Q&A with Jackson Graham: Why apply for the William Buckland Foundation Fellowship
Jackson Graham won the William Buckland Foundation Fellowship with The Age in 2020, when he was working for The Standard in Warrnambool, Victoria. In this Q&A, he describes how the Fellowship benefited his career as a regional reporter — and why editors might consider supporting other regional reporters to apply.
Interested in applying for the Fellowship? Learn more and apply here. Entries close 15 November 2023.
Where was your career up to when you applied for the Fellowship?
I’d worked as a regional journalist for three years. My first role was at a tri-weekly, The Colac Herald and when the opportunity came up I was working at The Standard — a daily in Warrnambool. At the time, I had experience reporting on elections, fires and floods. I’d covered local issues spanning a public hospital wrongly charging patients a fee, homelessness during the pandemic, and countless council stories.
How did you persuade your editor to let you do the secondment?
My editor, Greg Best, was supportive of our newsroom taking opportunities to develop skills. I was the second reporter from the paper to do the Fellowship, and I’m extremely grateful he and my former colleagues allowed me to spend the time away.
What were the highlights of your placement with The Age?
I started with a few weeks on breaking news, observing and learning how to chase down and check details for big developing stories. I gained confidence reporting for a statewide audience, and was pleased that my fast-paced skills as a regional reporter translated in a major newsroom. I then joined the city team, and was able to test my local government reporting on stories involving inner city councils. I was able to pitch and deliver several stories based on my regional experience. I teamed up with senior reporters who refined my writing and assisted with contacts.
What was the ‘special editorial project’ you worked on?
Renewable energy projects were changing the landscape and dividing communities in south-west Victoria. Limited grid capacity was also stopping projects from going ahead in areas further away from communities. My project explored multiple sides of this issue, reporting on why farmers supported renewable projects while others feared them encroaching on towns. I also found a trend of projects that had stalled because of unforeseen issues with connecting to the electricity grid as a result of dwindling capacity in the network.
What was the audience impact of that story — for your Warrnambool audience and The Age audience, in your view?
The stories were co-published in The Standard and The Age and I believe helped bring a statewide perspective to a local issue, adding context to the debate. While most of the local coverage was focused on single projects, I explored how the bigger issue of a limited electricity network was influencing where projects were being planned. The story also explored several sides of how this was affecting locals, giving nuance and statewide attention to their concerns.
What insight and experience did you take back to The Standard in Warrnambool?
It helped me become more confident as a writer and reporter to produce stronger stories. The project, for example, helped me write several follow up stories because of the context and contacts I had afterwards. Overall, I learned journalists share plenty in common across newsrooms, big and small. I was also able to share new contacts with my colleagues.
I now work (at The Age) as an Explainer Reporter, where I write long and in-depth pieces on topics that explain the news and the world around us. I benefited from having mentors from the fellowship who helped shape my career.
Why should regional editors support a journalist to do these kinds of secondments?
The opportunity to explore a local issue broadly and in depth will bring context and nuance to local reporting. Overall, it gives a regional reporter the chance to develop their confidence and skills across reporting and writing, or even production and editing skills.
Interested in applying for the William Buckland Foundation Fellowship with The Age? Learn more and apply here. Entries close 15 November 2023.
