WEBVTT - Sandra Sully: the woman behind 35 years of headlines 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:12.080 Hello, and welcome to Something to Talk About for Stella Podcast. 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:14.880 I'm Sarah La Marquin, to your host, and every week 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:16.759 I sit down with some of the biggest names in 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.880 the country because when Australia's celebrities are ready to talk, 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:24.360 they come to Something to talk about. There have been 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.720 thousands of big news stories over the last thirty five years, 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:31.319 and my guest today has covered them all, from being 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.080 the first Australian journalist to cover the events of nine 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.559 to eleven and from war zones to Olympics to royal weddings. 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.120 Sandra Solly has been bringing the headlines to TV viewers 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:46.280 on ten News since nineteen ninety. But as you're about 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.520 to hear, it wasn't Sandra's goal to be a newsreader. 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.000 It was a career she fell into by accident, and 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:55.600 because of that, she's always felt like a bit of 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:56.120 a fraud. 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:59.360 I always felt a little bit fraudulent, a little bit 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:03.480 of an impossible that I started very late. This seriousness 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:05.400 came over me because I had to play catch up. 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.920 But Sandra, Sally is the real deal and on today's episode, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.319 she joins me in the studio to discuss her incredible career. 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.280 The harrowing experience of being held at gunpoint as she 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:19.800 got out of her car after driving home from work 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.959 one night, and why you never hear about her personal life. 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.360 Sandra Sually, Welcome to the Stellar Podcast. 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.480 Thank you, thanks for having me. It's nice to have 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:30.880 you here. 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.440 I have met you a few times over the years. 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.880 We have worked with you before at Stella, but I 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.960 have never sat down in conversation with you, So thank. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:39.720 You for me to. 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:44.800 The trigger for this is because thirty five years this 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.600 year you have been at ten News. It's quite remarkable 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.880 in a time when people tend to turn over jobs 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:56.040 and employers pretty frequently. I wanted to start our conversation 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:58.880 by showing you a little bit of video that I 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.840 have here from one of your earlier bulletins in the 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:04.040 early nineties. 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:09.919 So let me is that with padded shoulders, with. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.760 Action at last over Sidney, these hotel fire traps first 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:20.239 at five the Hampton Court ordered to close down. What 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.560 do you think when you look back on those early years? 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.280 Do you look back on those early years to people 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:26.640 like me make you look. 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:30.200 Back on those Yeah, and I'm gonna blame you, Sarah. Look, 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:33.480 it's just a walk back in time you are transported 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.360 there momentarily to you know, the feelings and what your 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.080 thoughts were, and how nervous you were. You know, I 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:43.080 remember all of that and how lucky AIR was and 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.240 you know, wracked with I wouldn't say anxiety, but you know, 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:52.960 anxiousness about doing a good job. And I'm actually reading 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:58.639 the news in Sydney. There's a lot to process. But yeah, 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.480 when I see that stuff, it takes me right back 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:03.400 there and I feel very lucky, you know. 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.360 And also, of course there's always that thing whenever anyone's 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.639 looking through photos or videos of the reminders of what 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:12.560 you wore, of the different haircuts that you had over 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.320 the years, and we always look back and think, oh 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:18.200 my gosh, I look so young, even though we didn't 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.120 think it at the time, even if it was just 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:21.880 last year, a lot of us look and think, look 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:26.200 at that person. So there's also that time capsule component 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:28.760 when a big part of your life thirty five years 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.800 has been visually documented in that way. 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.639 Yeah, exactly, And I see many of those images and think, 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.000 what was I thinking? You know that I really think 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.400 that looked good, but look, you go with it. At 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:41.160 the time, I do remember I was called into the 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:46.160 news bosses offices, actually the station offices, and they were 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.480 trying to work out, these three elderly men how they 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.720 could make me look older. And one of them, who 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.360 was head of finance I think at the time, said 0:03:55.640 --> 0:04:01.880 hmm a French rule I think would be very elegant. 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:02.960 What did you try that? 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:04.280 And did you try that? 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:08.840 I don't think so. I just remember thinking, what would 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:09.160 you know? 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:11.840 You don't take care and fashion tips from the head 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:13.760 of finance on a regular basis. 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:16.839 Oh, look, we've put it up and probably tried something, 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:19.200 But I mean I wasn't in a position to argue 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:24.800 at the time. I just remember thinking, this is surreal. Seriously. 