From politicians, to journalists, to former stujo trailblazers, dig into some of the events at the 2024 Student Media Conference.
Opening Ceremony with Antoinette Lattouf – Matilda Cheshire
Amid a federal court case against the ABC, Antoinette Lattouf delivered an address at the opening ceremony of the USyd Student Journalism Conference. She came to offer inspiration not, as she put it, “ just the world is fucked and best of luck.”
She admitted she was unsure of trusting herself with a microphone “after the year that was”, referring to her alleged unlawful sacking from ABC radio.
Lattouf is a TEDx speaker, diversity advocate, user of the word “bejesus”, author of How to Lose Friends and Influence White People, and according to her socials “still can’t do a cartwheel”.
Antoinette noted that journalists ranked below used car salesmen in trustworthiness. She criticised journalism’s emphasis on unachievable objectivity, and the difficulty of silencing our own beliefs. The antidote? Acknowledge your biases, diversify your newsrooms, and don’t drown in guilt if you are indeed a straight, white, male.
Antoinette was alarmed by Australia’s media concentration and saddened by the death of local news. She acknowledged her personal brand grants her the ability to freelance – a luxury not available to all. Then applauded small independent media companies like Cheek Media and The Daily Aus who compete against legacy/institution rooted papers.
Antoinette explained that voices challenging the status quo are often confined to the gig economy, making them vulnerable to being pushed out, causing fragmented media.
Antoinette‘s closing remark to the students’ eyes whose attention she’d gripped for close to an hour was, teasingly, “no pressure!”
In conversation with Mehreen Faruqi – Ellie Robertson
Senator Mehreen Faruqi gave an inspirational account of what student journalism is, how politics is inherently intertwined within student journalism and gave our young student journalists advice on how to move forward past any public criticism.
The moderator, Pepsi Sharma, asked Faruqi to delve into student politics, media outlets, social media and diversity within the industry. She emphasised the unique role student media plays in holding those in power to account without having the censorship of large corporations. With this, Faruqi notably mentioned her opposition to the recently introduced Campus Access Policy (CAP), implemented by University of Sydney management. Faruqi discussed the repressive nature of this policy and urged students to continue the fight to push against the policy.
Delving into many insightful ways in which student media differs from mainstream media in the way of censorship and the way truth and facts are told, Faruqi praised student media as being known for producing a more opinionated platform that actively pressurises those in power. Overall, the Q+A was a great environment and an amazing opportunity to hear how people external to university view student journalism as a whole.
Zine Workshop – Ting Jen Kuo
On the Friday afternoon of September 27th, a tutorial room nestled in the liminal corridors of the Education Building was transformed into a scrapbooking heaven worthy of several grandmothers. Eager zine-makers clustered around tables piled with assorted magazines and vibrant papers, strewn with scissors, glue and pens in a satisfying upset of the orderly room. More people crowded in as we started fidgeting with the material, touching, testing, itching to get started.
Mia and Max, enthusiastic hosts of the interactive zine workshop event, kept their preamble short. Sharing their love of this “fundamentally unserious medium”, they described their journeys into zine-hood as beginning almost by chance. Showing some of their own zines, they explained that zines could really take any form and be about anything your heart desires.
The room wasted no time digging in. Following the standard one-page booklet zine format projected on the screen, there began a flurry of exchanging supplies and ideas. The experience of creasing stiff card, carefully cutting outlines, and pasting glue onto images provided some much-needed respite in the Week 9 chaos. Conversations sparked around the room, with people sharing zine contents and moments of connection. Overall, the workshop was a refreshing and fun dive into combatting the mental block of creating.
Sara Ayoub Q&A – Victoria Gillespie
In the second event of the Student Media Conference, Honi Soit’s beloved Valerie Chidiac sat down with author, academic and journalist Sarah Ayoub to discuss all things Australian writing and Arab-Australian representation in such literature. Ayoub humbly described her debut, a young adult novel, Hate is a Strong Word, as a fluke. Chidiac noted, the novel is considered a kind-of Looking for Alibrandi, for its representation of young women and minority experiences.
“Stop buying Colleen Hoover”, Ayoub reiterated the importance of buying and borrowing Australian stories. Only 10% of the total price of a book goes towards an author, which becomes 5% if the royalty has to be split with an illustrator. These authors now have to take the reins of their own self-promotion, spending hours labouring over their social media presence. Ayoub reminded us of the prevalence of exploitation; publishing relies on you knowing nothing, the less you know the better it is for the publishing houses’ profit margins.
