New era of news begins as The West Australian and Seven Perth

POWER
HOUSE
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
SPECIAL EDITION
New era of news begins as The West Australian
and Seven Perth join forces under one roof
A PERFECT MATCH P10 NOBODY KNOWS NEWS LIKE US P12 WINNING WEB P14
CEMENTING A NEW FUTURE P16 TELETHON TREASURES P28
PERTH
2
since Fat Cat
44 Years
made his TV debut
INSIDE
The TVW evolution
4
Sporting force
8
Dynamic duo
10
Integrated news power 12
Building a future
16
Early memories
20
On the record
24
Aerial view
26
Telethon phenomenon 28
30
Recipe for success
The West Australian editor-in-chief Bob Cronin, centre, and editor Brett McCarthy oversee news conference at Newspaper House. Picture: Iain Gillespie
THE WRITER
Pam Casellas has been a
professional television critic,
commentator and interested
observer of the local and
national television industry
for 35 years, as well as a
devoted consumer of countless
television hours.
As a reporter for The West
Australian she followed the
many changes to the industry in
terms of ownership, structure
and technology, as well as the
waxing and waning of different
programming trends, including
the first mini-series and the
emergence of reality TV.
Cover picture: Geoffrey Thomas,
Basil Zempilas, Rhianna King,
Rick Ardon, Mark Duffield,
Susannah Carr and Angela Tsun
inside the newsroom at the The
West Australian and Seven Perth
office in Osborne Park.
Picture: Mogens Johansen
THE TEAM
FEATURES EDITOR
Mark Mallabone
9482 3574
features@wanews.com.au
EDITOR
Jenni Storey
9482 3787
ADVERTISING
Terence Tay
9482 9706
Brave new media world
There is incremental change,
the kind that moves slowly and
no one really notices the
difference. And then there is
change that is so profound that
the old ways are gone for ever
and the new reality is a field of
dreams and opportunities with
no limits.
Welcome to this brave new
media world where the skills,
experience, passion and
commitment of two onceseparate news-gathering
organisations come together to
transform how information in
this State is presented to readers
and viewers.
The West and Seven Perth,
colleagues since 2011, are now
firmly united in a shared
newsroom to bring their
combined talents into a bright
new media world, the first of its
800. It puts our rivals in the
shade and sets up an enviable
competitive advantage.
A redesigned newsroom
enveloping a “superdesk”
complements a highly
sophisticated studio built within
Newspaper House. It is from
here that Seven News bulletins
are now presented. The studio
opens up new opportunities for
a bigger local production slate
across all platforms.
Bob Cronin, editor-in-chief of
The West and a newspaper man
all his life, sees it as a perfect
marriage of news gathering,
where the stories which are
better covered on television will
be shown there and those which
have their most impact in words
will be in the newspaper.
Where staff can move between
the two media, if they wish, or
A redesigned newsroom enveloping a ‘superdesk’
complements a highly sophisticated studio built
within Newspaper House. It is from here that Seven
News bulletins are now presented.
kind in Australia and rare in the
world, the busiest and the most
technologically advanced
newsroom in the country.
The new opportunities across
all platforms — print, television,
online, radio, regional
newspapers and regional TV —
are immense. It’s a media
monster, in one place, with all
the efficiencies that come with
that and the multitude of skills
that exist in a combined staff of
stay where they are the most
comfortable. Where the most
up-to-date technology allows the
ever-increasing movement of
news between the various
platforms, with ever-increasing
speed. Where staff will, in time,
have the skills to contribute to
all platforms, from reporters in
country towns to photographers
from the cabin of Seven Perth’s
helicopter.
Back in 1962, when Cronin
was a raw 19-year-old, he was
offered a job in television, a
matter he discussed with his
cadet counsellor. He was advised
thus: “Son, this TV thing is a
nine-day wonder . . .”
While the media has always
been a rollicking, ever-changing
beast, neither he nor his
counsellor could have imagined
the scope of change.
The inky smell and thumping
machines of a 1950s printing
room have been tamed into a
cleaner, quieter, computerised
place where the old crafts are
long gone. In a television studio,
the cans of film, the
cumbersome cameras and
room-sized editing machines
have been replaced by digital
technology and robotic cameras.
Fifty years ago film took days
to arrive by plane in Perth
before it went to air. Press
photographers transmitted
their pictures back to the office,
in painstakingly laborious and
erratic fashion, via a “pic-gram”
unit attached to a public
telephone. Reporters, for whom
the prospect of a mobile phone
was science fiction, dictated
their stories to copytakers.
In 2015, the media world is
instant and voracious. To
prosper it needs skill,
commitment and passion.
Welcome to our new media
world, where print and
television are combined in
bringing you the news in a way
you had never imagined
possible.
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22 Titles
newspaper network
Integrated newsroom
paves way to future
KERRY STOKES CHAIRMAN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA
The West Australian and Seven Perth are
important parts of the fabric of the lives
of all West Australians.
Four years ago, West Australian
Newspapers’ acquisition of the Seven
Network was a significant step for the
company and those it serves: our readers
and our audiences. It was a
transformational move for The West.
The decision to bring together two great
media companies created a new company
that has Australia’s best-performing
media businesses. It was a bold step
forward and today that company, Seven
West Media, has the scope and scale to
continue to build our businesses and
invest in our companies, our content and
people.
Today, we embark on an important next
step: the bringing together of The West
and Seven Perth in the one place.
Under the leadership of Tim Worner,
the chief executive of Seven West Media,
and Chris Wharton, chief executive,
Seven West Media WA, a great group of
people has created a world first: an
integrated single newsroom with
state-of-the-art digital technology that
allows us to gather and deliver news to
the people of Western Australia on any
device: from newspapers to online to
broadcast television.
It’s perhaps the most exciting
development that secures The West’s
future in this great State.
The West’s strengths in publishing
combined with the Seven Network’s
strong media platforms — including
leadership in broadcast television, a
market-leading magazines publishing
business and commitment to securing its
future through the development of its
presence in online and new
communications technologies — provides
significant opportunities for us to engage
with you, our audiences.
It is our people, and their talent,
creativity and commitment that drives
Seven West Media, and it is you, our
readers and our audiences, who define us.
We do not take your engagement with us
lightly.
Kerry Stokes AC says the integrated newsoom is a world first.
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since the first
20 Years
Today Tonight went to air
1
2
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1. Linotype operator J.S. Ashton helps produce The West Australian circa
the 1960s. 2. Captain Menzies, C.G. Friend, Sir Charles Gairdner and James
Cruthers watch the first broadcast at TVW-7 in 1959. 3. The Goss press at
West Australian Newspapers. 4. Laying out page plates at WA
Newspapers. 5. TVW-7’s first TV program, featuring Leave It to Beaver at
8pm. 6. The original home of The West Australian — Newspaper House in
St Georges Terrace.
6
5
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Partnership comes full circle
There is much in history which
unites The West Australian and
Seven Perth, the company which
began life as TVW-7 in 1958 as a
fledgling TV pioneer under the
auspices of WA Newspapers Ltd, an
ambitious gleam in the eye of its
managing director, James
Macartney.
He had no real idea what this
new-fangled medium was really like
when the board of WAN, made up of
local businessmen, applied for the
State’s first commercial television
licence.
When the bid was won, there was
no studio, no programs and no staff.
Few people in Perth had ever seen a
television picture.
Jim Cruthers was at The West
Australian when he was sent across
the Nullarbor to examine this thing
called television, and report back to
his board on whether the new
medium would work in WA. He was
filled with enthusiasm, not just for
television itself but for the role he
thought WA Newspapers Ltd should
take in setting up the company to
run it.
The board agreed and in June 1958
announced the formation of a new
company called TVW Ltd. The
company was registered, to raise
one million pounds by selling two
million shares at 10 shillings.
Equipment had to be bought and
shipped from England, the site for a
suitable line-of-sight transmitter
had to identified and acquired,
production staff found, auditions for
on-air talent held. And the
In 2015, 136 years after The West Australian appeared
for the first time and 58 years after Seven Perth’s first
pictures went to air, two proud West Australian companies,
with a shared heritage, are back together again.
purchaser of the first TV licence in
WA, a Mr J.A. Redmond, an
Irishman who’d seen television
overseas, handed over his five
pounds.
As the first broadcast approached,
The West Australian remarked in an
editorial that the arrival of
television would make a profound
change to people’s lives. A lot of rot,
it said, had been talked about TV’s
power to pervert young minds and
dull the senses of the old. “We
should remember that when all is
boiled down, TV will be as good or
bad as we make it.”
In the 57 years which followed
TVW-7’s opening broadcast, on
October 16, 1959, the two companies
separated, their origins a matter of
local media nostalgia. But they
came together again in 2011 when
Kerry Stokes — who had arrived in
Perth in the year that TVW-7 went to
air for the first time and found work
as an installer of television aerials
— acquired first the Seven
Network and then WA Newspapers
Ltd, to form Seven West Media.
Now that formal association is a
physical one, after Seven Perth’s
100-plus staff moved to The West’s
Newspaper House in Osborne Park,
forming what is Australia’s first,
and one of only a few in the world,
fully integrated print and television
newsroom.
In the wider media world, the
speed of change has been just as
rapid. New owners have come and,
in some cases, gone. New alliances
have been formed and, in some
cases, fractured. Government
legislation has been tightened, then
relaxed.
The media industry, facing
challenging times both in Australia
and overseas, is watching the
integration with great interest.
In 2015, 136 years after The West
Australian appeared for the first
time and 58 years after Seven
Perth’s first pictures went to air, two
proud West Australian companies,
with a shared heritage, are back
together again.
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It’s amazing what you can achieve
when you join together.
Congrats to our Run For A Reason partner, Seven West Media, on bringing its team together
under one roof. Here’s a great way to bring your people together: register a team at this year’s
HBF Run For A Reason presented by The West Australian.
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Proudly supported by:
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cost of a TV licence
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Going small has
big benefits
It is no small matter to build a new
television studio, from scratch, in an
area designed for a newspaper and
its associated activities. However, in
the brave new world of technology
where smaller also means more
efficient, there are correspondingly
big benefits.
Andrew Anderson is general
manager, broadcast services, for
the Seven Network and the many
changes both to technical and
staff operations fell into his ambit.
It is obvious that the space once
devoted to the production and
presentation of television at the old
site is far greater than at Osborne
Park.
“Television equipment has
reduced in size, especially in the
control rooms and desktops,” Mr
Anderson said. “The big control
panels in many cases have been
replaced by a keyboard, mouse and
screen. At the same time a change in
workflow has also occurred.
“Digital technology has allowed
for a faster operation.
“The advantages of the technology
not only provide better quality and
faster delivery but also allow people
to make more considered and
creative editorial decisions.”
The edit suites may be smaller
but, according to Mr Anderson,
their power is incredible compared
with the systems used 15 years ago.
“In the 80s and 90s an edit suite
with the creative power of a
standard digital news edit suite cost
hundreds of thousands of dollars,
took several people to operate and
was slow,” he said.
“The options are immense, as we
now have better storytelling tools
and the volume of stories can be
higher. The material used in one
edit suite can be accessed and
repurposed by other people using
digital edit suites and workstations.
“This is especially important
during rolling news coverage of
important events or disasters where
many people are creating content
from the same material.”
There are two main drivers of the
space requirements in a television
operation. One is the human
operational area itself, which is the
desks, control rooms and
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workstations; and the equipment,
which resides in a temperaturecontrolled “rack room”.
