ABC EDITOR TRAINS NGAARDA MEDIA STAFF

ABC’s Matt Brown. Credit: Ngaarda Media.

The Ngaarda Media team had three weeks of training with ABC News Standards Editor Matt Brown in June.

Everyday, an hour-long training session was held that explained the ABC’s methods of creating professional news and broadcast content.

The Ngaarda Media team wanted to share a cultural experience with Mr Brown, so took him for a Bush Tucker Tour at Murujuga National Park with Clinton Walker of Ngurranga Tours. This gave Mr Brown a chance to be formally welcomed to country and learn about Ngarluma history.

Read what the Ngaarda team had to say about their time with Matt Brown:

Cassie Ariuu, journalist and broadcaster:

I learned a lot from Matt: About open questions and closed questions, to always use simple English and that we don’t need to sound really ‘smart’ on the radio. I enjoyed the activities, plus Matt had a good laugh with Sam and Conrad. The one-on-one training I received help me with my script-writing and broadcasting.

Tangiora Hinaki, CEO:

I am grateful to the ABC for sending Journalist Matt Brown to work with our team for three-and-a-half weeks in the Pilbara.  To have an experienced journalist at your fingertips is a luxury and we did daily workshops that focused on defamation, writing news in an active and simple fashion , plus looking at different angles of a story. 

I enjoyed the practical workshops and re-writing news articles in an active voice. We need this training in First Nations Media and our collaboration with the ABC will support the creation of Pilbara, Kimberley, and WA stories that are local and unique.

Conrad MaLean, reporter:

I had a great time with Matt. He’s a great teacher: informative, ready to listen, ready to give great advice and crack dad jokes.

Matt showed us a high standard to aspire to, professionally and interpersonally. I aspire to meet those standards at work every day.

Matt showed us how to be more methodical, how to be more careful, and how to carry a certain clarity of mind into the stories we pursue.

Matt showed us not only great techniques, but a strong, investigative mindset to bring to journalism.

Matt smashed through our supply of Eclipse mints, which was fortunate because they were filthy tasting, yet morish. Maybe we liked those mints more than we admit?

Gerard Mazza, producer:

Thanks, Matt for training us and sharing some very interesting stories from your varied career. With your guidance, we introduced some new procedures into our newsroom to allow for a smoother workflow. You encouraged us to reflect on our purpose as a media outlet, and reminded us of our responsibilities to our audience. There were plenty of tips and tricks you shared that have helped me work more effectively every day.