For upcoming writers, Ayoub advised the following; do your research, go out and engage, read a lot, don’t be swayed by people’s social media presence, know your rights, join your union and call shit out. We may still be looking for Alibrandi, but Ayoub did remind us that things have gotten better. Things only get better because of active attempts to make them better, and Ayoub’s talk was a reminder to all that this is possible.
Climate Change with Dr Karl – Michelle Agnelli
Why was Sydney the hottest place on Earth on 4 January 2020? Who spent billions to cover up climate change research? These provocative questions from Dr. Kruszelnicki’s Little Book Of Climate Change Science set the tone for his lecture at the Student Journalism Conference, marked by his signature eccentricity. With the urgency of a man trying to explain quantum physics before a kettle boils, he distilled complex data into digestible nuggets appropriate for the student journalist audience, with enough complexity for the science enthusiasts hidden amongst them.
The facts were alarming and infuriating: the elaborate cover up of undeniable climate science and its drastic precipitating effects, including tipping the earth off its axis. Beneath the charisma and quick wit, ”Sky tv is a mixture of the Dunning-Kruger effect and the village idiot”, Kruszelnicki managed to reiterate the situation’s gravity. Handing out free copies of his book for anyone who answered a question, the afternoon tea break—necessary respite from the sobering facts and catastrophic future projections—turned into an impromptu book signing.
Ending on a quasi-optimistic note on how we could “easily stop, and then reverse” climate change—and a warning against the “it’s just business” attitude of corrupt politicians—Dr Karl’s call to action left us with a lot to think about, turning the bleak into the bizarrely hopeful.
In conversation with Fatima Payman – Eleanor Douglas
Day 2 of Honi’s Student Media Conference featured an interview with Senator Fatima Payman. The discussion covered her decision to cross the floor for Palestinian state recognition, her subsequent suspension, and her current role as an Independent senator. Some of the best parts of the interview were about the functions of her role as a Senator, and what she can do for the community as a newly Independent politician. For instance, Payman noted that major party senators are often limited to touring specific parts of their state, whereas as an independent, she can now engage with a broader spectrum of Western Australian voices.
The most interesting discussion came from the audience question section, where participants asked Senator Payman about her belief in the capacity for “change from within” considering how the Labor Party treated her for having an opinion which did not even formally contradict their Party platform. Senator Payman’s response was somewhat vague. She advised “staying true” to one’s beliefs and assessing whether more change could be achieved by staying or leaving. Her comment that “the Labor Party has lost its way” and her uncertainty about achieving a free Palestine within the current Party hinted at deeper reservations. Some more discussion on why she thinks this is the case — or how she thinks those confines could be pushed internally — would be interesting.
Comics and Illustration Workshop – Angus McGregor
Legendary AFR political cartoonist David Rowe joined 2024 Honi Soit editor Huw Bradshaw in conversation before leading a spontaneous workshop on how to draw current MPs.
Rowe described his workplace as a cold war between him and the increasingly conservative business oriented editors. A self-proclaimed “lefty,” he told the room he puts his daily cartoon on the editor’s desk at the last possible minute to avoid any political or legal challenges.
To encourage attendees to flex their satirical muscles, a wheel of all current lower house MPs was spun and the unlucky winner chosen to be the room’s subject. To make us all “feel less bad” Bradshaw made sure the wheel landed on a Nationals MP and then a Liberal one— so much for randomness!
While jovial there was a sombre tone to the workshop as well. Rowe pointed out that he was the last cartoonist left at the AFR and the role was dying with the print squeeze.
While good satire, in the era of figures like Trump, is needed more than ever, we may be close to the end of an era where figures like Rowe get up every morning, inhale the news, and sit over their desk to poke fun at the powerful.
A signed cartoon now lives in the Honi office.
Journalism and the Law – Rachel Halliday Shand
It is indisputable that journalists need to know their legal rights, and perhaps more importantly, their obligations. It is equally indisputable that there has been no time more than now that this truth has reared its unmistakable head. This was brought to light during the Journalism and the Law Panel Discussion, wherein Jahan Kalantar, Louise Buckingham and David Rolph shared their insights into how journalists can navigate the increasingly regulatory context of media, whilst retaining a provocative fervour which has so often become synonymous with good journalism.
