Charles Sturt University will continue to support regional journalism with a new two-year agreement with the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) for their National Radio News (NRN) to keep producing news bulletins for the sector.
NRN is the only university-operated national newsroom in Australia giving students the opportunity to work and study in one place. It runs through the 2MCE Community Radio station at Charles Sturt in Bathurst, with the station commencing in 1976 and the newsroom in 1997.
2MCE and NRN Manager Rebecca Wotzko said:
“National Radio News is operated by Charles Sturt University, giving our Communication students a unique opportunity to work alongside professional journalists to produce stories that reach a national audience through community radio stations around Australia.
Our students are snapped up by the industry before they hand in their final assignment. Their experience at National Radio News in Bathurst means they simply transition from one newsroom to another.”
In the last 12 months Charles Sturt students who have worked at NRN have gone on to be employed at ABC, 2GB, WIN, Seven News and Sky News.
Pictured is Matthew Adams, a third-year Bachelor of Communication student in the Charles Sturt School of Information and Communication Studies with new News Director and a Charles Sturt alumna Shannon Kirkwood standing behind him.
Matthew said:
“The practical experiences I have gained while learning and working at NRN will give me a head-start on other communication graduates when entering the industry. Because NRN is on campus, it also makes for an easy transition from class to the busy newsroom environment.”
Shannon added:
“NRN is a strong example of work integrated learning where students apply what they have learned in their communication course to a professional newsroom. The students work on a diverse range of stories for the hourly bulletins and in doing so, amplify diverse voices in line with the community broadcasting sector’s Roadmap 2033.
Not one day in the newsroom is the same, so we might have students speaking to a touring young musician one hour, followed by a resident from a flood-impacted regional community the next.
By embracing the unique opportunity National Radio News provides, students are learning how to become socially responsible journalists; an invaluable asset in this industry and part of what makes Charles Sturt’s Bachelor of Communication really distinctive.”
NRN currently reaches over 1.5 million listeners per week in every state and territory.