“Everything has decreased in size
and power requirements, so the rack
room is smaller and the human
space has been reduced to more of a
workstation-based operation instead
of huge control rooms,” Mr
Anderson said. “Cabling has also
reduced because digital technology
allows interconnection of equipment
by LAN cabling instead of big
“multicore” cables.
“In the old days, television
operations were dominated by
equipment and cables. These days,
television operations are dominated
by the people with the digital tools
augmenting the space.”
The most challenging part of the
process was the human change with
a new location and a new system.
He said that the smaller studio
was simply a reflection of the newer
technology and equipment
available.
“The lighting systems are simpler
LED-based devices that use less
energy and are more reliable. This
means that air-conditioning and
power requirements reduce. That
reflects on space requirements in a
studio, in particular overall height.
“As well, we are able to use new
cameras and automated pedestals
that have a smaller footprint (and of
course are high definition so the
picture quality is superb). We have
also introduced virtual set
technology so that we can augment
(electronically) the environment
around the Seven News anchor
desk.
He regards the changes made in
Perth as the next step in the digital
era.
“In 2000 the digital era began in
Australia and we are seeing the
evolution of digital about every five
years. The changes we are
implementing in Perth take full
advantage of this evolution.”
However, for all the wizardry now
available, some things never change.
“Human communication and
workflow is at the heart of any
studio and television operational
design. While we depend on
technology to tell our stories we are
a people-based operation.”
The smaller
studio reflects
the new
technology and
equipment
available. The
Perth changes
also mark the
next step in the
digital journey.
“While we depend on
technology to tell our
stories we are a
people-based operation.”
Commercial Office Fitouts
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Base Builds
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now working
1968 Employees
at Newspaper House
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At the top of the
big league
‘Now we are on the same floor we can share
ideas and will be able to continue to raise
the bar in all platforms.’
CRAIG NITSCHKE SPORTS EDITOR
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In 2014 at the Australia Open, the
Seven Network pioneered the use of
HBBTV to stream live coverage from
eight courts simultaneously via the
Seven Sport app. The app was the
number one free app on iTunes
during January and saw a record
number of Australians watch the
Open.
Looking ahead to Rio 2016, for the
first time Aussie sport fans will be
able to watch what they want when
they want it from any of the
Olympic venues via a 7Sport app on
their tablet or mobile device.
And for the first time since 1986
WAFL football returns to Seven in
2015 with 18 home-and-away games
plus finals broadcast on Seven and
7Mate. Today Tonight’s Mark
Readings will head up the
commentary team.
Seven Perth sports presenter Basil
Zempilas is part of the network’s
AFL commentary team and the
Australian Open and Melbourne
Cup Carnival hosting teams while
veteran WA-based broadcaster
Dennis Cometti will be behind the
microphone for his 29th season in
2015. The West Australian’s sports
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The AFL and the Olympics are covered comprehensively by Seven and The West
Australian. Pictures: Iain Gillespie, Daniel Carson/AFL Media
editor Craig Nitschke said WA
sports fans would be the big winners
from the new joint newsroom.
“We now have a greater pool of
journalists to cover sport in this
State which will benefit readers of
The West Australian and
thewest.com.au and viewers of
Seven News and Today Tonight,”
Nitschke said. “Seven will add
another dimension to The West’s
international and national stories,
as well as providing extra value to
our already extensive local content.
Ch
“We have already dipped our toe
in the water in the past year with
Channel Seven reporters writing for
The West Australian and online and
journalists from The West
Australian providing some quality
content for television.
“Now we are on the same floor we
can share ideas and continue to
raise the bar in all platforms. It is a
very exciting time and offers some
wonderful opportunities for the
talented team of sports reporters we
have at our disposal.”
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The coverage of sport — State,
national and international — is a
major focus for both television and
the newspaper. Engagement with
sports lovers has long been central
to the work of both organisations.
That engagement now is even
broader.
Seven Perth’s sports editor Chris
Young says: “The combining of
resources happens just as the new
AFL season is starting and for the
first time in 20 years the WA
Football League coverage is back on
Seven.
“This means our coverage of the
local league will be second to none,
and spread across all platforms,
newspapers, online and television.”
There are world events, too, in
which he expects the combined team
to shine.
“The Rio Olympics are a little
more than 12 months away and are
the first of three for which the Seven
Network holds the rights,” he said.
The key components to Seven’s
coverage of live sport are tennis,
including the Australian Open,
Wimbledon and the local Hopman
Cup; horse racing (all the big spring
races, culminating in the Melbourne
Cup); the AFL Premiership season
plus all finals and the Brownlow
Medal, and this year the WAFL
football.
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watched TVW-7’s
70,000 People
first broadcast
Back to the future
‘With changing
consumer media habits,
people want their news
in many different forms.’
CHRIS WHARTON
CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA WA
Fifty-six years ago West Australian
Newspapers was awarded the first
television licence in WA and TVW-7 —
now Seven Perth — was born.
Studios were established on what was,
at the time, the outskirts of Perth and
the area became the city’s commercial
television hub.
Nearly six decades later, the wheel
has turned full circle and Seven Perth
has moved back in with West Australian
Newspapers at Osborne Park.
We have made a considerable
investment in new state-of-the-art
studios and facilities, including the
newsroom “superdesk”. Our broadcast
facility uses the most technologically
advanced equipment available.
It is high definition running the
1920/1080 50i standard.
In excess of 250 vision monitoring
screens are used in the operational
areas and control room.
More than 30km of cabling have been
installed.
The tower above the studio is 43m
from the ground. Its main purpose is to
mount the microwave dishes that
provide a transmission path from the
CHRIS WHARTON
studio to the transmitter sites in the
Perth Hills.
Seven West Media WA (SWM WA)
is the largest media centre in Australia.
With changing consumer media
habits, people want their news and
information in many different forms.
At SWM WA we are leading the way
in accommodating those demands.
In the big State, SWM WA is the go-to
media source. Its newspapers (The West
Australian and 22 regional mastheads),
television, online, digital and regional
radio cover the complete spectrum for
readers, viewers and listeners.
With the integration of the combined
sales forces of The West Australian,
Seven Perth, Red FM, Spirit Radio
Network and thewest.com.au, and as a
preferred partner of Google AdWords,
SWM WA provides an unparalleled
opportunity to reach customers across
the gamut of media in WA.
To quote our chairman, Kerry Stokes
AC, on the challenging consumer and
media landscape “we confront these
challenges with confidence and see
them as opportunities for us to drive
our future”.
Chris Wharton says the combination offers unparallelled opportunity. Picture: Michael Wilson
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You know it’s serious when
you move in together.
Congrats.
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Proud suppliers of precast wall panels for the
new Seven-West Media studios
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number of ‘good signal’
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miles from TVW-7 in 1959
Perfect match
RICK ARDON
SEVEN NEWS PRESENTER
SUSANNAH CARR
SEVEN NEWS PRESENTER
Susannah is one of those rare people who connects
with everyone.
And our connection has been special because, while
we’re different people, we both have a continuing
excitement in being side by side, presenting live news
that’s always changing.
I remember being excited back in the mid-80s when
I learnt Sue was coming from the ABC to join us at
Seven. I had already admired her mellifluous reading
style, and marvelled at her polished presentation.
Such is Susannah’s professionalism, she adapted
from the almost-British ABC to the more
conversational world of commercial TV in the blink of
an eye.
We’ve been sitting smoothly side by side at Seven
Perth for 30 years now, longer than both of us have
been married.
And it may surprise some to know that I find
presenting the news at six the most relaxing part of the
day, such is our ease at the newsdesk together.
If there’s an on-air glitch, we’ll cover for each
other. If there’s a speed bump in a script to be
read, we’ll always find it for each other.
Yet we’re different, with contrasting lives
away from work that still interconnect
because of similar interests. These include
a love of great food, art, our beautiful
beaches and travel.
We are often your typical yin and yang
but have similar very high standards in
news gathering and presentation. My
training as a young journalist at The
West Australian included the almostbiblical code of ethics, which has made
me passionate about getting it right
every time. Sue’s training at the ABC
was different as a presenter and
announcer, yet she has the same
embedded values enhanced by Aunty.
Perhaps we’re perfectly paired as
perfectionists, scrutinising scripts for
syntax and spelling. Yet Sue’s always on
time and I’m sometimes a little late, trying
to cram too much into my day.
While I love covering breaking stories on
location, Susannah is unrivalled in her ability
to deliver under pressure, with empathy, at the
newsdesk.
The recent Sydney siege showed how
professional she is . . . hosting the live coverage
around Australia from our Perth studio, at short
notice because Sydney was out of action. Sue
ad-libbed for three hours live on air, with an
accurate and measured description of what
was happening in that cafe. That won her
praise Australia-wide.
And why does the relationship work so
well? Wikipedia sums us up: “In Chinese
philosophy, yin and yang describes how
apparently opposite or contrary forces are
actually complementary, interconnected, and
interdependent in the natural world, and
how they give rise to each other as they
interrelate to one another.”
Long may the yin and yang continue.
I remember the first time I met Rick.
It was at a Clear Speech Award night back in the
early 1980s.
We were both contenders.
I was reading ABC news at the time and Rick was the
good-looking young Channel 7 reader who had a legion
of fans.
He’d left the world of print media for the shiny lights
of television news and made his mark early.
My life at the ABC was so different, mixing radio
with television.
I loved the variety it had to offer . . . reading TV
news one day, hosting a music program on radio the
next, compering a classical music concert in the
evening.
But a couple of years later, our worlds joined.
Channel 7 was revamping its news, moving to a
two reader line-up, and changing from 6.30pm to
6pm.
It asked me to be part of the team and, 30 years
later, I’m still here, with Rick, reading Seven
News Monday to Friday.
It’s been a fantastic partnership for all
concerned . . . I like to think of it as a
win-win-win situation.
We love doing the job, the public
seem to like us and the Seven Network
is happy . . . what could be better?
Why does it work?
We’re different in many ways but
similar in others.
A love of news and knowing
what’s happening in the world are
shared.
We both love travel and unusual
places.
On the other side . . . Rick is a
passionate surfer and football
player.
He has great sports knowledge.
I’m more likely to swim laps at
the local pool, walk the dog and
then hit the kitchen to try out a
new recipe that’s been brewing in
my head.
Our careers at the Seven
Network have been fantastic.
Back in 1987 when Channel 9 tried
to poach us, we made a commitment
to each other to stay as a team. We
loved where we worked, the people,
the feeling at Seven Perth. It was a
decision we’ve never regretted.
On February 23, we began
broadcasting from our new
studios in Osborne Park as part
of our merger with The West.
The State’s first TV station
has moved into a new era.
Oh, and that Clear Speech
Award all those years ago? I
won that one!
’It’s been a fantastic
partnership . . . I like to
think of it as a
win-win-win situation.’
SUSANNAH CARR
Rick Ardon and
Susannah Carr.
Picture: Mogens Johansen
5
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on air during the first
5 Hours
TVW-7 broadcast in 1959
Extra hands on the job
MONICA KOS TODAY TONIGHT PRESENTER
For Monika Kos, presenter of Today
Tonight, the arrival of Seven Perth
staff at Newspaper House is business
as usual. With extra benefits.
“We’ve long worked collaboratively
with people from The West,” she said.
“The bond was always there.
