Small Bamboo (29 page)

I still smile every time I think about Pete and his advice that day in Target.

Four days later we headed back to Sydney. It had been tough, being among all that devastation and grief. I remember calling a girlfriend the night I arrived home. I started to cry. I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Being part of the Black Saturday bushfire coverage was an experience I’ll never forget but working on it with Pete made it even more significant for me. I learned so much from him. He was under immense pressure but he never let it show. I believe that we went from colleagues to friends during the bushfires. Pete really understood me. He was very supportive of my ambition to be a full-time reporter and backed me right from the beginning. I had my doubts whether I would ever achieve my goal and I would share them with him. One of those doubts was the way I looked. I was still concerned that viewers wouldn’t accept my background and the bosses would much prefer the gorgeous blonde over the short Asian girl. No one ever said anything of the sort, though; it was all in my head.

After Pete had seen one of my reports on a weekend, he said something to me that I will never forget. He complimented me on my story, then said: ‘You know, Trace, it’s fantastic that we have someone like you on our news. It’s great that we’re so diverse with our reporters now. You’re a beautiful girl, Trace!’

I wasn’t just flattered by his kind comment; Pete always managed to lift my spirits. Some days I’d be having a shocker and somehow he just knew and he’d give me a smile and I felt a thousand times better. He would always say things like, ‘Stand tall, Trace!’ It’s a little difficult when you’re five-foot-two but he did make me feel like I was ten feet taller. I am so blessed to have had the support and encouragement from Pete throughout all those years and our friendship continues to this day.

The turning point for my career came in 2010. I was still producing during the week and filling in as a reporter over the weekends. I was feeling comfortable with my progress and thought I would be promoted to a full-time reporting position soon. It came a lot quicker than I thought. Our chiefs of staff at the time were Fiona Dear and Mike Dalton. They would be instrumental in furthering my career at Channel Nine. They always gave me a shot and supported my work.

One Saturday, Fiona pulled me aside. ‘TVo, did you know there’s a reporter’s position going in Canberra?’

I didn’t. ‘Who’s leaving?’

‘Daniel Street. He’s going overseas for a year. They’re looking for someone now. You should put your hand up for it.’

‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I hadn’t thought about going to Canberra, or anywhere else. I was still mainly producing but I had started to get more reporting shifts in Sydney, which was good.

‘Think about it,’ Fiona said. ‘You’ll be on air every day. You’ll be doing live crosses. And there’s an election coming up which you’ll be a part of. You’ll probably end up travelling with one of the party leaders.’

I didn’t know if I could do politics—what an area to jump into! It would be a huge learning curve for me. I was unsure if my skills were up to it. I asked Mary for her advice and she agreed with Fiona that I could do the job and I should go for it. Mary also pointed out that it was a rare opportunity to work with a legend like Laurie Oakes and that I would become a better journalist working with stalwarts like him. To have the chance to work with Laurie was, indeed, a golden opportunity.

I decided to call Canberra’s bureau chief, Doug Ferguson. Doug is an amazing human being. When he goes through the wars—which he sometimes does, being the Canberra bureau chief—he still comes out with a smile. I asked him what my chances were of getting the position. He wasn’t sure who the bosses had in mind, but thought I would have a good shot. He suggested that I contact Laurie himself to express my interest in the job, so I sent him an email. Laurie’s response was surprisingly positive, saying he was pleased that I was interested in politics. So then I sat down with Wickie and the network news director at the time, Mark Calvert, to talk about it and they both agreed to send me to Canberra for a month to see how I would go.

My first day as part of the Canberra Press Gallery, 15 February 2010, was frightening. I was surrounded by veteran journalists with decades of experience. But, again, everyone was welcoming. It was a supportive team: Doug the boss, chief cameraman Mark Jessop and Laurie’s researcher Kerrie Yaxley. And then there was Jayne Azzopardi, another political reporter for Channel Nine; Laurie later labelled us the ‘Dynamic Duo’.

At the start, it was overwhelming and I was way out of my depth. My scripts weren’t up to scratch or I’d miss the story completely, and I was fumbling through my live crosses. It was a nightmare. But Jayne was constantly supportive. She always gave me a hand, had a look at my scripts or my live crosses. She said the right things to build my confidence, and it did improve. But I thought it was too late; my month’s trial was almost up and I didn’t know if my bosses would send me back to Sydney. To my delight, they decided I could stay put for the year. I was thrilled. I had finally achieved my dream of becoming a full-time reporter, and it was happening in Canberra. I was on air every day, reporting on politics.

But it was the encouragement I received from those I worked with that made it all possible. Doug was a great bureau chief. He always made sure the team was okay, asking, ‘Are you a happy soul today?’ Even if we were feeling miserable, that question would make us feel better. He was always admiring our work. I’d walk out of the studio after a live cross to the 11 a.m. or 4.30 p.m. news and ask, ‘How’d I go?’

He’d reply, ‘Just gorgeous.’

Doug’s knowledge of Australian politics is incredible. He’s been in the business for more than thirty years so I can understand why. But of course, no one has the political knowledge or experience of Laurie Oakes. As Mary predicted, what I learned from Laurie cannot be measured.

When Laurie was writing his 6 p.m. story of the day, Doug would call me into his office. ‘Watch him,’ he’d say.