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:25.960 Have you had that sort. 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:30.279 Of unsolicited advice over the years about how you present yourself? 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:32.840 Because that's a big part of working in media, it's 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.479 a big part of being a woman, whatever industry you 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.760 work in, has that something that's been thrown at you 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.680 a lot? And have you found that you've learned to 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:43.920 speak up a little bit or do you just let 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:44.520 it go? 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.160 Look, it's part and parcel of the job. I've had 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.440 unsolicited advice in my whole life. But who hasn't And 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.920 when it's about your appearance. In our industry, that can 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.240 be a little bit tedious because men aren't provided the 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.599 same unsolicited advice that you know, they literally go through. 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:04.599 I mean, color will the same suit for a year, 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:10.479 nobody noticed exactly. At the same time, women enjoy being 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.040 able to play with fashion and hair and jewelry and makeup, 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:16.160 so we can't have it both ways. I'm never going 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:20.920 to complain. I've just learned how to manage that and 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.520 process it and park it in the right spot. You know, 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.320 who did take notice? Often who not to look. I've 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.080 got colleagues that actually hate that hour in hair and makeup, 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.200 and it's the best part of my day? Is it 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:32.000 really every day? 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.960 In what way do you? Is it a time where you. 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:38.080 Have It's a time where I'm still and quiet. Usually 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:41.520 I'm working, I'm on my computer, usually while they're doing 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:46.480 my hair. But oh, someone playing with the hair and 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.479 makeup for an hour every day, knowing that I could 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.760 not do, you know, an adequate job on my own. 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.880 So relieved that someone else who is a professional is 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:02.480 taking charge, because you know, heaven help the viewers of Australia, 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:04.960 they had to see my best efforts. You know, I 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:08.000 really am hopeless at it. I don't rely on the experts. 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.000 That vision that I was just showing you was your 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:14.880 former colleague Ron Wilson, And when we profiled you in 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.880 Stella some years ago, Ron told Stella at the time, 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:21.279 I've worked with over a dozen female partners on Channel ten, 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.240 and virtually all of them have fallen by the wayside. 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:27.479 These were pretty tough women. But Sandra has survived all 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.920 this time and still has a smile on her face. 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:33.520 If you can do that for this long, something is right. 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:36.840 What do you say to that? What might that something 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:38.280 be that is so right? 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:42.640 Thank you? Ronnie. Oh look, I think in many respects 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:46.440 it was about opportunity and good timing, you know, not 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:53.200 being afraid to seize a moment. But when I worked 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.000 on late News, and I did for nearly eighteen years, 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.599 I was out of the cut and thrust the fray 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:04.119 of politics of a newsroom, and it served me really well. 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:08.039 They left us alone and they focused on the main game, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.920 which was five o'clock, and I needed that quiet time 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:15.200 and to be out of everyone's gun sights. You know, 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.120 I'd not long been divorced and gone through an assault, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:23.200 and the Late News was a really safe space for me. 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:25.640 We had a small team, really agile. We were left 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:28.600 to our own devices, and we had a lot of 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.200 fun and it was a really tight team. It was 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:34.520 hard work, the hours were tough, but I liked the 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:37.040 fact that, you know, the bosses left at six o'clock 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.320 and they left us to it, so we had a 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:44.760 lot of freedom and license to, you know, really enjoy 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:49.560 the product and get our hands dirty and be really 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:54.320 responsible for it, you know. So I think in many 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.600 respects that gave me a national profile by default. It 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:01.520 wasn't anything I chased, and Forward left and she sort 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:04.480 of said, Silent's your turn, you know, good old Fullers, 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:09.920 and I hadn't you know, it wasn't anything I chased 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:12.920 or wanted. But when the opportunity came up, I knew 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:15.640 it was the right call for me. And I think 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:17.600 I'd learned over the years that you know, to have 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:21.160 a national profile in such a cutthroat industry, it meant 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.840 I could get a job somewhere, you know, if the 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.200 worst happened, because it does every day of the week 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.200 in our game. So it was, you know, a kind 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:34.480 of remote insurance policy of sorts. I never knew at 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:37.400 the time. I'd be there for seventeen and a half years, 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:40.480 and then when it ended, you know, I got married 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:46.240 and I got back from my honeymoon, and I got 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:51.280 called into the boss's office and he said, do you 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:57.160 want to do five o'clock? Choice? He said none, He 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.560 said not really. He said, well, we're acting late news. 