“Many reporters from The West —
Geoffrey Thomas, Rob Broadfield,
Gary Adshead and Ray Jordan are just
some — have been involved in
different projects for TT,” she said.
They were used to working on TV
as well as in print, she said, and their
contribution was valuable.
“The style of writing for TV and
newspapers is different — we know
pics, they know words — so between
us it works well.”
She thinks the effect of having the
two newsrooms physically close will
see more local stories unearthed — TT
may well come up with ideas for the
newspaper and the other way round
as well.
“It’s like having extra hands on the
job,” she said.
“We’re a content-driven program.
We survive on having great local
content.”
These days TT’s content is almost
100 per cent local, a change from the
days when at least one story a day
came from the network. With TT
killed off in Sydney, Melbourne and
Brisbane a year ago, the pressure is
on Perth to fill from its own resources
Special reports from TT are also
shown on The West’s website.
Kos has presented Today Tonight
since 1997. She’s excited by the
challenge of moving to a new and
technically sophisticated studio, and
to experience the reality of Australia’s
first integrated newsroom.
And TT will be the only local
current-affairs program in the country
to come out of the same newsroom
that produces a newspaper and TV
news bulletins.
‘The style of writing for TV and newspapers is different —
we know pics, they know words.’
MONICA KOS
Monika Kos believes the integrated newsroom will mean more local stories.
TOYOTA RUMOUR
FILE #882
HAS MOVED
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THE TOYO TA RUM OUR FILE - WHE RE THE BIG STOR IES BREA
7AM AND 8AM WEE KDAYS
12
is the height of the Seven
43 Metres
Perth tower at Newspaper House
New era a
meeting of
two minds
1. West reporter
Steve Pennells in
Sri Lanka with
locals after a
tsunami killed
thousands of
people. Picture:
Barry Baker
2.The newsroom
of TVW-7 studios
in Tuart Hill in the
days of
typewriters.
Picture: Ray
Ogborne
3. The Seven News
chopper in action.
4. Seven News
reporter Amelia
Broun.
Two men, in particular, have driven
the vision of an integrated
newsroom at Newspaper House, The
West Australian’s editor Brett
McCarthy and Seven Perth’s news
director Howard Gretton. Initially
interested but unsure how to
proceed, they headed overseas to
visit some of the few newsrooms in
other parts of the world which have
become integrated.
“On the first hour of our first visit
to the first integrated newsroom I
was convinced we hadn’t been
thinking about it in the right way,”
McCarthy said. They both
recognised that the embryonic plans
for moving Seven Perth’s staff to the
Osborne Park headquarters of The
West would need revision.
The initial plan, more than two
years ago, had been to move Seven
Perth to one floor of the building,
leaving the two newsrooms to run
independently.
But the two men saw instantly
that joining the newsrooms offered
enormous potential for news
gathering, the like of which has
never been seen in this country.
They were thankful the chief
executive of Seven West Media WA
Chris Wharton had had the
foresight to send them to explore the
possibilities.
The newspaper which convinced
them was the Helsingin Sanomat in
Helsinki, Finland’s biggest
subscription newspaper. The
situation was not quite comparable
to Seven West Media in that the
partnership was more newspaper
driven, with TV as a smaller add-on.
But it was apparent to them
immediately that putting in one
room the collective experience, skill,
wisdom and news-gathering
expertise would create a powerful,
peerless organisation able to
provide material across all
platforms, from newspapers and
television, to radio, digital and
online services.
The advice they were given there,
reinforced by other newsrooms they
visited, was to let everyone involved
in the merger find their own way —
no one should be forced into either
television or newspapers.
The two men come into the
process far apart in experience.
Gretton has worked only in
television, McCarthy only in
‘I can’t wait for a really big story to
happen. The power of the room, from
journalists to photographers and
cameramen, will be amazing.’
HOWARD GRETTON NEWS DIRECTOR
1
2
newspapers. They have needed to
learn from each other and to
understand the strengths and
weaknesses of each area.
McCarthy says he’s learnt how
quickly and efficiently television
news gatherers work, whereas
newspapers, generally with kindlier
deadlines, can afford to take more
time. Newspapers are better at longterm planning, the results of which
can also be useful for TV.
One of the things they learnt on
their European visit is the
importance of a central desk, called
a superdesk at Newspaper House.
This is where the heads of
department of both organisations
sit, making instant communication
possible so that everyone knows
what is happening.
There are now nearly 200 people
in the newsroom, in all areas from
general news for both The West and
Seven Perth, as well as sport,
features and production.
“What we have created,”
McCarthy said, “is a great media
hub. There is enormous energy
here, as well as an impressive media
brain.”
Gretton said: “I can’t wait for a
really big story to happen. The
power of the room, from journalists
to photographers and cameramen,
will be amazing.”
They do not underestimate the
uncertainty which the merged
newsroom created in some minds.
“Newspaper people may be a bit
fearful of television,” Gretton
suggested. “What they don’t know is
that television people are just as
uncertain about writing for a
newspaper.”
And then there is the
question of where particular stories
will be placed. “The best answer is
there is no blueprint,” Gretton said.
“We will decide where the story fits
best.”
It might be a story told better in
pictures on TV and followed up in
print the next day. It might be a
story promoted on television and
told in full the next day.
“There are no rules,” McCarthy
said. “But generally, whoever gets
the story will keep it.”
Some stories will be joint efforts,
and the case of Geof Parry and
Gareth Parker’s work on the Troy
Buswell car crash is a glowing
example of how two minds can be
better than one. Some newspaper
reporters will appear on TV from
time to time, some TV people will
write occasionally for the
newspaper.
Gretton sees the new newsroom as
a vast computer where only 10 per
cent of the power is being used. This
was just the beginning, he said, of
an enormous change in the way
news was gathered right around
WA, also using The West’s regional
reporters.
More than that, it is a welcome,
optimistic acknowledgment that, in
a difficult media landscape, there is
enthusiasm and passion for a new
way forward.
“We’ve both been in the media for
30-odd years and we’d never
imagined being part of something
like this,” McCarthy said.
It is, they agree, a privilege to be
steering this immense new ship into
waters which will be watched very
closely by competitors.
3
n
se
13
sets in private homes when
3300 TV
TVW-7 went to air in 1959
Rhianna King, Basil
Zempilas, Angela
Tsun, Rick Ardon,
Mark Duffield,
Susannah Carr and
Geoffrey Thomas at
the office. Picture:
Mogens Johansen
Political reporters Geof Parry and Gareth Parker. Picture: Bill Hatto
Talented tag team
get Buswell scoop
4
3
Nothing exemplifies the potential benefit
of an integrated newsroom better than
the work of The West Australian’s Gareth
Parker and his political counterpart at
Seven Perth, Geof Parry, in the story of
Troy Buswell’s final fall from grace.
By pooling their knowledge, gained
from separate contacts and after a great
deal of digging around, they were able to
bring the story to both readers and
viewers, first by Parry on Seven News’
6pm bulletin on Sunday night, then
developed by Parker in the following day’s
issue of The West.
It might never have become the news
event that it did but for some luck — good
for Parry and Parker, bad for Mr Buswell.
A member of the public had seen a car
being driven erratically in Subiaco late on
a Saturday night and called the police. The
police attended but, by then, there was
nothing to see and their investigation
went nowhere.
With Mr Buswell on unexplained
personal leave, that witness had reason to
revisit what he saw.
On the night, he told a police call-centre
operator that the driver “looked like Troy
Buswell” but that information was never
passed on to attending officers.
The witness thought he might have
some information that was connected to
Buswell’s absence and, when the police
made no further contact with him, he
called Parry.
Parry’s initial story mentioned only that
the car was believed to belong to Mr
Buswell and that other cars parked in the
area had been hit, as had the gatepost at
Mr Buswell’s home. Parker’s story the next
day took it further, after his and Parry’s
investigations revealed Mr Buswell had
been drinking at a wedding on the night
of the accident.
By then the matter had become public
‘I’m really proud that at no
stage did we sensationalise
anything.’
GARETH PARKER
and the Premier, Colin Barnett, was forced
to hold a press conference to announce
Mr Buswell had left the State and was
receiving medical care in Sydney.
The reporters recall with some
amusement their frustration at not being
able to see the front, and possibly
damaged, part of Mr Buswell’s car while it
was parked behind gates in his driveway.
“I’m taller than Geof,” Parker said with
some understatement. “So I took a run-up
and jumped high enough to see that the
front bumper was hanging off.”
Both Parry and Parker understood the
fine line they were walking in pursuing a
story about a man with health concerns.
“I’m really proud that at no stage did we
sensationalise anything,” Parker said.
Both note that, when Mr Buswell was
ready to resign, he asked that they
conduct his final interview, Parker with
the initial news and then Parry with an
interview the next day.
He had never, they point out,
complained about the media’s treatment
of him and both have run across him
socially, with no hint of recrimination. A
measure of the man, they think.
While the Buswell story happened
before the two newsrooms were
physically joined, Parker and Parry believe
the outcome was a good example of how
breaking news is enhanced by combining
their efforts.
The new political team they are part of
now numbers five, with Parker also having
an on-camera role.
14
number of years Susannah Carr and Rick Ardon
30 The
have been reading the news together
‘One team’ approach
perfect for website
Online editor
Chris Manly in the
integrated
newsroom.
Picture: Michael
O’Brien
For The West’s online editor Chris
Manly, the integration of the two
newsrooms could not come quickly
enough.
“It’s been talked about for a long
time,” he said. Now it’s a reality and
he couldn’t be happier.
The superdesk arrangement,
which has all department heads
physically close by, means that
everyone knows what is going on at
any moment. While the two
organisations have been working
co-operatively for some time, the
chance for a “one team” approach
means wider news coverage,
enhanced ability to run breaking
news and more efficient use of
resources across all platforms.
“Our thinking becomes wider,” he
said.
He sees the thewest.com.au as the
“breaking news” aspect of the
integration.
“The website is the ‘what
happened’ and the paper the next
day asks why and offers analysis.”
While the newsrooms will
continue to operate independently,
online is an area where those
‘There is a time in newspapers when it’s over for the day,
the edition is done. But this never ends and it’s voracious.’
CHRIS MANLY
operations merge. This means there
are effectively more reporters at
work, each filing news and pictures
to the website.
Add The West’s country
newspapers and Seven’s GWN7, and
the footprint becomes Statewide, he
said.
“We can be first to the scene of a
breaking story and get pictures on
the website very quickly, too.”
Seven’s news bulletins are
replayed online and constantly
updated. Live streaming on the
website, from sporting events, news
conferences and coverage of
breaking news, offers further
opportunities for co-operation
between the two newsrooms.
News video filed through social
media by Seven News reporters at
the scene are embedded in reports
with pictures and reports from The
West’s news team.
Manly has had plenty of
experience in the print version of
news gathering:
“There is a time in newspapers
when it’s over for the day, the edition
is done. But this never ends and it’s
voracious.”
Keeping a close eye on what
stories are put on the website and
linked via social media is
important. The brands of both
organisations need to be protected
and any temptation to use
“clickbait”— cheap, unsubstantiated
and titillating stories to attract
online traffic — must be resisted.
The interactive nature of social
media can be a valuable addition to
the website. The recent visit to
Perth by the Giants gave people the
chance to take their own
photographs and share them on
social media. The photos were
collected and promoted on The
West’s website and the result was a
wonderful illustration of the
community joy the visit provided.
And the fact that it attracted traffic
was proof that the public enjoyed
the coverage.