And I would study Laurie as he crafted his story. He’d type, pause, rub his hands together, and then he’d be off typing again. And the final result was astounding. After Laurie’s story would go to air, we would all say to each other, ‘How does he do it?’

Laurie is a hard nut to crack. You have to earn his respect. I just kept chipping away, working hard, improving my stories and my live crosses. This process made me resilient. I toughened up as a journo. Then came one of the most fulfilling moments in my career. I filed a report one weekend and the first thing Laurie said to me on the Monday morning was, ‘Good story last night, Trace.’

It might seem like a passing comment but it made my day, actually it made my year. Laurie Oakes liked my work! And from then on I doubled my efforts and focused on my writing.

One story I was particularly proud of was a piece on Julia Gillard. She was making an appearance on the
Today Show
and our cameras had access to her while she was waiting in the green room. It was one of her first interviews as prime minister after the 2010 leadership spill. Wickie wanted the piece to run longer than usual. It ended up being about two and a half minutes long, double the standard time of a news story. Creating a political story is tricky. You don’t always have exciting footage to write to. It’s mainly politicians walking from A to B or cutaways from press conferences. You had to listen out for any sound-ups—audio picked up from a microphone, where there may be an amusing comment—and you were on the lookout for a funny or touching moment in the vision. I had plenty of visuals for the Gillard piece to make it a longer story and I was happy with the end result.

Then Wickie called the Canberra office to say it was a great piece and I received an email from Mullet: ‘Chattzee, your story tonight was a fine piece of writing. Good onya Chattzee!’ I was filled with pride.

My work in Canberra was incredibly fulfilling. I saw a prime minister being rolled, and the first female prime minister being sworn in. Then, less than a month after ousting Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard called the election, kicking off a five-week campaign around the country. And my workload ramped up! Jayne followed the prime minister, while I followed Opposition leader Tony Abbott. It was a whirlwind tour of Australia. We travelled to parts of the country I would never think of visiting. We didn’t know where we would be the next day—Abbott’s media team wouldn’t tell us where we were going. We’d find out on the media bus or when we were in the plane. The hours were long and gruelling. Jayne and I would alternate crossing live into the
Today Show
every day. We’d then have a full day, watching the leaders trying to win over voters at shopping centres, schools, parks, everywhere they went. We covered all corners of the country in five weeks—some days we’d be in three states in one day! I even went on a fourteen-hour trip to Nauru with then Opposition Immigration Spokesman Scott Morrison. Some days, the deadlines were supertight. On one occasion, we were heading to a childcare centre where I was due for a live cross in the 11 a.m. news, but at 10.55 a.m we were still on the media bus. As soon as the bus pulled up I ran out to find my cameraman. He shoved my earpiece in so I could hear the studio in Sydney.

‘Thirty seconds, Trace!’

The cameraman passed the microphone over to me. I could hear the news opener.

‘This is Nine News with Wendy Kingston. Good morning . . .’

And then they crossed to me. It was two minutes of television gone in an instant.

That sort of excitement was what I loved about the job. I still get that adrenalin rush every time I go live on air. When the deadline is tight and I manage to make it for a live cross or get the story to air, that always gives me an added thrill.

I maintained my supportive network in Sydney while I was working in Canberra. Fellow reporters would call me out of the blue and tell me what a good job I was doing. And when I needed help, they were always there. I remember the last day of the election campaign, I had to package a story on Tony Abbott’s final leg on the trail. I was sitting on the media bus trying to work out my script when my mobile rang. It was Damian Ryan and he’d called to see how I was going. We chatted about my script; I was a bit stuck with its direction. Damo listened then he went through what I had written so far with me and made some helpful suggestions. He rattled off a couple of lines and an idea for my piece to camera and within ten minutes my script was finished. Damo chose to call me, and then help me out, off his own bat. Everyone in the newsroom calls him ‘Australia’s Friend’ and he really is.

Five weeks on the road for the election campaign was exhausting and I was ready to head home. I remember telling presenter Alicia Loxley live on air on the last morning that I was looking forward to a home-cooked meal and excited about washing my clothes. It was a mammoth effort, and Jayne and I were praised for our work every day by our bosses. There’s nothing like covering an election campaign. It is certainly one of the most satisfying experiences of my career.

My work in Canberra lasted a few more months after the election. By then, Ben Fordham and Lane Calcutt had joined the crazy gang that was the press gallery. Along with Kerrie Yaxley, they certainly made my final months in Canberra enjoyable. Ben would become like an older brother to me. We were already connected before Canberra. He’s married to my beautiful friend and colleague Jodie Speers, who I had worked with at 2SM. Lane and Ben were quite a pair—playing practical jokes on each other and making work fun. It was lovely to see that even in the most intense environments, I had colleagues who had a terrific sense of humour and knew how to enjoy themselves.

Apparently I had a positive effect on them too. The Canberra bureau is split into two offices. One side of the corridor houses the journalists and the other side is where the cameramen and editors reside. One day I was having a good old laugh with Doug and Mark Jessop in the cameramen’s quarters. I have a very loud laugh, and when I laugh, I don’t hold back. Afterwards I walked back to the reporters’ side and Ben was sitting in front of a computer, smiling.