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.520 I went, okay, tokyo, Yeah, there really is no choice 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:07.959 mortgage and yeah. So for me, it's been hard work, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:10.400 seizing opportunities and good timing. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.600 I wanted to ask you about the different time slots 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:15.960 that you'd worked in, not only in terms of the 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:18.840 professional way. As you say, you had a little bit 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:20.800 of freedom at the late news, and then at five 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.040 o'clock you're there and there's no where to hide, and 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:26.120 the suits are still in the building, and it's all 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.480 eyes on you for better ultimately, And of course it 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.400 does bring risk with it, but just also sandra from 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.440 your routine and your life. And there's always fascination in 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.199 anyone that works shift hours. I put those in inverted 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.040 commas because obviously a lot of people, especially in this 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.520 time of hybrid working and remote working and technology, working 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:49.520 different locations and different times. But with the five o'clock. 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:51.800 What does a day look like for you? Because I 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.840 think most people understand you're not rolling in the door 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.800 at four point thirty. I mean you're there doing headlines 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:02.120 throughout the afternoon, You're preparing you scripts, researching, meeting with 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:05.160 producers and other people in the newsroom. There is as 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.000 we talked about the visual component of hair and makeup. 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.520 Did you have a preference in terms of your lifestyle 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:11.600 between time slides? 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:15.240 Although I reluctantly did the five o'clock job, but I 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.600 had just got married and I figured the universe was 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.920 telling me I needed to adopt better hours for my 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.080 new husband so that I would be home and not 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.120 always sleep deprived. When you're a shift worker, you are 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:30.559 sleep deprived. And I think if you do either midnight 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:34.240 to dawns or super early start, you become quite sleep obsessed. 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:36.480 But you know, I did it for nearly two decades, 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.480 and it taught me the rigors of looking after yourself. 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:43.079 While it's important to manage yourself well in this industry, 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:47.160 with those hours, five o'clock was a big adjustment, and 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:49.360 it took me a long time to kind of get 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.640 with a program. But in a nutshell, when I was 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:57.439 on late news. I was completely wedded to radio, and 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.000 you know, I'd get home anytime from midnight till two 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.240 in the morning. And I'm a TV person. I grew 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.760 up with TV, very strong TV family, and I can 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.079 fall sleep in front of the telly. But I knew 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.200 that if I sat up for too late, when I 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.920 got home, it'll be two or three in the morning. 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:16.520 But the world still expected me to connect and be 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:20.000 engaged available at nine, So I would go to bed 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.840 and put the radio on. So to this day, I 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:25.360 go to bed and put the radio on. Now it's 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:28.240 morphed into the world of podcasts, which we've all fallen 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.600 in love with, but I've been in the podcast world 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:35.000 for twenty five thirty years. Yeah, you're at So I 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.680 go to bed listening to BBC or you know. The 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.560 rest is politics or great podcasts that I really enjoy, 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:45.000 and it can be silly stuff, crime stuff, whatever, and 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.560 then I'm awadded to the radio as soon as I 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.520 wake up, basically Radio National in the morning, but you know, 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.720 I'll scan all the major radio stations to hear what's 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.560 going on. And then as soon as I wake up 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.040 and not necessarily out of bed, and I download the 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.080 major full papers of every day, scan all of those 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.680 so I know what the major stories are. And while 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.400 i'm reading those, I've got a running commentary from a 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:11.560 radio current affairs show about what's going on. Then I 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:15.680 might get into my day, and most days i'm kind 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.040 of in the office somewhere between twelve and one, but 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.440 that varies. You know, today was an eight thirty start, 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.880 so it does depend. And then I go straight into 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.240 hair and makeup. I don't even go upstairs because I 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:31.000 can see the rundown remotely on my computer laptop either 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.360 at home. When I'm in hair and makeup, I've got 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.559 a laptop in my dressing room so that I can 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:38.880 start working and looking at the bulletin, reading people's scripts, 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.040 trying to get a handle on the flow of the bulletin, 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.079 what the shape looks like where there's a bit of 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.680 light and shade, where it's super heavy obviously in the 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:51.200 entire first break, and what those intros is starting to 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:55.360 look like. And then I'll leave that laptop in my 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.280 dressing room and then head upstairs, sit on the production desk, 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:02.960 get ready for updates, keep. 