Thewest.com.au, relaunched in
2009, continues to grow each year
and Manly can see nothing but
expanded opportunities ahead.
WEBSITE WINS
In just a few years, thewest.com.au
has collected a swag of local and
international awards for online
content and presentation as well as
community involvement.
At home the website has won WA
Media Awards for its Frontline
Afghanistan coverage and its package
on the Perth Hills bushfires, After
The Flames.
In 2011, thewest.com.au’s coverage
of the Christmas Island asylum boat
tragedy received a WA Media Award
for best online series, with judges
commenting on the depth and
accuracy of the content and the
website’s “rapid delivery of material”.
Recent global honours include
gongs from the Asian Digital Media
Awards for three consecutive years.
Last year, thewest.com.au won
gold at the prestigious Asian awards
for its powerful anti-drink-driving
campaign, Pledge for Nate.
In 2013 its coverage of Syria’s
refugee crisis also achieved gold in
the Cross Media Editorial category, as
well as the silver award for Best
Online Video for Bali Remembered.
Video presentations were also
honoured in the 2012 Asian Digital
Media Awards.
Online editor Chris Manly said the
awards were testament to the
dedication of a tight-knit team.
$
n
s
ed
o
e
15
of gold found at TVW-7
$2,976,477.35 Worth
as part of the Perth Mint swindle
History in the making
BRETT McCARTHY EDITOR,
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
For a newspaper with a 182-year history of
serving this State there have been many
changes at The West Australian over the
years.
But the revolution that has unfolded in
the past few weeks within our newsroom
is the biggest and most exciting change
this newspaper has seen.
We now publish The West from
Australia’s only fully integrated newsroom,
also producing commercial TV news
bulletins, a public affairs show, websites
and digital products. This has been made
possible by the coming together under
one roof of The West and Seven Perth.
The planning of the integrated
newsroom has been happening for more
than 18 months and to see it come
together successfully has been a great
honour.
This revolution brings The West right
into the digital age and helps to secure
the future of the newspaper.
By bringing together the best
journalistic brains in this State, we aim to
produce even better journalism for our
readers and viewers across all platforms —
the printed newspaper, our website,
Seven News and Today Tonight.
We will not only have the ability to
quickly and efficiently cover the big
breaking stories here in WA but also we
will be able to spend time examining
issues that matter to our State in depth.
The results will be able to be read in the
printed newspaper, online and in other
digital formats plus often seen on TV.
We are proud of our 182-year history as
the State’s daily newspaper and excited by
the future that lies ahead.
‘We aim to
produce even
better journalism
for our readers
and viewers
across all
platforms — the
newspaper, our
website, Seven
News and Today
Tonight.’
BRETT McCARTHY
EDITOR
Brett McCarthy says benefits will be seen across all platforms. Picture: Sharon Smith
c
Congratulations to the major media powerhouse
As a proud partner of The West Australian, we congratulate you on the
achievment of the two companies coming together again, in yet another
exciting step forward in West Australia’s media landscape.
All the best for the future.
WRH Global Australia Pty Ltd.
Unit 3, 73 Beauchamp Road
Matraville NSW 2036
Phone +61 2 8336 2700
Fax +61 2 8336 2788
info@wrh-global.com.au
www.wrh-global.com.au
16
on The West Australian/
200 Staff
Seven Perth news floor
Cementing a new future
Moving Seven Perth into Newspaper House involved a complex
renovation and state-of-the-art studio fit-out over 16 months.
Pictures: Ben Crabtree, Simon Santi, Gerald Moscarda
’The bringing together of Seven Perth
and The West Australian in one place is
an exciting development that secures
The West’s future in this great State.’
SEVEN WEST MEDIA CHAIRMAN
KERRY STOKES
1
n/
topped the $1 million
1980 Telethon
mark for the first time
TOWER FOCAL POINT
The landscape at Osborne Park changed
with the installation of a tower as part of
the relocation of Seven Perth’s studio.
The height of the tower itself is 36.4m
and it sits on top of the studio which is
6.6m, providing an overall height of 43m.
It was constructed off-site in two main
sections, with the upper being craned on
to the lower during the on-site installation
phase. The tower’s primary purpose is to
provide a backup transmission path to
Seven Perth’s other transmitters, which are
at Bickley and Carmel.
Towards the top of the tower are two,
2.4m microwave-link dishes which provide
a line-of-sight connection to these sites.
The microwave links can be fed either
with fibre-optic or satellite — the latter,
also on the studio roof, is controlled by a
4.8m satellite dish.
17
18
number of years the Christmas
43 The
Pageant has warmed Perth hearts
1
C
ST
Re
ou
Au
Th
tw
cha
hav
Heart of the community
One of the founding visions of
TVW-7 when it was formed in 1958
was that it be the people’s channel.
The then managing editor of WA
Newspapers, James Macartney, told
James Cruthers, founding general
manager of TVW-7, that he wanted
the station to have a strong
community base, not just among
shareholders and with a slate of
local programs but in its
contribution to the local community.
And so it has always been, from
early events such as the Pet Parade,
which brought 20,000 cats and dogs
to scenes of mayhem at Langley
Park, the Birdman Rally, the Teddy
Bears’ Picnic and the Milk Carton
Regatta through to newer events
such as the growing Mandurah Crab
Fest.
And, of course, the biggest of them
all are Telethon and the Christmas
Pageant. Telethon was first held in
1968. The Christmas Pageant — this
year will be the 44th — now has The
West as a partner in bringing 300,000
people, mums, dads and kids, to the
city at the start of the festive season.
This support adds to The West’s
existing community commitment
and the closer association with
Seven Perth presents options across
all platforms for even more
engagement.
The West’s longstanding
commitment to events, such the
HBF Run for a Reason and the
WestBusiness Pinnacle Awards, now
packs an even bigger punch.
ABOVE: The Crab
Fest has grown
into a huge event.
Picture: Travis
Hayto
LEFT: HBF fun
runners start in
the city. Picture:
Dione Davidson
Sev
in
sce
ad
cov
the
cov
A
pre
fam
cu
co
pic
eve
‘It
yo
di
st
ST
ab
nt.
:
19
number of shillings it cost to
10 The
buy an original TVW-7 share
Challenge and opportunity
STEVE BUTLER REPORTER
Reporter Steve Butler has already worked
out how to combine his words in The West
Australian with pictures on Seven News.
The trick, he thinks, is to realise when the
two will combine effectively.
“The integration opens up new
challenges and opportunities. You just
have to find your place in it,” he said.
He points to the package he did with
Seven News on Neil Brooks. A nice story
in The West followed by pictures shot in
scenic Bali, where Brooks was living, to
add another element to the piece.
He was also in New York last year, to
cover former Eagle John Worsfold’s run in
the New York Marathon, also providing
coverage for Seven News.
Another example is the package he
presented in which he went back to the
family farm in the Barossa Valley with
current Eagle Shannon Hurn, an effective
combination of words for the paper and
pictures on Seven.
“In some cases, it just works for
everyone, though I do still find my main
‘It’s certainly the case that
you start to think about the
different possibilities of a
story.’
STEVE BUTLER
motivation in the newspaper,” he said.
“I think we’re really lucky to have the
chance to work in both, when the
opportunity is there. It’s certainly the case
that you start to think about the different
possibilities of a story.
“As long as you keep everyone in the
loop, and I have a good relationship both
with The West’s chief-of-staff Ben Spencer
and Seven’s news director Howard
Gretton, I think the integration will work
really well.
“It’s brought a new level of activity and
lifted the mood of the newsroom.”
He also has a good relationship with
Today Tonight, for which he did a weekly
football segment while working in The
West’s Melbourne office.
Butler crosses easily between sport and
general news and, having been based in
Bunbury early in his career, has legend
status for the vast range of contacts he
maintains in the South West.
He’s been a political writer, too, but
there’s another thing he holds dear — the
South Bunbury Football Club with its
rousing motto cede nullius, or yield to
none.
Steve Butler, Adrian Barich, Ryan
Daniels and Mark Readings. Picture:
Danella Bevis
Proud to have partnered with the Seven
West Media Group in providing Project
Management and Superintendent
Services for the new Channel 7 Studios
Development and Relocation Project.
We wish to congratulate and thank
everyone who contributed to the
successful delivery of this
exciting project.
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20
since the first West Coast
28 Years
Eagles game was televised
Richard Ashton
behind the TV
camera.
Nothing left to
chance at debut
The memories of TVW-7’s opening night in
1959 burn brightly for those who were
there, with all their nervousness and
relative inexperience, yet the knowledge
that this night was a piece of history.
One of them is Richard Ashton who,
with fellow camera operator Gordon
McColl, helped put that first telecast to air.
And last month he returned to Seven
Perth to watch the last bulletin go to air
from the Dianella studios.
Recalling the first broadcast, Ashton
said trumpeters from the Fifth Military
District band ushered in the governor, Sir
Charles Gairdner, as he left his Daimler
and strode into the new studio about to
play his part in history.
Rehearsals were, of course, extensive but
they went one better. To ensure that every
element was correct, a week before the big
day the studio’s clocks were set to the time
of the opening night and the entire telecast
run through.
All segments had to be in place,
including commercial breaks and the
various segments. Nothing was left to
chance, Ashton said.
And so, when it was time for the real
thing, there was a fair degree of
confidence that it could be achieved
without a hitch.
And so it was, down to the governor’s
“Tonight is a very important one for our
State, certainly a milestone in our
progress which would have profound
effects on the lives of all of us . . . ”, before
declaring commercial television in WA off
and racing.
There’s a little memento, however, if you
listen carefully to the telecast. You might
hear a little tinkle at one point.
“I had two lens caps on my camera
platform and the cable knocked one of
them to the ground,” he said. “I saw Jim
Cruthers’ eyes flicker — he used to remind
me about it for years.”
It’s certainly one way to make an
unexpected mark in history.
R
‘I had two lens caps on my
camera platform and the cable
knocked one to the ground.’
RICHARD ASHTON
Daily News editor Jack Harrison, left,
and a staffer wait for a decision on
the fate of the afternoon newspaper.
They are told that after 108 years the
paper will be closing. Picture: Nic Ellis
Then and now
1879
The West
Australian is
launched as a
broadsheet,
emerging from
previous locally
owned publications
beginning in 1833
1958
WA Newspapers
awarded the first
commercial TV
licence in WA
9
1959
First pictures
transmitted on
TVW 7
1980
Telethon passes
$1 million mark for the
first time
1968
First Telethon
held
1987
Robert Homes a Court’s
Bell Group buys WA
Newspapers Ltd
1969
Melbourne’s
Herald and
Weekly Times
buys WA
Newspapers Ltd
1988
Alan Bond’s Bond
Corporation wins
control of WA
Newspapers Ltd
1989
Last papers
printed at
125 St Georges
Terrace, with
print works
moved to new
facility at
Osborne Park
Telethon cracked $1 million mark in 1980.
1990
The Daily News
closes
1992
WA Newspapers
becomes a
public company
1998
WA Newspapers
leaves its
second St
Georges Terrace
home for
Osborne Park
2011
Seven West Media
created
2015
Seven Perth
moves to
Newspaper House
st
21
number of WA mine sites reached by
97 The
the Redfm/Spirit Radio network.
