During the break between first and second semester 2020, the Media Industries Major in the Media and Communication Degree ran a competition for students. The Media and Communication Showcase Award encouraged students to produce a media piece with the theme ‘My Life in Lockdown’. With a number of prizes on offer, there was plenty of great competition and the standard was high. Most of the entrants are below. The winner of the overall competition was Jasmine Crosier with her

Gemima Cody. Picture supplied The future of journalism is secure because people will always need credible information, senior journalists say. However, social media has placed an emphasis on being the first to break news, which puts pressure on trusted media values such as credibility and fact-checking. The Age food editor Gemima Cody says there will always be a need for news and for “people to tell a story”. “My professional reputation is staked on credibility, if I’m inco

Cindy found herself leaving Brisbane at the same time she left an unhealthy relationship. “Three days later I was on a flight down with a suitcase and $400 to my name. I was lucky enough my sister had already been living in Melbourne for a while, so we connected,” she says. “I don’t think I really could have comprehended how much of my life felt constructed and forced after I let my past go. I did buy a car in July as a birthday present to myself. I’d been struggling with de

Our family has spent 149 days at home so far this year, with just eight weeks at school. Today, the school age residents are being released back into the world. Over the past months on the Corona-coaster, we’ve spent our days making things – bread, earrings, pizza fractions, books, art projects and a camp in the lounge room. We planted snow peas, painted our nails, sent letters to our friends, tried our hand at piano, rescued a frog from inside a wardrobe, joined virtual da

“I became obsessed with looking so sick that people could look at me and have no doubt that I was not okay.” Ebony-Rose Philcox hoped for understanding from her coach when she told him she was taking a break from playing semi-professional soccer, after suffering a series of panic attacks. But instead she was sacked. Her coach and club officials apparently thought she didn’t look sick enough. “I asked him if I had a broken leg, like some of these girls have, would you be

One day in early May, Melburnian Jacob Turner put on a suit of armour and filmed a seven second TikTok video to an audio track. He asked what the viewer would do if he showed up to a date looking like that. The next day, the 25-year-old security officer had 1000 followers, and he has just celebrated reaching 100,000 followers (and counting) and 1.6 million likes across his account. “It’s really just gone up since then,” Jacob – who goes by @mr._brightside__ on Tik Tok – says

Poppy Reid. Picture by Stewart Munro What drove your interest in becoming a journalist? I think I have always had quite an inquisitive nature … and it made sense to go into journalism because I loved music so much and I knew that if you love music and you can tie that into writing, a music journalist is the way to go. What do you enjoy most about working as a journalist? For me, it’s amplifying voices that don’t often get to be heard or don’t often get the space to be hear

Ben Pennings stood alone. He was 12 when he crossed the classroom floor to “vote” for Bob Hawke, who’d promised to save the Franklin River if Labor won. Pennings’ teacher was staging a mock election, asking the students their stance. The proposed damming of the Franklin River was dominating the news in Queensland during 1982, and the protests were at boiling point. Pennings and his father, a Protestant minister who religiously tuned to ABC 7.30 , were constantly reminded of

When did you realise that sports journalism was for you? In Year 8 or 9, when I realised my footy talents wouldn’t quite cut it, I thought writing about it would be the next best thing. In Year 10 there was an eight-week program run by The Geelong Advertiser for local schools that involved going into the paper and doing workshops. From there I was sold on the whole thing and at the back end of that year I got to cover the local footy. How did you gain access to the industry

“I was just at the point where I was unhappy. I’d come home and just burst into tears in front of my wife saying this isn’t how it’s meant to be.” Brett Deledio was an AFL champion. As a Richmond Tiger, he won the AFL’s rising star award in his first year, then two Jack Dyer Medals as Richmond’s best and fairest and two All-Australian blazers. But years of missing out on finals and a disappointing season took a heavy toll on him. “Year after year of missing out on finals –

For a busy carpenter like Nick Centrone, sitting at home during the long, drawn out days of lockdown is nothing short of boring. He’s never watched so much TV in his life, and is itching to get out of the house and back to socialising and working. Luckily, Nick has his companion, Libby, by his side to keep his moods lifted every step of the way. On a crisp Melbourne morning, Nick and Libby begin their day with a takeaway coffee. “Nothing beats a morning coffee,” says Nick. “

Your career has really forged a multidisciplinary CV. Did this begin anywhere specific? It’s mostly improvised. I always wanted to be a cartoonist, or an actor, or some sort of show-off and I was at the point where I was gonna give up because being in your 40s and an aspiring cartoonist – you’ve either made it or you haven’t. What did you set out to achieve with First Dog on the Moon? The purpose of First Dog was always to do cartoons about how we need to save the world and