Andrew Olle scholarship winner Alice Brennan was a shining example of the best of ABC journalism as she accepted her prize and said a few words before the main speaker Chris Anderson at last week’s Olle Media Lecture.

Brennan is from a “two-pub, two-church two-school town outside Wagga Wagga in the Riverina,” called Coolamon. Until she was 16 she never had a tv in her house but was captivated by the radio.

In her speech she talked about the importance of radio, quality journalism, told a few stories at her own expense and even managed to get in a snipe at Rehame’s ABC election coverage monitoring.

She was also courageous enough to send radioinfo a non-airbrushed, un-posed photo of herself (above). She sent us a photo of herself in pyjamas and fluffy slippers too, but we thought we might leave that look to Kath and Kim.

This is what she had to say in her brief acceptance speech:

I’m going to begin my speech this evening with a ‘yarn’. ABC journos like a good ‘yarn’, and It’s going to be about me … because we all know how much the ABC likes to talk about itself… I wonder if Rehame is monitoring this?

Until I was 16, we lived in what looked like a rocket house on the outskirts: my parents were erstwhile hippies… I think they call them ‘sea changers’ now… and we never had a television.

Rephrase: we were never supposed to have a television.

We occasionally borrowed televisions and were allowed quick holiday fixes of cheap American movies, but essentially my childhood media experience was the radio: Rock around the clock on 2WG, Fuzzy classic FM, Radio National on occasion, Triple J forget it (that arrived just as I was leaving) and crispy clear regional radio… when there weren’t bushfires.

Everyday ABC Riverina crossed to 2BL after the morning show, and the friendly firm voice of Andrew Olle used to come on. Most of the time I was at school but on those odd occasions of the kind of life-threatening ‘I can’t go to school today because its too hot’ illnesses, I loved to turn on the radio and feel important or outraged or whatever mood suited the times. (Notwithstanding the fact that I really didn’t understand much of what was going on at that time)…

By mid high school I had decided that politics wasn’t just about who won the footy, and I wanted to engage myself with the outside world more. I listened to the radio and convinced the parents that TV was okay ‘But just to watch the ABC’.

I was watching the 7.30 Report one night and, in one of those transcendental moments of time travel, I realised who the man with the face that I could trust was.

The face, and the man behind it, Andrew Olle now characterises in my mind much of what is honourable journalism.

Some of you much more experienced journo’s out there (I think that’s just about everyone in the audience) may argue against me, but in my mind this is the journalism of integrity and intelligence, the journalism with passion but balance.

The journalism I aspire to, is creative and accurate but also journalism that breaks new ground.

Speaking of breaking ground…that reminds me of another yarn. This one is about risk taking.

PLACE: ABC Riverina, the heart of the ABC in my opinion; not enough credit is given to the Regionals.

STORY: Bike Week 2004.

CHALLENGE: As set out by the Regional Program Manager (he often sets challenges) Cover it ‘differently’.

Right, I thought, I love a challenge. I was a bit overeager you know how it is… well I’m a keen cyclist!

So I gladly took up the offer of a morning in the sun talking to the local riders about the benefits of the treadly.

Little did I think about the logistics of the story: Live Cross at 10.35, 30 kms to cover on a rusty bike, trucks to negotiate, magpies to dodge (not to mention the speed or bikes of the other riders).

There I was… mini disc and microphone in one hand, telephone in the other, saw bum, saw legs… already…and the man next to me kindly steadying my handle bars as I attempted to juggle me and the precious ABC equipment.

Well the phone rang… once, twice… three times… I balanced, over balanced, Ray my trusty handle bar holder flinched with the weight…I answered… “ Yes IM ready… 30 seconds okay”… I braced myself. Of course I didn’t stop – the whole idea was atmosphere, huffs puffs and the sound of changing gears… 3.2.1… Right on cue… Ray let go, I let go… the bike overbalanced. I counterbalanced.

Anne in the studio counteracted… and a smooth transition was made between my helpless cry and the ABC Riverina Sting…’Mornings with Anne Delaney’ …phew … a live cross ALMOST conducted from the tail wind of a passing truck… apparently the audience only just heard the ‘shit’ as gravel met flesh… and then the clud and scrapppppe of the microphone as it dragged along behind me…

Despite my lack of lycra and finesse… the story got out – pre recorded this time of course.

It had all the elements you might say of a good yarn; it was humorous and well you can’t deny it was creative, it was an accurate account of events and boy did it take some risks, moreover in accordance with the ABC charter it brought the community together: my pyranaum was the talking point of the town for the next week…maybe it still is…

I applied for ABC Andrew Olle Scholarship for three main reasons: My passion for journalism and my sense of responsibility to do the best I can at it, because I believe in the ABC and what it offers as an institution, and finally because it would be one of the greatest honours to be recipient of a scholarship inspired by, one of my heroes of Australian journalism: Andrew Olle.

As a young and sorry… I have to say it… yes I’m still an idealistic journalist. I feel daunted by the era of journalism we seem to be entering into.

Syndications, new power structures, the politics of spin, PR becoming an increasingly recognised form of communication.

Not to mention the increasingly cosy relationship between government and media proprietors, both in Australia and abroad. Look at Italy where the media proprietor IS the government. If free speech is the corner stone of a democratic society, where does media ownership fit in? Do we really have free speech?

Will journalists be given the REAL right to be vigorous… Balanced? Fair? Equitable? And what really is fair and balanced reporting…

I hope this year of scholarship will give me the courage to take risks but risks that are worth taking.

I already know that Broadcasting is powerful, it is instant, accessible, and it contributes to the democratic channels of communication that are so important in binding people together.

I believe that radio and television can create and nurture the transfer of information between urban and rural communities as well as across cultural groups within those communities. But how do I as a journalist do this better?

To a tight deadline, under constant pressure, without being contrite or losing sight of the real issues?

I want to use my creativity and acquired news sense and turn it into reporting that disrupts people’s ordinary ways of seeing things. I want to conduct hard-hitting current affairs interviews that are fair, well researched and well presented.

So tune in to find out I guess…

In the next 12 months of her scholarship Brennan will be able to work on a range of ABC programs to learn from experienced staff and progress her career prospects.