LEFT: Ben Harvey launching the Your Money liftout
in The West. Picture: Steve Ferrier
BELOW: Nick Bruining’s Retirement Masterclass at
the Hyatt. Picture: Mogens Johansen
Retirement issues a growth area
The West’s group business editor
Ben Harvey sees much potential for
growth in the association between
the newspaper and Seven News,
particularly in the field of
superannuation and retirement
planning.
“With the first of the baby
boomers retiring and millions more
preparing to stop work, this area of
finance journalism is more
important than ever,” he said.
“The Business section at The West
has a long history of working with
Seven. Financial reporting is a
nuanced field and the technical
abilities of The West’s business
reporters have been sought by
television producers regularly.”
The frequency of the newspaper’s
business journalists appearing on
Seven News has increased in the
short time Seven Perth has been in
Newspaper House and this trend
will continue as the media group
increases its focus on retirement
planning and superannuation
strategy.
He said that the creation of an
eight-page Your Money personalfinance liftout in February was seen
by some as the culmination of this
effort. “In fact, it was just the first
step,” he said.
In conjunction with financial
commentator Nick Bruining, The
West holds regular Retirement
Masterclass seminars.
“We have increased the amount of
radio airtime devoted to this field at
Redwave radio and through a
partnership with 96FM.
“Each August, we publish an
annual magazine called Securing
Your Future, which coincides with
Financial Planning Week.”
The West’s personal finance editor
Neale Prior appears regularly on
Today Tonight to talk about the
stories being covered in print and
Bruining has become a fixture of
Seven News’ weekend bulletins.
“The combined newsroom has
made these two commentators far
more accessible for Seven,” Harvey
said.
“The fact that Bruining can come
to Newspaper House for a meeting
with me about Your Money and then
walk across the hall to Redwave to
voice five scripts for 6PR and finish
the afternoon in Seven’s studios
doing a piece to camera on what he
is writing about in The West and
talking about on radio is a realworld example of how well the
system works.”
‘The Business section at The West has
a long history of working with Seven.’
BEN HARVEY GROUP BUSINESS EDITOR
Welcome to your new home.
22
West Australian moved to
1998 The
Newspaper House in Osborne Park
1
1
2
3
4
in
ha
ro
sa
on
ov
Alison and Jeff —
absolute pros
1. Former Seven
Perth colleagues
Alison Fan and
Jeff Newman
catch up over
coffee in
Claremont.
Picture:
Danella Bevis
2. Jeff Newman
in 1967, the year
he joined Seven
Perth.
3. Over and out
for legendary
weathman Jeff
Newman, right,
as Ric Ardon,
Geof Parry
Susannah Carr,
Basil Zempilas
and Alison Fan
celebrate the end
of an era. Picture:
Barry Baker
Their collective experience in the
media, both in print and on
television, is without peer in Perth.
Alison Fan and Jeff Newman — a
duo so recognisably part of Seven
Perth it is difficult to imagine them
being anywhere else. Their
combined years of experience take
us over the century mark.
In fact, for both of them the story
did begin elsewhere. Fan as a cadet
on the WA Newspapers Ltd
afternoon paper the Daily News and
Newman, via radio in Geraldton and
then 6PM to Nine, where he
presented that channel’s first night
on air in 1965. A technical disaster,
he recalls.
Fan was a columnist on the
Weekend News, the weekend edition
of the Daily, when the company
changed hands. As a contributor she
was, she says with an equanimity
she may not have felt at the time,
“sacked on Friday afternoon. On
Monday, Darcy Farrell (then news
editor at TVW-7) offered me a job”.
That was in 1968.
She left again for a couple of
years, to accommodate a growing
family, to work at the ABC (where
she met her good friend Susannah
Carr) and then returned to Seven
Perth. She has not budged, despite
overtures from other organisations,
including Nine’s 60 Minutes.
Newman left Nine in 1967 after a
disagreement with management and
“was unemployed for two days”
before being approached by Max
Bostock to join Seven Perth. “I had
no phone at home and Garry
Meadows knocked on my door when
he heard I’d left Nine,” he said.
Their careers have been
divergent, their experiences
disparate, linked by solid friendship
and their loyalty to TVW-7.
Newman’s long, varied and
illustrious career encompassed such
programs as Reach for the Stars, It’s
Academic and, from 1968, Telethon,
for which he was presenter for 37
years. He was also a newsreader and
in 1982 became Seven Perth’s
weatherman, a position he held
until retirement in 2009. Between
1978 and 1991 Fan was his
newsreading colleague.
She was, she thinks, initially
assigned “the fluffy stuff ”, the
lightweight material. But she proved
her worth time and again with the
heavy stuff. Not much different from
the Daily News really, she recalls,
where she was constrained to
fashion and the social pages and a
column called The Scene, about a
young woman’s view of lifestyle
issues.
“It was case of doing the job better
and working harder,” she says, as it
was for many women then. She
began Seven Perth’s court coverage,
which led her to many landmark
Perth crime stories.
In Telethon’s early years, Newman
was in charge of finding the talent to
fill up the 24-hour telecast.
“One year, I ran out of acts at
2.30am,” he says. “There was a
gaping hole until 6am, when the
kids’ stuff started.” Some swift
talking with the remaining
performers and they stayed on the
job, going through their material
again and again.
Over coffee and hilarity, the
memories keep coming. The things
that went wrong, the things that
went surprisingly right. The things
the public never saw. The frankly
awful Telethon guests, the laborious
technology of the early days. And
the particular joy in being part of an
emerging industry which ran on
passion and a love of the job.
They have seen the rapid changes
in technology, from film to video and
the end of splicing, the emergence of
live crosses and the end of the
necessity for “line of sight” with the
Bickley transmitter before pictures
could be sent.
They were there when our screens
magically turned from black-andwhite to colour and Newman recalls
how premier Sir Charles Court was
prevailed on to flick a switch which
flooded the screen with colour for
the first time.
He was also production manager
at TVW-7, making Spellbound with
Martin St James and doing a deal
with Alexandra the Great 48 (never
heard of her, never mind . . .) to
introduce movies for men in the late
hours. And there was Perth’s New
he
Faces, Letterbox and What in the
World. Add the beauty pageants, the
one-off programs, the community
events and his place in the birth of
television in this State is assured.
It is a particular joy that, after so
many years of doing stories of bad
people doing bad things, Fan has
turning her attention to Today
Tonight and some of the State’s most
generous individuals.
“We had no mobile phones, of
course,” she says of those early days.
“It was a matter of finding a public
phone booth to communicate with
the station.
“Then we had pagers but we
couldn’t use them because Nine
could listen in. Then we had those
brick-sized mobile phones.”
She can lay solid claim to being
one of the country’s most
experienced TV news gatherers,
covering the toughest stories going
in WA, including royal commissions
and the trials of former premiers
Brian Burke and Ray O’Connor. She
also covered the Birnie murders and
the Claremont serial killings. And,
long before that, while working in
the US she was tear-gassed during
anti-Vietnam War protests.
In 1989 she had the extraordinary
experience of having a million
dollars’ worth of gold sent to her at
Seven Perth, an odd sequel to the
stories she’d done on one of the
city’s most famous stories, the trial
of the Mickelberg brothers for the
Perth Mint swindle.
Her hardest live cross lingers in
her memory.
‘I was on the top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong during the
British handover to the Chinese, filming the royal yacht in
the harbour. Two cameramen were holding on to my
ankles so I wouldn’t topple over.’
ALISON FAN
mo
na
k
he
o
ost
ys.
c
23
since the first newspaper was printed
136 Years
under The West Australian masthead
5
4
“I was on the top of a skyscraper
in Hong Kong during the British
handover to the Chinese, filming the
royal yacht in the harbour,” Fan
says. “Two cameramen were holding
on to my ankles so I wouldn’t topple
over.”
She is, she says, hopeless with
heights and suffers from vertigo.
She’s banned helicopters from her
mode of transport, too, after several
nasty incidents, including a slide
down an embankment which caused
her to throw up.
Her numerous awards include the
AJA Journalist of the Year Award,
Perth Press Club Award and Daily
News Centenary Prize.
For his part, Newman, a Telethon
Trustee who is heavily involved in
the development of the soon-to-open
Telethon Juvenile Diabetes Family
Centre, has five Logies and an Order
of Australia to his name.
4. Jeff Newman
on Telethon in
the mid-1970s.
5. Alison Fan with
an Arriflex 16mm
cine-camera.
- Congratulations Seven Perth From Ron (Dingo) Reddingius and all the people who have worked on Home in WA for more
than 15 years! Channel Seven’s support over our 511 episodes has been much appreciated.
M: 0417 279 103 E: dingoistalent@bigpond.com
I reflect fondly on my years at TVW 7. My career there began when I
was a young 18 year old in 1969. TV was black and white back then
and I started out working in the Video Tapes section and the other
technology we used was called Telecine. My supervisor was Kevin
Campbell. This provided an excellent grounding for me as I was so
young and as was the way back then, you learnt starting from the
ground up and from the best people. The corridors of the old building
was always abuzz with activity as most of the productions were live
in the studios.
g
ns
he
nd
In Perth Tonight, Stars of The Future, It’s Academic, Children’s
Channel Seven and so many more programmes and telecasts were
produced in those studios. Over the years, the 7 team produced
the Bath Tub Races and Birdman Rallies at Yanchep Sun City. The
Speedway was very popular and we did live outside broadcasts
almost weekly. The nightly news was shot on film and edited and
processed in time for the evening bulletin. Great skill was needed
when the splices failed.
y
t
The programmes were produced onto huge reels which contained
two inch wide video tapes which arrived from all over the world.
l
Clockwise from left: On the
roof of Castledare Boys Town
checking the link back to the
studio. Ron recording the
Speedway on 2 inch Video
Tape. Focused on producing
special promos for the 30th year
celebrations. Signing the yearly
Master Builders partnership with
director Michael McLean.
What great times they were and how lucky I was to develop and build
a career at 7. Every day was different.
Over my 40+ years with 7 Perth I’ve made lifelong friends, seen many
pass, but the soul of Seven Perth remains strong because of the
connection with community.
I take this opportunity again to congratulate Channel Seven Perth and
The West Australian newspaper on this milestone of moving back
together and a new era beginning.
From all the team at HOME in WA we wish you all the very best.
Television Programmes | TV Commercials
Corporate Videos
www.homeinwa.com.au
24
since Alison Fan and Susannah Carr were the
first women in Australia to jointly read a news bulletin
29 Years
7
On the record
Crowds gather
outside The West
Australian offices
in August 1914 as
war is declared
between Britain
and Germany.
Television technicians George Baker, left, and Ray Walsh install a camera at the
TVW-7 Tuart Hill studios in the late 1950s.
Da
Fa
Printers feed reels of newsprint into the presses in the basement of old Newspaper House in St Georges
Terrace, Perth.
Th
TWN-7’s pioneering weatherman Vin Walsh chalks his map for his final appearance
in 1962.
TVW-7 cameraman and former photographer with The West Australian, Tom Hall, in the field.
A
n
25
highest number of pages ever
716 The
published on November 17, 2007
st
es
as
Alison Fan hands over the Perth Mint gold bar she received in the mail to Inspector Bill Chilvers in 1989.
David Farr reads the news and film editor Jim Healy changes records, cued by Darcy
Farrell, during a review being recorded at old Newspaper House.
TWN-7 tests are carried out on a television set in the aircraft
of Capt. J. Woods, 3000 feet above Perth.
Sketch of convicted murderer Eric Edgar
Cooke by staff artist Norman Aisbett.