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.600 Going and what time do you finish up? Now? 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.080 Then about six thirty. Yeah, but you know, for three 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.079 or four years I did two states, so I did 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.439 New South Wales and Queensland. So that was three and 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:15.880 a half hours of reading and the magic of television 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.280 cutting and working between two states and daylight saving and 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.040 it was rigorous. 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.680 How do you feel when every day you're just about 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.599 to go on air, presumably the floor manager's doing the 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:32.640 classic countdown? Do you still is there something that kicks 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.400 in in you? Is it a hit of adrenaline? Is 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:37.240 that excitement? 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:42.960 Is it nerves? Not so much nerves any anymore, but 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:49.440 there is a conscious realization and acknowledgment that this is 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:54.920 live television and there is no safety net. And we 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.280 have a running gag in the newsroom and for twenty 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:02.040 five plus years, I will I will occasion, you know, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:05.040 we'll say Chuckers break a leg, or I will squeal 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.679 I'm not ready. I'm not ready, which makes us all 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.200 laugh because I'm you know, a creature of habit. But 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:15.000 also it's about actually getting you up. Not that you 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:19.480 want to read that first story, you know, smiling and giggling, 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.080 but you've got to get your energy levels up, and 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:28.440 at times, with the heaviness of stories, you know, you 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.400 can peek and trough all day and then you kind 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:32.640 of want a flat line, but it is there's a 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.960 performance element to what we do, and you need to 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:38.800 be very switched on and focused because with live television 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:42.960 and breaking news, there's no one that can help you. 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.200 Obviously, you consume a lot of media. 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.240 What you've just talked us through what a day looks. 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:51.720 Like, and when you're not working, you take a break 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.680 over summer. It's obviously February a lot of us have 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.240 come back from a bit of time, are really getting back. 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:57.680 Into the work. 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.960 Here. Are you able to unplug from the news cycle? 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:03.760 And is that even anything that you would want to do? 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:06.400 I never used to, but now I think it's good 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.360 for my mental health, so I do kind of switch off. 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:13.520 I do like listening to political podcasts, which drives my 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.680 husband completely spare. So I've often got to, you know, 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:21.880 have headsets on or something. But that's not the daily 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:28.640 cycle of news. It's not driven by the headlines, and 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.320 for me, it's getting more behind the scenes and understanding 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:35.040 the bigger picture, and I really enjoy that. But yeah, 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.440 I can switch off, and I know I should, and 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.520 I do because it's good for me. I mean, I 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.560 was traveling in the States last year for a couple 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.440 of weeks and other than watch some local news just 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:50.160 to get a sense in the build up to the election, 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:52.840 you know what were the local saying how big a 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.440 deal was it? But you know in Detroit they didn't 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:57.040 really care. 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:00.440 It must be so fascinating. Obviously, I want to ask 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.960 you a little bit about some of those moments that 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.400 have really stood out, and the people that you have met, 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:11.120 and the historical scenes that you have found yourself bringing 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:14.880 to the country. But that question there just also makes 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.320 me think about the changing nature of the news cycle. 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.480 And it's obviously something that we in the media talk 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.280 a lot about. Is that there used to be a 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:27.200 time where you have a certain newspaper arriving at a 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.240 time and then turn on the TV and get that 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.360 certain bulletin, and of course now news is coming at 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:35.320 us all the time. Is there a sense that your 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.840 audience now might be across certain things and you're bringing 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.560 it to them with a slightly different tone than maybe 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.120 you were thirty five years ago. 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:45.160 It's thirty five years ago we knew they wouldn't have 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.520 seen the pictures by five o'clock or unless they'd heard 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:53.320 something on radio. So much of the day had largely 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:58.040 gone by unnoticed and undocumented other than within newsrooms and 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.280 journals around the country, So your average viewer didn't really 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:04.359 have a great sense of what had happened, and they 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:08.359 tuned in to find out. These days, we must always 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.840 assume that we've got to take a story somewhere from 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.879 six o'clock and eight o'clock, and we've we've got to 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.680 present the news at the end of it, the evolution 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.879 of a day as that story has evolved. And you know, 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.359 we often get frustrated with sports stories. I mean, you 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:28.720 really rarely want a sports break that's just full of 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:33.560 results that happened in Europe last night, because soccer fans 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:36.119 knew that when they woke up or they were up 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.200 watching it. It's changed the dynamic of everything we do. 