Mansfield Courier journalist Hannah Kennelly won the William Buckland Foundation Fellowship with The Age in 2023. What did she learn in the big smoke and how it has benefited her regional newsroom?
In January I stood outside 717 Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD with butterflies in my stomach. I had just travelled over two hours from regional Victoria’s High Country to spend three months at The Age newsroom, courtesy of funding from the William Buckland Foundation.
To say I was nervous would have been a colossal understatement, but I was also incredibly excited to experience life as a city journo.
My fellowship experience began with a detailed tour of The Age newsroom and introductions to the faces behind famous bylines. I was invited to observe the daily conference between The Age and its sister publication The Sydney Morning Herald. It was invaluable to witness the allocation process and observe the combined efforts of producers, journalists and editors on a single story.
Within the first week, I had my first front-page dual byline; a story exploring housing availability and affordability in Melbourne’s south-east. I also produced a story investigating the demise of the school tuckshop and spoke with parents, teachers and students. If The Age’s print department noticed an unusual spike in sales, the credit likely goes to my family and friends who purchased every single copy at local newsagents across Victoria.
Over the next few weeks, I worked on major breaking news stories, data-heavy sports yarns and anchored national live blogs covering everything from politics to bushfires to the 96th Academy Awards. I collaborated with The Age’s wonderful social media team and produced and scripted many videos for Instagram and TikTok. I also spent a week with the state political team while parliament was sitting and worked alongside the education, city and sports departments.
As my placement progressed, I started to feel more confident and pitch my own ideas and stories. I independently pursued several yarns and coordinated photoshoots with photographers. I am particularly proud of The ‘essential’ accessory Swifties are raving about – and it’s not a friendship bracelet. This story covered the rise of earplug usage at concerts and reports of noise-induced hearing loss in young people.
One of my biggest assignments was a feature story exploring Aussie Rules access and availability for girls in regional Victoria, ‘There’s nowhere for them to go’: When girls are booted out of football. This project involved months of research and interviews with current AFLW players, football presidents and Aussie Rules players from all over country Victoria. Footy has always been omnipresent in my household and it was incredibly rewarding to publish a story that a metro newsroom may not typically cover.
Hannah Kennelly during her placement with The Age (Image: Jason Robins)
Three months flew by and when my placement at The Age concluded, I returned to my newsroom eager to share my new skills and confidence with my fantastic colleagues. The Mansfield Courier’s main focus is our weekly print edition; however, we have recently started to produce more digital content and identify innovative ways to engage our audience on social media.
One of my key things I learned at The Age was the importance of producing breaking news as quickly as possible, but not at the expense of rigorous fact-checking. With the help of my editor, I shared several tips about breaking news with my colleagues, and we now update our website regularly with urgent stories such as road fatalities, court updates and council announcements. We have also recently made our debut on TikTok (a daunting adventure) and produced several videos for Mt Buller’s opening weekend for the 2024 ski season.
The Mansfield Courier team (Image: Supplied, Mansfield Courier)
My editor Shaun McMahon has been incredibly supportive and receptive of all my ideas.
“Hannah has come back with stronger investigative skills, honed storytelling, and improved editing,” he said. “Her time at The Age has made a big impact on our reporting quality.”
“Training in the city gives regional journalists a chance to experience different ways of reporting and working under pressure. They return with fresh skills and perspectives that benefit our local journalism.”
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Walkley Foundation and to the William Buckland Foundation for funding this placement. I would also like to acknowledge all the staff at The Age who welcomed me with kindness and offered me endless amounts of advice and encouragement.
An undeniably massive thank you also goes to my editor and colleagues for allowing me to spend three months in Melbourne. As a 2022 university graduate, I assumed the fellowship would go to someone with far more experience than me. However, my Mansfield Courier colleagues Emma Oliver, Samuel O’Brien and Pam Zierk-Mahoney encouraged me regardless.
I would encourage any regional journalist to apply for such opportunities. If you are selected for a fellowship or a scholarship, my advice is to be a sponge! Soak up every single opportunity offered, even if it pushes you outside your comfort zone.