Congratulations
Channel 7
The City of Stirling congratulates Channel 7 on its relocation to the
commercial centre of Osborne Park. We are delighted Seven West Media
has taken the opportunity to remain within the City’s boundaries and base
its state-of-the-art media house in this key strategic metropolitan centre.
The Sandover Medal count at TVW-7 in 1964 — the first to be aired from a TV studio.
A linotype machine operator at work at The West Australian.
No other location in Western Australia has a mixture of established
employment, land and the potential for further expansion to grow local jobs
and the economy. Great step forward Channel 7!
26
of newsprint
50,000 Tonnes
are used annually
9
A
Ru
ma
co
ar
de
vie
be
co
me
div
gr
ra
80
re
Seven Perth’s Mario D’Orazio.
Picture: Michael Wilson
New door opens
for advertisers
The emergence of Seven West Media
as a multi-platform organisation
creates a raft of new opportunities
for advertisers.
Seven Perth managing director
Mario D’Orazio says audiences and
readers are becoming more
demanding and more sophisticated.
To reach them requires an intelligent,
carefully balanced strategy.
“Bringing Seven and The West
together again vastly improves an
advertiser’s capacity to make the
necessary impact,” he says. “Our suite
of platforms is the answer for the
‘new normal’ in the digital age.”
According to The West’s sales
director David Bignold, in an
increasingly competitive and
fragmented media landscape,
traditional media brands continue to
perform.
“The West Australian is one of the
cornerstone brands of Seven West
Media, driving the daily news agenda
and shaping public opinion in WA,” he
says.
But now the company is anything
but traditional.
“As part of Seven West Media WA,
The West Australian, thewest.com.au
and Seven Perth work together with
our advertisers to create
multichannel campaigns that connect
with the right people, at the right
time in the right environments,” he
says. “ It’s all about leveraging our
assets and advanced targeting and
data capabilities to ensure your
campaign is relevant and actionable
to your core-market segments.”
“The fully integrated SWM allows
access to the dynamic WA market —
across print, digital, television, radio,
Google, social media, events and,
most recently, personalised customer
connections through advanced data
capabilities (RedFusion).”
He says the paper is leading the
way in audience delivery, innovative
creative executions, award-winning
colour reproduction and out-of-thebox, cross-platform advertising
solutions.
“Our message is simple, we’re open
for business with a fully integrated
offering and we look forward to
partnering with you to achieve the
best return on your advertising
investment,” he says.
‘Our suite of platforms is
the answer for the “new
normal” in the digital age.’
MARIO D’ORAZIO
lis
Ba
tow
re
ga
an
av
We
Bu
Ni
pr
fut
th
Blue sky for aviation guru
ABOVE: Geoffrey
Thomas in the
777 simulator at
Flight City in
Jandakot. Picture:
Ian Munro
RIGHT: Qantas
chief executive
Alan Joyce chats
to Thomas last
year. Picture:
Robert Duncan
The West Australian’s aviation
editor Geoffrey Thomas is already a
well-known face to Seven Network
watchers from his frequent analyses
of the airline industry and
particularly his reports on the
major airline disasters of last year.
Now, he thinks, his working life
will change in many positive ways.
“It’s very convenient for us all to
be in one spot,” he said. “Now, we’re
truly thinking in a multimedia way
and we can dovetail our reporting,
expanding the written stuff with a
visual element.
“We will all start to think about
stories in a different way. I’m
probably the oldest journalist in the
building and I think this move
really focuses our attention on how
to cover a story on the many levels
now available to us.”
His work with both The West and
Seven Network, including on
Sunrise, on the missing and downed
planes last year shows how
effectively a “words and pictures”
approach works, expanding
information which can be given to
readers and viewers in an accessible
way. With more minds working
together there are, quite simply,
more minds to bring ideas to the
table.
“This is now the best newsroom in
the country,” he said. “We have a
great roster of really good
journalists at The West and a team of
great professionals at Seven.”
Thomas is particularly
enamoured of the new superdesk
arrangement, where heads of all
departments sit together all day. He
thinks that’s where a new level of
energy has come from, inspired by
the instant communication that is
now possible.
“There’s been a significant change
in the level of energy with the
arrival, too,” he said, first with the
arrival of the superdesk system.
“And that went up a notch with
the arrival of the Seven staff. There
are some interesting characters
coming in!”
He sees more print journalists
becoming increasingly comfortable
following in his footsteps and
crossing to television, even if only to
film “a grab” to promote a
newspaper story.
Skynews, with whom he also
works frequently, is another new
arrival to Newspaper House, further
streamlining his working life. “Now
I can just walk across the corridor
to do a grab for them,” he said.
News was now an instant
business, he said, and also a
multimedia business across all
platforms, from print, TV, radio,
online and social media, and being
able to respond to those demands is
imperative. “We have simply become
more efficient, more focused at
doing what we do,” he said.
There is an attraction, too, in
being part of the giant leap into the
first integrated newsroom in
Australia, the first to adopt a truly
cross-platform presence.
‘There’s been a significant change in the
level of energy with the arrival, too.’
GEOFFREY THOMAS AVIATION EDITOR
als
th
sto
co
u
27
number of radio licences owned
9 The
by Seven West Media in regional WA
A very big footprint
Russell Waterman, network sale
manager for Redwave Media, has a
constant reminder of the new
arrival at Newspaper House. His
desk on the top floor gives him a fine
view of the new transmission tower.
It’s happy reminder, though,
because it is evidence of increasing
co-operation between the three
media organisations. Redwave, a
division of the Seven West Media
group, is geographically the biggest
radio network in Australia, covering
80 per cent of the State with three
regional radio networks.
RedFM and The Spirit have
listeners from Wyndham to Bremer
Bay, broadcasting to regional WA
towns, a bewildering number of
remote mine sites and some oil and
gas platforms, agricultural areas
and tourism centres. The Spirit is
available in the South West.
“We already have some of The
West’s sporting people — Steve
Butler, Mark Duffield and Craig
Nitschke — contributing to our
programs and we hope that in the
future we will also be able to tap into
the resources of Seven,” he said.
He said that the radio network
also worked with regional papers in
the SWM group, cross-promoting
stories where possible.
He said the network was
considering a magazine-style
program, in association with The
West’s lifestyle sections. Also on the
drawing board was a travel segment.
“And we already use Nick
Bruining (a regular in The West and
on Seven) for finance segments.
RedFM targets the younger, 18-39
age group, including 29,000 fly-in,
fly-out workers and Spirit the older
30-54-year-olds.
Advertising can be tailored to suit
particular markets, with a staff of 38
spread across the network in
Bunbury, Geraldton, Karratha, Port
Hedland and Broome. Redwave’s
combined reach is about 300,000
listeners.
Apart from the South West, all
networks are exclusive commercial
services in the regions.
RedFM’s Robbie
Klitzing, left, and
Adam McGuire.
Congratulations
er
w
CONGRATULATIONS FROM NOVA 93.7
from
Nova 93.7, the radio station with the most listeners in Perth,
FM Global
g
s
me
e
congratulates The West Australian,
the newspaper with the most readers,
and Channel Seven,
FM Global is proud to partner with Seven West Media,
providing
innovative
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17032
nt
28
per second is the top speed of the
web press at the Herdsman Print Centre
12 Metres
Fundraising opportunities
open up for Telethon
STEVE MUMMERY
QIPC – EAE ARE PROUD
to be part of the KBA project at Seven West Media Limited in
Osborne Park (NZ).
s Optimizing printing proces automation
s Consistent high print quality
s Savings on waste, and labour
s0D[LPXPHIÀFLHQF\
www.qipc.com
www.eae.com
which helps those with a disability
to reach their potential in the pool.
The chief executive of Telethon is
Steve Mummery who, with his two
full-time staff members and two
part-timers, have made the move to
Osborne Park.
The joining of the two companies,
he says, has already paid off for
Telethon’s bottom line.
“The West takes care of our
Telethon Annual Tallyboard Result
$25,000,000
rig
As
Te
jam
wh
to
we
as
of
de
for
ra
ye
4
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$25,271,542
$20,701,272
$0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
$16,805,622
$13,473,159
$9,237,539
$6,374,375
$7,535,678
$6,527,576
$5,000,000
$3,217,437
$10,000,000
$3,017,000
‘The joining of the two companies has
already paid off for Telethon’s bottom line.’
the generosity of West Australians.
Visiting celebrities, including
Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Jackson,
Stevie Wonder, Julian Lennon,
Harry Connick Jr and Elton John,
lent the appeal their support, too, as
did a very long list of local and
national performers and celebrities.
The total flipped over the annual
$1 million mark in 1980 and in 2014
raised more than $25 million.
The combined $180 million raised
is now administered by a charitable
trust, chaired by Kerry Stokes,
chairman of Seven Network, for
children’s social and medical
research and support. Its
beneficiaries are the Telethon Kids
Institute, Princess Margaret
Hospital, Telethon Speech and
Hearing Centre and about 40 other
medical and social charities.
These offer support for children
and young adults with cystic
fibrosis, cerebral palsy, autism and
arthritis, as well as those being
helped by organisations such as
Camp Quality for cancer patients,
Legacy for children who have lost a
loved one to war and Superfins WA,
$2,867,467
Telethon. It had humble enough
beginnings back in 1968 when the
late Brian Treasure, TVW-7’s first
general manager, went to a
supportive board with the idea of a
24-hour appeal to raise money for
the community.
While it has changed significantly
in the intervening 46 years, the
essence of Telethon remains
constant. It now runs for two days, it
outgrew the studios at Tuart Hill
and now is telecast from the Perth
Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Brian Treasure’s son Bret, just a
boy when the first Telethon went to
air, says it was the first time he’d
seen his father cry, when it emerged
that the inaugural appeal would
raise more than $100,000. In fact, the
appeal went even better and the first
total was $104,829.
The community embraced
Telethon, taking enormous pride in
books,” he says, “and also human
resources matters. It created our
website and keeps it up to date. All
these things help us keep our
overheads down and put more
money into Telethon. Seven
provides us with office space.”
There are also greater
opportunities to promote the
various Telethon activities across
the radio, online, magazine, digital
and print platforms.
As well, one of The West’s
fundraising events, the HBF Run for
a Reason, is now a joint effort and
this year Telethon has the naming
1
2012 2013 2014
On behalf of everyone at the Fremantle Dockers,
we wish Channel 7 Perth and The West
Australian all the best in the next exciting phase
of their rich history.
1. M
2.
is a
3.
4.
Gr
e
l
or
t
29
annually gives The West Australian
10,000,000 Kilometres
the biggest distribution run in the world
1
2
rights to the Freeway Bike Hike for
Asthma, with funds going to
Telethon.
Mr Mummery’s whiteboard is
jam-packed with the Telethon events
which happen throughout the year,
to culminate in the October 17-18
weekend telecast.
The money raised by Telethon is
astounding, particularly the extent
of the annual increases in the past
decade or so.
Mr Mummery has only one hope
for each year’s appeal: “That we
raise one dollar more than last
year,” he says.
3
4
4
1. Michael Jackson visits sick children at PMH.
2. Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin meets Telethon child Patrick Majewski, who
is a massive Wildcats fan. Picture: Nic Ellis
3. The panel celebrates the final tally at Telethon 2014. Picture: Ben Crabtree
4. A Telethon Golden Moment from the first Telethon in 1968 when Johnny O’Keefe,
Graham Kennedy, Bobby Limb and Stuart Wagstaff shed their shirts for a dare.