Much of the panel’s discussion centred around whether the law unduly limits journalistic practice. Prominently, this was an inquiry which considered how the decline of mass media and rise in independent journalism has necessitated increasingly broad definitions of ‘journalism’ within the legislative realm: such that the already restrictive landscape within which journalists operate may be subject to an even further curtailment of creative freedoms. Proposed torts for invasions of privacy were considered a further impediment to journalistic freedoms. However, the possibility, albeit ambitious, of the enshrinement of press rights as a constitutional freedom brought a glimpse of respite to the room of eagerly attentive journalists.
It was a riveting, dynamic and insightful afternoon, which certainly repercolated my keen awareness for the necessity of preserving journalistic freedoms in a world that appears, at times, hellbent on forsaking them.
Archive Diving Workshop – Angus McGregor
Led by former USU Archivist and 2021 Honi Soit editor Marlow Hurst, attendees were taught how to take advantage of online and physical archives to retell campus stories.
Hurst immediately demonstrated his curiosity by getting everyone in the room to introduce themselves and the publication they came from. Despite the “East Coast bias,” he seemed satisfied with the diversity.
Skills like keyword searches were reviewed, Trove was discussed, and Hurst showed off his archival pieces. We learned about USyd’s League of Nations club (RIP) and the University’s war era obsession with trenches.
Attendees also took away a warning. Before the era of deformation and DSPs papers like Honi were full of lies and comedy that was well disguised. Hungry reporters looking for stories should beware of taking any story too seriously.
If people took anything from the seminar it should be the necessity of publications, especially student ones, thinking about the active. That means not losing articles and other online data (cough cough SURG), taking photos of your office and editorial team, and keeping group chats.
We often think of archives as just the papers themselves but Hurst emphasised that the historians and researchers of the future were also deeply interested in the papers’ creation.
Newswriting 101 – Thuan Anh
The News Writing 101 Workshop featured moderator Aidan Elwig Pollock and three esteemed panellists, including ABC News journalist Alice Trenoweth-Creswell, and Guardian Australia journalists Rafqa Touma and Luca Ittimani. Even at 10 am on a Sunday, the last day of the Student Media Conference, the John Woolley Building was filled with excitement and witty, heartfelt exchanges between the panellists and the audience. The Workshop traversed far beyond the surface of news writing, from how one may seek out stories (with an emphasis on the human angle and care about the surrounding environment) to pieces of advice for pitching.
Something that stood out from the two-hour duration was the realisation that the role of news writing is dynamic and always changing. The discussion centred around student and off-campus journalism, but it often considered how the former contributed to and helped shape the latter. As the session progressed, the role of news writing became clearer. Fast-paced. Exciting. Requiring a balance of objectivity and the journalist’s own view. Emotionally challenging. Empathetic and respectful towards interviewees. Values consistency and a well-thought-out portfolio. No clear pathway. Collaborative with understanding editors and colleagues who can give helpful feedback. Requires safety cautions from backlash. All details that seem to make every second worth one’s attention.
New Media, New Challenges: Social Media Workshop – Michelle Agnelli
The social media workshop led by Nandini Dhir (TheDailyAus journalist and former editor of PULP) and Arabella Ritchie (Woroni TV editor) was a refreshing dive into the heart of student journalism.
Nandini brought a wealth of experience and insight, including having worked at SBS and Channel 10, reminding us that student journalism is not just a stepping stone; it’s a vital part of the media landscape that deserves recognition. Her passion was infectious, as she shared stories from her journey, illustrating both the challenges and the triumphs of navigating this fast-paced industry. Arabella complemented Nandini’s insights with her perspective from Woroni TV, creating an engaging dialogue that felt both personal and relevant.
The workshop focused on crafting vox pops and navigating CapCut—a relevant form of reporting that allows journalists to capture real voices in a rapidly changing world. The session wrapped up with a lively Q&A that offered invaluable advice—it’s okay to push back on editors’ suggestions, make a website to showcase your work, tight deadlines fight perfectionism—and reflections on the unique creativity that student journalism allowed.
Participants left feeling invigorated, armed with practical advice and a renewed sense of purpose in their journalistic endeavors, underscoring the importance of establishing a personal online presence in today’s digital age.
