Telling people's stories a privilege

The end of an era. A wonderful era. Like many journalists I knew the day would come that news would no longer be printed, the hope in me thought maybe we had a few more years.

I worked at the Daily Mercury just shy of 10 years. When my Mum told me the news I shed a tear. It was this job that helped shape me into the person I am.

While I no longer work as a journalist I still have a passion for the profession, all it stands for and the commitment and hard work that goes into creating a paper every day.

You can never take the journalist out of the girl.

The power of print. The smell of a fresh newspaper, the smudge of fingerprints as you open each page.

A physical newspaper gives the community pride, it is tangible.

Yes it will be in digital form, but there are still many analogue hearts who enjoy the moment of reading a paper.

Yes Mackay will still have journalists on the ground reporting, but I can’t help but think, will our local stories be lost, peppered between other cities stories?

But then, the future is now, our world is digital and I respect that, and I look forward to seeing how the Daily Mercury adapts to change and makes sure our region’s stories still have a strong voice.

I wanted to share my first column I wrote for the Daily Mercury as a young 23 year-old journalist.

It got me thinking about how important our voice is. We must continue to tell our stories, they are our power.

Here is my column from 2009, I think it still rings true for every journalist, photographer and staff that work or have worked in regional newspapers......

There sitting in my wooden truck, a rocket ship with a yellow and red crepe paper exhaust which was made when I was 10 years old.

This wasn’t just any old school craft creation; it was the missile I made that would store my hopes and dreams for the future.

I recently opened my rocket ship time capsule after I was sifting through my treasure trove of junk. As I ripped off the dusty lid, I was anxious to read what mini me wrote all those years ago.

As I tried to make the scrappy handwriting I came to the part that read ‘What do you want to be when you grow up’- my answer was to be a journalist and tell people’s stories.

Deep down I always knew I wanted to be a writer, I hated maths and loved creative writing, but it wasn’t until I graduated university and got my first job at the Daily Mercury did I know I wanted to be a journo.

I haven’t been a reporter very long 17 months next week to be exact.

Journalists are often criticised for their work, however through all the criticism, for me being a journalist is a privilege.

Everyone had a story, whether it is an event, person or period of time that has defined their life. In the past year there have been some stories that have moved me, made me a better writer, but more importantly a better human being.

From holding the hand of a woman who had just seen her life go up in flames after a house fire, recounting the amazing life of Andre Bennett who at a young age was fitted with a pacemaker to keep his heart beating, to listening to an injured crop dusting pilot’s plight to look after his family are just a few.

I guess that is the beauty of writing for a regional newspaper like the Daily Mercury, we inject people’s feelings of hope, misery, anguish and love into our copy. I still have many stories to write, more mistakes to learn from and criticism to accept, but one thing is for sure, even when I doubt my journalistic ability- I will continue to start my day with notepad and pen in hand.