Great things happen
when smart people
collaborate.
Congratulations to Seven West Media from OMD (WA)
and all the people we love to work with.
30
year Seven West Media was created through the acquisition
2011 The
of Seven Media Group by West Australian Newspapers
1
Food for thought
Broadfield and
video journalist
Clarissa Phillips.
Picture: Kate
Ferguson
If a fat, bald, 55-year-old bloke can
work in television, says The West’s
acclaimed food writer Rob
Broadfield, anyone can. It’s his way
of encouraging any reporter who
might be harbouring reservations
about baring themselves for the
television camera.
Not that the partnership between
the two organisations is his first
experience of TV. He was a cadet on
Brisbane’s Courier Mail,
coincidentally owned by the Seven
Network, and the transition between
print and television was common
enough.
Admitting also to a deep love of
radio, he thinks he’s come full circle
now, with his regular appearances
on Today Tonight and more options
being discussed for the future.
They include cooking segments,
which might appear as single
segments or be packaged into some
kind of program. It’s what he
describes as “the perfect storm” of
opportunity and an exciting way
forward for the industry which is,
he thinks, finding a place in a new
age.
It helps that interest in food has
grown into a new dimension, with a
great deal of television, magazine
and newspaper space devoted to it.
When food knowledge in the shape
of the aforementioned unlikely
television star can be shared both in
newspapers and on television, the
planets have truly aligned.
“And it’s great fun, too,” he said, of
his forays into television which, if
Today Tonight’s ratings are an
indicator, show a liking for him
among viewers.
One of his proudest moments,
though, is the Telethon Dinner with
Rob Broadfield, now preparing for
its fourth year.
What started as a discussion over
“a few sherbets” with the Hawaiian
Group’s Russell Gibbs, last year saw
the Telethon total boosted by a
staggering $350,000. Which, by way
of comparison, is more than three
times the total raised in the first
Telethon in 1968.
The event has grown since the
first such dinner raised $125,000.
Now it is held over a weekend, with
Perth’s prominent and
philanthropic businesspeople flying
to Broome’s Cable Beach Club
Resort & Spa for a weekend of
culinary indulgence, fine wines and
fundraising.
Last year, chef Neil Perry created
a dinner for the event and there was
fierce bidding for auction items
across the weekend.
Chefs, apart from Perry, who have
been involved include Guillaume
Brahimi, Adriano Zumbo, David
Coomer and Peter Manifis.
Life through a lens
Among the many, many stories Seven
News’ former head cameraman Bob
Goodall has in his professional history, one
has been brought back into sharp focus by
events in Bali. He was in Malaysia in 1986
for the execution of drug smugglers Kevin
Barlow and Brian Chambers.
Chambers was from Perth and the
men’s trial, conviction and sentencing to
death by hanging had attracted enormous
attention. Goodall, who started with
Seven News in 1978, had followed the
story at different times during the twoyear legal process and had come to know
the resolute mothers of the men.
Goodall, whose career spanned 28
years with Seven, still remembers the
“appalling Pudu Prison” where the men
died, built in the 19th century for 700
prisoners and, at that time, holding 6000.
He captured some of the most graphic
images of the men’s death when their
bare-footed bodies arrived at the morgue.
On a happier note, he was also in South
Africa for Nelson Mandela’s election, a
visit which resulted in a favourite piece of
footage, a joyful, purple-clad Desmond
Tutu dancing gaily in celebration.
He was in Seven’s helicopter one day,
following a car chase near Williams, when
he thought the pilot had got a bit close to
the treetops. There was a bit of a thump
and a wobble and, when he managed to
look out, a pine tree had taken a bit of a
haircut.
“The next day a bloke came to the
station with a 2m lump of pine in the back
of his ute. He thought we’d like it as a
souvenir,” Goodall recalls gleefully.
He’s been a war cameraman in the
Middle East, was based for the Seven
Network in Los Angeles for a period,
covered Olympic and Commonwealth
Games, was chief-of-staff at Seven and
worked so often, and squabbled so
familiarly with Alison Fan, that someone
once asked her what it was like working
with her husband.
And then there was the Mickelberg
story, surely one of the most remarkable
events in the State’s criminal history. It
was Goodall who found 55kg of the 86kg
of gold stolen from the Perth Mint in 1982
and delivered mysteriously to Channel 7 in
Tuart Hill in 1989.
The Mickelberg brothers, Ray and Peter,
Pil
Thursday Marc
Scenic
Plans afoo
lookout fe
PAGE 3
Ro
■ Glenn Cordingl
Cattle roamin
Broome and De
volved in 32 veh
the past five ye
fatality and a
medical attentio
Eighteen Kim
were recorded o
ern Highway, 12
and two on Broo
And 68 of the d
removed from t
of road at the
Roads — apart f
way — from Jun
Roadh
after K
■ Gareth McKnig
The owners of
Roadhouse are
bull by the horn
new eye-catchin
herd.
After an eigh
life-size Brahma
rived at the roa
seas last month
pride of place in
Co-owner Mat
the pair, one gr
brown, had caus
customers since
“Brahmans ar
gion,” he told Th
er.
“We initially w
out the front bu
were too good t
they have found
bar.
“The reaction
far. It’s been pr
Food writer Rob Broadfield, at home in the kitchen. Picture: Iain Gillespie
‘If a fat, bald, 55-year-old bloke can work in television
anyone can. And it’s great fun, too.’
ROB BROADFIELD
had been charged, convicted and
exonerated with stealing the gold. But the
gold was still missing.
One afternoon Fan, who had covered
the trials closely, showed Goodall a letter
she’d just received which said they should
“look for the stolen gold behind the
hangar”. Initially they thought of Jandakot
airport but Goodall thought he’d have a
wander around the staion’s helicopter
hangar. Fan says she didn’t want to ruin
her pink suede shoes and let him go
alone.
And there it was, in oil drums — and
Goodall’s initial fear was that close rivals
and near neighbours at Channel 9 might
see what was going on and ruin an
exclusive. In the event, the police ruined it
by holding a 4.30pm press conference
and showing off the pelletised gold.
And no, he says, firmly, neither he nor
Fan had a claim on the gold, valued then
at more than $3 million.
“The Mint gave us a silver dump, valued
at $50, for our trouble.”
Despite Goodall’s devotion to all things
television, he finds the integrated
newsroom an exciting development.
“I think the joint newsroom is a great
thing,” he said.
“It adds value. More journalists, more
resources — you end up with a better
result.”
Alison Fan and Bob Goodall at the spot where 55kg of
gold pellets from the Perth Mint swindle were hidden.
31
year Countryman
1885 The
was established
Regional input
The news-gathering footprint across
rural and regional WA is growing.
Regional publications editor
Laura Morris believes it’s a case of
more eyes looking more widely into
rural and regional news.
Morris, who co-ordinates The
West’s northern newspapers from
Newspaper House, said reporters in
the regions were already filing to
thewest.com.au and, where possible,
provided video for Seven News.
“We are also working with
Redwave (Media) in crosspromotional ideas,” she said.
The benefit of being in the same
building cannot be underestimated.
“It’s so good for our young
reporters, who do it hard in their
regions, to be able to work more
closely with the best in the business.
Pilbara News reporter Tom Zaunmayr. Picture: Peter de Kruijff
Readership 19,100
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Thursday March 5, 2015 broomead.com.au
7724 weekly to Broome, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Kununurra
$1.10*(inc. GST)
In a flap
Action
Shorebirds
documented
PAGE 4
Fighters in
Arnold Classic
PAGE 23
Rogue cattle pose threat
■ Glenn Cordingley
Cattle roaming free between
Broome and Derby have been involved in 32 vehicle accidents over
the past five years, including one
fatality and another requiring
medical attention.
Eighteen Kimberley Brahmans
were recorded on the Great Northern Highway, 12 on Derby Highway
and two on Broome Highway.
And 68 of the dead animals were
removed from the same stretches
of road at the expense of Main
Roads — apart from Broome Highway — from June, 2013, to October,
2014. The figures released by
Transport Minister Dean Nalder
in State Parliament have prompted
local police to warn that stray cows
were a “reality” and have urged
motorists to exercise caution.
Derby police officer-in-charge
David Dench said the most effective way to avoid potential accidents with the beasts was to obey
the speed limit and not drive while
under fatigue.
“This has become a reality in our
region,” he said.
Broome resident Sam Bettess
had a lucky escape last July when
his four-wheel-drive struck a cow
about 8pm on the Great Northern
Highway.
“I was towing a boat and had the
wife and our two kids in the vehicle. It was a very scary experience,” he said.
In response to questions from
MLC Robin Chapple in State Parliament, Mr Nalder revealed the
owner of the animals was unknown.
He said adjoining pastoral leases
were Yeeda, Roebuck Plains and
Mowanjum as well as unallocated
crown land.
Mr Chapple said Main Roads and
the Pastoral Land Board should be
doing more to ensure pastoralists
carried out proper maintenance of
their fences, especially on major
thoroughfares such as the Great
Northern Highway.
But Mr Nalder said fenced
properties have been known to be
damaged by storms, fires or by
the cattle themselves or by gates
being left open for extended
periods of time.
He said all Pastoral Lands
Board directives and notices
were issued with regard to specific
circumstances of the case and
would prevail until the board
was satisfied — a process he admit-
ted that could take “several years”.
“The time it takes for lessees to
comply also varies and can take
anywhere between one month and
several years,” Mr Nalder said.
Mr Chapple said the statistics
did not paint an accurate picture of
the sheer number of cattle roaming
free over this section of highway or
the risk to drivers.
“I recently received a report of
97 cattle counted in just one
morning on one small section of
the Great Northern Highway,” he
said.
៑ CONTINUED PAGE 2
Roadhouse bulls named
after Kimberley croc man
■ Gareth McKnight
The owners of Roebuck Plains
Roadhouse are keen to grab the
bull by the horns in 2015 with two
new eye-catching additions to the
herd.
After an eight-month wait, two
life-size Brahman bull replicas arrived at the roadhouse from overseas last month and have taken
pride of place in the venue’s bar.
Co-owner Matt Sharpe admitted
the pair, one grey and the other
brown, had caused quite a stir with
customers since arriving.
“Brahmans are iconic in the region,” he told The Broome Advertiser.
“We initially wanted to put them
out the front but we thought they
were too good to leave outside, so
they have found a new home in the
bar.
“The reaction has been great so
far. It’s been pretty funny seeing
the kids sitting on their backs for a
photo.”
Brahmans were introduced into
the west Kimberley last century in
an attempt to breed cattle better
suited to the sub-tropical environment and are now symbolic in the
North West.
Matt, Brooke and Leeland
Sharpe took over the roadhouse,
which is 30km east of Broome, last
May and sparked a recent debate
on Facebook after the Brahmans’
arrival.
With photos posted online, suggestions for names for the two new
additions came in thick and fast
from the Broome community.
However, despite the array of
submissions Matt said the final decision was a popular choice among
the roadhouse staff.
Named after famous Broome
crocodile fanatic and wildlife documentary maker, Malcolm and
Douglas have found new pastures.
kalminer.com.au
Monday, March 9, 2015
Starlight
Sport
Indian residents
celebrate with
splash of colour
Charitable meet
to raise money
for Foundation
Kalgoorlie
College gear up
for Metro Cup
PAGE 3
GOLD $US1168.70 ់ $AU1514.23់
PAGE 16
PAGE 7
NICKEL $US6.4773៌
ASX 5898.9 ■
CURRENCY $AU1 = US 0.77194់ EU 0.71194៌ UK 0.51331៌
VICIOUS DOG ATTACK
■ Tegan Guthrie
A Boulder family marking the first
anniversary of their daughter’s
death has been left further devastated, after the beloved pet cat
they adopted shortly after the tragedy was mauled to death by two
stray dogs.
