Industry Panel
Who attended?
Lauren Pritchard - Digital Media Producer for the Canberra Raiders
Chris Dutton - Sports Media Editor at The Canberra Time
Tim Gavel - Contributing editor at Region Media Group and former sports commentator
What did you learn from them?
The main message from the Industry Panel was to take anything that is presented to me. Whether it be internships or possible career changes to better suit my strengths. Some of the most helpful insights came from Chris’ contributions as he made me realise the constant hustle of the industry as well as how cut throat it can be as everyone is after the big story of the week, month or even year. The best way to stay on top of everything is to secure an internship as this will let me know what I desire in my career or lead to a future career at the organisation. He also stressed sports literacy as this will give me a wide range of sports news to report on.
What questions did you ask?
I asked two questions during the event directed at Tim and Lauren.
To Lauren I asked what the main differences between working for the NRL compared to the Canberra Raiders. Although Lauren now works in a more behind the scenes job compared to what I want, she did give me helpful insight as to the differences in working for a news organisation such as the NRL compared to working for a club like the Canberra Raiders. The main difference she said was the speed that information is received, at the NRL everything was instantaneous whereas at the Canberra Raiders she would have to chase up with athletes, coaching staff and administrators in order to release a statement.
To Tim I asked how has the landscape of the sports media industry changed and if it was difficult adjusting to the new changes. He responded by saying that there have been two major changes: the inclusion of women and the development of technology. He said that the inclusion of women has been beneficial to the sports media industry due to the rise of women's sports as this allows the athletes to feel more comfortable with their interviewer, leading to a more relaxed and gain more insight from the interview. He also mentioned how women always ask the questions they desire the most and wont let people skate around it. He would also sing the same praises for technology as it has enabled audiences to access news from anywhere, from anyone.
What are your main take aways?
Main takeaways were to apply for internships, take as many as you can. Staying open minded, level headed and knowing boundaries and limits will help in promoting yourself as people don’t want to interact with individuals who are brash, overbearing and rude
