as a freelance journalist for Vice Australia, and was featured in the hero spot on their website and in their magazine. It's more than a decade later and I've never quite left the world of journlalism, even as I've had a a fruitfrul career in communications more generally.
From a hagiographic profile of an Australian country music star to a sceptical look at the numbers behind Australia's so-called meth epidemic, there isn't a style or topic I'm uninterested in exploring. There's always a worthwhile angle.
Here are just two of the outlets I've written for.
RSL NSW's Reveille
For the past few years I've been a go-to journalist for RSL NSW's Reveille magazine and online news site. It's been an honour to write for an audience of veterans. A few of the articles I'm most proud of are below. Most were in both the magazine and online.
- The Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney is a hallowed landmark. It's location in the heart of the city is apt, Australia's military history is central to its national identity. Unbeknownst to most, the men and women who tend to the monument during ceremonies are almost always veterans. This is their story.
- There are few things more tragic than the relatively high levels of veteran homelessness. It means serving your country makes it more likely you will spend some of your life unhoused or on the street. Thankfully, veterans themselves are doing something about it. This story is about RSL sub-Branches that found a homeless veteran and worked to stabilise his life.
- As part of its mission for supporting veterans in need, RSL NSW has a wellbeing support officer program. My article looked into the program 12 months after it left it's pilot stage. It was a cover story for the magazine.
Vice Australia
Back in 2014-2016 there was no media organisation more exciting than Vice. It was a great place to get a foot in the door, because you really could cover anything.
- Case in point, here is a story about the broken penis of a breeding bull. This was the kind of journalism that made Vice different.
- Vice in the US asked its various subsidiaries in other countries to contribute to a large project they were doing on incarceration. I was tapped for the Australian piece and wrote an in-depth, interview-backed article on issues in Indigenous incarceration.
- I was also able to write opinion pieces for Vice. This article was in response to a controversy at the time about Gayby Baby, a documentary about the children of same-sex couples, being shown in a high school.