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Rangers are currently searching for
the dogs, described as tan and dark
coloured “staffys”, which killed
“Kitty” and a blue heeler cross in
separate attacks in South Boulder
on Friday morning.
Speaking to the Kalgoorlie Miner, Lauren Copping said the attack
came shortly after her partner left
for work and let their cat out into
the yard.
“She had been out there for all of
five minutes … there are scratch
marks all on the pavement near
our front door so it looks like she
wanted to come inside and they
cornered her,” she said.
“When I ran out there they both
had hold of her and were ripping
her, there was blood everywhere
and she was gasping for air and fitting.”
Ms Copping said the dogs
dragged the cat along the footpath
to the front of a neighbouring
house.
CACTUS BUSTERS
Bull rider Harry Sharpe, 2, fuels up at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse with help from Jess Leete. Picture: Gareth McKnight
A West Australian Newspapers publication
Holi day
Meet the team
tasked with
battling the
prickly
infestation
plaguing
Willi
t
“I felt so helpless, I got a towel
and wrapped her up and sat at the
front door crying as she passed
away in my arms,” she said.
Kitty first turned up at Ms Copping’s house last year, just three
months after her seven-month-old
daughter Zara passed away.
After the cat refused to leave, and
no owner came forward, Kitty became part of the family, providing
comfort for Ms Copping and her
partner after their sad loss.
“I was already feeling for Zara
this morning, and then to have this
happen to Kitty, who came to us so
close after her passing, it’s just too
much,” she said.
“It brought back so many memories of Zara because Zara passed
away in our arms and Kitty passed
away in my arms in a world of pain
this morning.”
CKB Ranger Service co-ordinator Mike Molyneux said limited descriptions and information of the
attacks were available and urged
anyone who could assist to come
forward.
“The City takes these incidents
very seriously, as the safety of the
community is at risk while these
dogs remain unfound which leads
to the risk of further incidents occurring,” he said.
He said there had been 45 report-
ed dog attacks of varying severity
in the current financial year.
“The City has seen a number of
serious attacks, defined as ones
that cause injury or damage to a
person or animal, however these
dogs have been captured and dealt
with,” Mr Molyneux said.
“There have been six dog attacks, including these two attacks,
of varying degrees of severity so
far in 2015.”
If you saw or heard anything
which may assist the investigation, or you are missing a dog
that matches any of the descriptions
above,
phone
the
Rangers on 9021 9697.
FASHION
FESTIVAL FACE
FINALISTS
.com.au/swt /
Connect with us online
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of the YEAR
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2013
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013
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Death could change law
Family’s courageous fight set to make sweeping changes to industry
USMAN AZAD
THE death of a Bunbury trades assistant has forced the State Government to propose a major
shake-up of the electrical industry.
EnergySafety, the State Government department tasked with ensuring safe practices in the sector,
Jay dreads
the day he
loses his hair
CHLOE VELLINGA
WITH less than a week to go until
the World’s Greatest Shave, nerves
are building for Australind man
Jay Jenkinson as he gets ready to
shave off his precious dreadlocks.
Mr Jenkinson’s long locks began
at 13 when he was “lazy and lacking the motivation” to brush his
hair, resulting in a matted mess.
Now 28, Mr Jenkinson has decided to step up and take part in the
World’s Greatest Shave alongside
workmate Harley Kemp, who lost
his mother to cancer last year.
Mr Jenkinson and wife Samara
met when they were 15 years old, so
she has never seen him without his
dreadlocks.
“I’ve been hoping he would do it
for a long time, but I am quite
proud he has chosen this event,”
Mrs Jenkinson said.
Mr Jenkinson has already exceeded his original target of $1500
and is now hoping to raise $3000 for
the charity event.
The Bunbury Forum will hold a
shave event from 11am to 12pm on
has proposed to ban work on live
circuits which would force electricians to either isolate circuits or
turn off the power before starting
work on almost all projects.
The proposal follows the death of
18-year-old Jayden Zappelli, who
died while working in the roof of an
East Bunbury home in 2013.
He died after his supervising
electrician did not make sure the
power was isolated before work began.
EnergySafety announced it
would look at the change following
the South Western Times publishing the Zappelli family’s impassioned plea on February 12.
Jayden’s father, Greg, who has
been campaigning for changes to
the law to prevent another death,
said it was a positive step.
“But we still have a way to go,” he
said.
Jayden’s uncle and former electrician Mark Zappelli said the immediate focus of any law change
They can see where their careers
might one day go.”
Seven West Media’s regional
stable of 22 titles includes the
125-year-old rural bible
Countryman.
Editor Ray Chan also sees many
mutual benefits emerging from the
union with Seven News.
He thinks his team’s knowledge of
rural affairs could easily be mined
by Today Tonight, for instance, in
the case of a big rural or
agricultural issue, as it could to add
comment to a news event.
A former ABC reporter, he has no
fear of television and thinks the
possibility of cross-promoting
across all platforms is an exciting
one.
He thinks that a regular segment
A West Australian Newspapers publication
$1.50
BUNBURY
BOY’S
NBL
DREAM
Go mobile
with your local
newspaper
Established 1895
A West Australian Newspapers publication $1.60
Scenic
Plans afoot for
lookout feature
PAGE 3
A West Australian Newspapers publication
Established 1888
NEWSPAPER
on
should be on the residential sector
rather than the complex industrial
sector.
The family is pushing for the
mandatory installation of RCDs –
an electrical safety device – in all
homes.
៑ CONTINUED PAGE 4
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
:HI67A>H=:9&---
Good news
History
All-clear message
celebrated
Farming artefacts
preserved
PAGE 3
PAGE 5
albanyadvertiser.com.au
ESTABLISHED 1885 Vol. 131 No. 6310
Shopping centre in limbo
■ Toyah Shakespeare
The Bayonet Head Shopping Centre project — stalled for more than
two years — hangs in the balance
as negotiations between the City of
Albany and Cuscuna Nominees remain as tangled as ever.
Open since January 2013, a Woolworths supermarket remains the
only store trading in the centre.
The two parties remain embroiled in a Supreme Court case after the City appealed a magistrate’s decision.
Also, Cuscuna Nominees has appealed a Great Southern Joint Development Assessment Panel ret-
Stars shine
at sports
awards
Robert Cridge, Steve
Hurley and Blake
Watson were among
the local sports stars
honoured at the 2014
Albany Sportsperson of
the Year Awards on
Friday night. Cridge
won the disability
category, while
Hurley won a record
sixth senior title and
Watson was crowned
junior winner. Absent
veteran winner Rob
Slattery was the overall
Sportsperson of the
Year.
REPORT BACK PAGE
Picture: Malcolm Heberle
rospective planning decision in
the State Administrative Tribunal.
The Bayonet Head Pharmacy
has been unable move to a new
shop in the centre after they originally expected to in February 2013.
The Terry White franchisee is
suing Cuscuna Nominees for
breach of contract and it is understood stock for the new store had to
be sold to other pharmacies, while
other products have expired.
City planning and development
services executive director Dale
Putland said the dispute related to
aspects of the centre’s construction not complying with planning
directives.
“The City is disappointed with
the ongoing delays but remains optimistic a resolution will be reached and the shopping centre will be
able to fully operate,” he said.
Mr Putland said the City prosecuted Cuscuna Nominees, alleging it breached the original planning approval several times.
Albany Magistrate’s Court ruled
Cuscuna Nominees had no case to
answer in May last year and the
City has appealed the verdict in the
Supreme Court, which is yet to
make a decision.
Mr Putland said the centre was
unable to be fully occupied until
fire safety issues were addressed,
A WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS PUBLICATION
$1.30
February 19, 2015
countryman.com.au ᔢ $1.90
SEE PAGE 8
and Cuscuna Nominees has taken
the issue of fire safety requirements to the SAT.
He said Cuscuna Nominees
agreed to install alternative fire arrangements satisfactory to the
City and Department of Fire and
Emergency Services.
In a separate but related issue,
Cuscuna Nominees lodged an application for retrospective planning approval for the centre, which
was approved by GSJDAP last year
subject to conditions. Cuscuna
Nominees is now appealing these
conditions through the SAT.
Mr Putland said these included
safety works at the Bayonet Head
Road intersection and a public art
contribution.
The City will not know the full legal costs until proceedings are finished, but it is insured.
Cuscuna Nominees managing
director Sam Cuscuna said he was
“extra frustrated” with the stalled
negotiations.
“It’s a service to the community
out there, there are 4000 people in
the area,” he said.
“Minor things have been blown
out of proportion.”
Tell us what you think. Email
subsdesk@albanyadvertiser.com or
send us a letter.
Shutdown
after road
crumbles
■ Jo Fulwood
Concerns raised by opponents of the
Tier 3 rail line shutdowns were
strengthened this week with the
forced closure of the CunderdinQuairading road because of damage
caused by an increased number of
trucks.
Ratepayers in the Cunderdin
Shire could also be hit with a hefty
bill to fix the road, which has been
used to cart almost 30,000 tonnes of
grain since the end of the 2014 harvest.
Under section 3.50 of the Local Government Act, the Shire of Cunderdin has closed the road to heavy
haulage traffic for the maximum period of four weeks.
Shire of Cunderdin president
Clive Gibsone said costings for the
roadworks were yet to be determined but an engineer would provide further information in coming
weeks on the extent of the damage
and the works involved.
He estimated the road had 70
truck movements a day during peak
carting periods, equating to a truck
movement every five to seven min-
utes. “We will be requesting funding
assistance from Main Roads WA
once we receive that report,” he
said.
But Mr Gibsone said since this
was a local road, it was most likely
ratepayers would be forced to foot
the bill.
The public notice issued last week
said the road was closed because of
“severe structural damage to the
road surface and subsurface from
continual heavy movements over
the past week in extreme weather
conditions”.
According to Bureau of Meteorology recordings, the Shire suffered
three days above 42C early last
week.
Mr Gibsone said the extreme hot
weather had exacerbated the road
damage.
Cunderdin farmer Frank O’Hare,
who owns property on both sides the
Cunderdin-Quairading road, said
he had to be particularly careful
when moving sheep and machinery
between his properties.
“I have noticed a considerable in៑ CONTINUED PAGE 3
Cunderdin farmer Frank O’Hare with Shire of Cunderdin president Clive Gibsone and local farmer and shire councillor
Dennis Whisson at a damaged section of the Cunderdin-Quairading road Picture: Jo Fulwood
Broome Advertiser’s Nicola Kalmar and
Gareth McKnight. Picture: Glenn
Cordingley
on radio would be a good way to
promote Countryman in its rural
market, an example of how the
broad range of platforms available
within SWM can be used efficiently.
SWM’s State-wide coverage is
enhanced by affiliate GWN7’s
regional television reporters who
provide material for Seven News
when required.
The arrangement, according to
Seven News Perth director Howard
Gretton, is based on goodwill.
A state-of-the-art headquarters in
Osborne Park co-ordinating an
extensive network of reporters,
photographers and cameramen
means West Australians can access
news from Kununurra to Esperance.
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