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:41.719 Everyone is twenty four to seven. I mean, the internet 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:46.280 actually wasn't invented that long before I started. So you know, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:52.440 I remember, you know, journo's out with pages and they 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.560 had to stop at a phone booth and put in 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.080 money to ring so that we could say, listen, we've 0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:01.080 got the address of the family of and then they 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:04.400 say Okay, we'll call back in an hour and let 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:06.399 you know if we found them, and then you just 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.320 didn't hear hear from them for two hours, not knowing 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.240 what they were going to come back with. Now everything 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.400 is so instantaneous. I mean, it's another reason why ten 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.600 launched the Late News as a digital product first, you know, 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:21.520 because people don't watch news on traditional platforms, so we 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.280 need to be where the eyeballs are. You know, you 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.200 can see breaks of our new service on YouTube, Yes, 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:32.639 on Facebook, on Tenplay. We need to be where the 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:35.240 eyeballs are, and the metrics we have to wait for 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.800 them to catch up, but we know you know that 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:42.800 they're not an accurate reflection of the viewing landscape. 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.560 I would now love to ask about some of the 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.040 moments that have stood out for you over the thirty 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:51.360 five years. One, of course, I'm sure you think I'm 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:55.080 going to bring up September eleven, two thousand and one, 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.159 because I know that's something that you're constantly asked about 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.760 because you were the first Australian journalist to bring that 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:06.119 news as it was unfolding. You were on air doing 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:08.800 the late night News when that vision came through. 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.000 Now that do some breaking news just through and CNN 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.439 is reporting tonight that a plane has crashed into the 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:16.560 World Trade Center. 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.520 The only thing so let's just start by'm not talking 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.040 about that too much unless you want to, because, like 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.359 I'd say, I'd love to ask you to nominate some 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:26.119 of the other moments that have stood out that you 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:28.840 maybe haven't spoken about as much. But my question to 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.680 you is when something like that happens nine to eleven 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:36.840 or something similar and you are there seeing this absolutely 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:43.040 or in the moment clearly absolutely horrifying event happened, huge 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:46.119 loss of life, and then probably having that instinct that 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:48.760 of course this was going to be a moment that 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.679 would change everything, which it did. When you go home 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.880 at the end of that, is that a really bad 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:59.720 day at work? Or is it actually a day at 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:03.640 work that proves exactly while you're there and is actually 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:07.399 the most important kind of work and a privilege in 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:08.520 a way? Is it a good day? 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:12.520 It's a good question, I think, and I do get 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:17.359 it a lot. I have realized mostly through the discussions 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:23.240 I've had with my husband his observations of me. Obviously, 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:25.440 there's a lot of adrenaline on a big news day 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:27.600 because you want to get it right and cover as 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.920 many angles as you can and present the most accurate 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:35.680 picture of a significant story like that to viewers. I 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:43.800 think when I get home, I probably a mostly quite 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:49.359 and just processing it all or a bit flat. I 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:54.320 wouldn't say I'm energized. I'm probably drained and trying to 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:57.520 process it. I try not to wallow in it. If 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:01.439 I wallow in the images, then I'm just that's silly. 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:06.080 Like I've learnt to, I can't. Can't you know, there 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:08.920 are times when as a human being, of course, there 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:12.840 are plenty of days when it's really hard, but I'll 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.119 just be quiet and try to work out how to 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:15.920 switch off. 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:19.800 For you, what are the big moments that would stand 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:22.920 out from some of the stories that you've covered, particularly 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.400 the ones that you were on location. 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.399 Well, these I wasn't on location, but you know, I 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:33.440 just moved to Sydney from Canberra, and it was all 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:38.600 the Gulf War, you know, every day reporting on the 0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:42.120 fall of Saddam Hussein, and then when they found him, 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.720 and then it was you know, obviously September eleven, but 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:48.080 then it was the assassination of a summer bin laden. 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:52.600 How that played out. I think you know, I've been 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:55.040 desk bound for a long time, so I can't really 0:21:55.040 --> 0:22:00.119 claim to be on location. But the Fukushima nuclear bi 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:09.800