Charlotte Varcoe
IT is not very often I feel overwhelmed when walking onto a job for the newspaper but that was exactly how I felt when I walked through the gates at the Royal Adelaide Show.
Originally coming from a country town smaller than Mount Gambier/Berrin, shows were all about the rides and the sideshow alleys growing up which was why receiving the Rural Media and Communications South Australia and Northern Territory (RMCSA/NT) Regional Professional Development Award was an opportunity not to be missed.
The award included a sponsorship to travel to the Royal Adelaide Show and work alongside a media corporation of my choice.
Choosing the ABC Adelaide Radio was a no-brainer to me after listening to radio icons on my way to work for years.
Those working in Adelaide who know me typically recognise my name for my political reporting but this week was a very different experience.
Agricultural reporting was something I had touched on briefly during my time at The Naracoorte Herald where I helped with The Stock Journal, but that was a lot of reporting on sheep and ram sales as well as cattle.
The type of rural and agricultural reporting which I observed from the ABC was an eye-opening experience.
Working alongside Brooke Neindorf from Country Hour and Caroline Horn who was based in Victor Harbor, I saw a different side to regional and rural reporting which I had not thought about before.
Brooke spoke to a wide range of show-goers including our very own Mundulla show ambassador Lachlan Johnson who won the South Australian Rural Ambassador Award.
She also spoke to Tintinara Area School on their show experience and the Country Women’s Association (CWA) volunteers on the history of the association and their sell-out scones.
Watching Brooke on stage, reporting and interviewing live on radio was the grounding experience I needed to remind myself that not every story needs to be up front and hard hitting, sometimes it is the softer and community-based stories which matter the most.
It was also helping Caroline brainstorm where to cross to during her segment, with her magnificent idea of reporting live while on a showride something which made my day.
Then there was the slightly overwhelming part of the technical side of radio – which apparently more relaxed live at the biggest show event in South Australia than at the station.
It amazed me how staff working at the ABC in Adelaide could speak to other staff in Canberra, Perth or even in Mount Gambier/Berrin by using technology which could be transferred in a small box.
But it was not all about the ABC while I spent a week away in Adelaide.
While there I made the most of my time by wandering the showgrounds, searching for a range of different stories based from the Limestone Coast and I was pleasantly surprised by how many I found.
Not only did I speak with Lachlan the day after he secured the Ambassador Award, I also spoke with Penola’s Jake Rowe about his team winning the Young Farmers Challenge, Penola High School students showing their heifers as part of their agricultural program and spoke to almost every school which came to the show to enter their rams and lambs.
It was amazing to see just how many schools from the Limestone Coast took the time out to travel to Adelaide and give their entries their best shot with Bordertown High School, Kingston Area School, Tintinara Area School, Kangaroo Inn Area School and Lucindale Area School all placing.
By chance, I also ended up sitting with my friend and previous co-worker Katie Jackson from The Stock Journal where she showed me her reporting on sheep and ram sales which was something completely different to The Border Watch.
The final part of the RMC SA/NT Professional Development Award included attending the show breakfast on the Thursday morning.
The 7am breakfast included networking with a range of agricultural icons as well as retired Federal Member for Indi Cathy McGowan.
Growing up in the Indi electorate myself, this was something I was looking forward to immensely and when I announced on stage I was originally from Benalla, there was a big and happy yell coming from Cathy herself.
I spoke at the breakfast about a range of things, including my experience in journalism, at the show and about The Border Watch and what I hoped to achieve in the future but it was the experience overall which I touched on the most before sitting back at the table with a number of state politicians, including Member for MacKillop Nick McBride – by pure chance.
Overall, spending a week working from Adelaide was something I was not used to – being a Melbourne girl myself – but pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new reporting styles and growing as a journalist was always my top priority.
It was invaluable experience, networking opportunities and reminded me why I love journalism – for my community and to tell my community’s truth, stories and to hold onto the history of the Limestone Coast.
