Rural reporters take flight

Returning on Tuesday, the students spent ten days travelling throughout the south and central coasts of Vietnam producing in-depth stories designed for radio, TV, print, photojournalism and multimedia websites.

A far cry from their hometowns – Cairns, Boonah, Gympie, Toowoomba and Townsville – these budding young reporters covered stories on pig farming, the dairy industry in Vietnam, improving rice yields, teaching Vietnamese doctors and veterinarians about latest treatments, climate change, malaria elimination and the government’s plans to introduce English-as-a-second language from primary to tertiary learning.

Journalism and Law student Rebecca Campbell said bustling Vietnam painted a totally different picture to her life in Gympie.

“I think I will definitely appreciate life in Australia a lot more after this trip,” she said.

“The clean water we have, the cleanliness of the streets, being able to cross a road in Gympie without fearing for my life. However the pace of life and the energy of Vietnam is incredible.”

While she couldn’t wait to get out of Gympie as a youngster, Rebecca said she now has a heightened appreciation for her peaceful patch – complete with cattle, chooks and a border collie.

“I think what I love most about the region is how beautiful the country around Gympie is: the hills, the peacefulness, the space and the accessibility a small town can offer,” she said.

During her schooling at St Patrick’s in Gympie, Rebecca said her passion for writing blossomed.

“English and humanities subjects had always been my strongest in school and I found I really enjoyed assignments that allowed us to go out and talk to people and investigate different issues,” she said.

“I think that’s when I started to think about studying Journalism and really considered it an option.”

Fellow traveller Thea Halpin said growing up in Townsville ensured she was well acclimatised to Vietnam’s smothering heat.

“HoChi Minh City could not be further from Townsville though,” she said.

“Everything is so packed together and hectic. In Townsville four cars at the traffic lights is considered a lot of traffic so coming to somewhere that has hundreds of motorbikes flying around in hardly any order is madness.”

Aside from Vietnam’s cheap and plentiful beer, Thea said she had most enjoyed meeting her local peers.

“I have loved meeting young people in Vietnam,” she said.

“Vietnam has a really young population so youth culture is really powerful. You can definitely see a lot of progression and transition happening driven by young people.”

Like Rebecca, Thea said travelling to a developing nation has made her grateful to have grown up in Townsville.

“We definitely have a really relaxed vibe up here and an outdoorsy lifestyle,” she said.

“People are so friendly in Townsville and everyone has a connection to everyone. I took it for granted then, but now I think I was so lucky to have such easy access to things like rainforests and the reef.”

Head of the project and senior UQ lecturer Bruce Woolley said the entire program – running for the second time - is designed to be an intensive intercultural immersion.

“We want our students to know how to respond with intelligence, empathy and real understanding to people who come from an entirely different experience,” he said.

“We’re using what’s known as work-integrated learning to give the students the nearest thing to the experience of being a real foreign correspondent.”

Mr Woolley said he couldn’t be more delighted to have so many bush kids on the tour.

“No matter where they come from country kids bring sense and sensibilities to the task of reporting,” he said.

“They usually don’t have airs and graces, they’re smart, they know what they want from their lives and careers and they are straight shooters.

“Those are all quality attributes of great journalists.”

Mr Woolley hailed the role of regional journalists in Australia, and said based on these students, the forecast for rural reporting is bright.

“Australia needs quality reporters everywhere to reflect regional parts of Australia back to the national community,” he said.

“I would go so far as to suggest the most of Australia’s best journalists have spent a good part of their early careers in the bush, and that’s where they’ve learnt their craft.”

Mr Woolley encouraged all young journalists to experience life in regional areas.

“They certainly should be trying to head to the bush for their first jobs, if they’ve got any ambition,” he said.

“That’s where they’ll get a lot more real opportunities to show what they’re made of.”