Deborah Leavitt, who is the ABC Local Radio and Online Manager for WA, gave me a ring last week asking me if I knew anyone who may be interested in applying for two online positions they have in Albany and Broome. They have had trouble recruiting through traditional ads, so I said I’d write up a blog post and do a shout out on Twitter. She made the comment that they were finding it hard to attract university leavers to the roles, because they were more interested in creating their own media and setting up their own blogs/podcasts. You can guess what I thought about that

Still I think the roles are worth considering. The ABC has certainly been the front-runner in Australia in understanding and adapting to online media and if you are interested in working for a bigger news organisation then this is the best place to start. You’ll get the experience many other control media journalists are missing out on, by working in a cross platform environment – and that is where most future roles in news organisations will be. Working in a regional office is also a great opportunity – I did my time at the Narrogin Observer, attending pig and sheep auctions among other things. It means really getting to know the community you are working in and allows you to really engage with the people you live among and report on (which has its own challenges, but certainly a challenge worth taking up).

So here’s the job description as advertised (the same role also applies to Albany):

Local Radio Western Australia Broome has a vacancy for a highly motivated, multi-skilled program maker to work in multi media platforms. Based in Broome, working to the Program Director and referring to the Editor Local Radio Online, the successful applicant will have accomplished online publishing and radio production skills. Working as both part of a team and with sound, independent editorial judgement, the online producer will be responsible for the maintenance of the Western Australia Kimberley website with strong editorial contributions in text, audio, pictorial and video formats. There is a requirement to contribute to program planning and participate in operational and administrative activities of Karratha. The successful applicant will have sound production skills and may from time to time be required to produce one of the Broome Local Radio programs.

I couldn’t write the post without adding that I also think the ABC should make a real investment in getting up strong citizen journalism initiatives in these smaller regional areas. There’s a fiesty passion that comes from living in a small community that could be very well harnessed by someone like the ABC. I won’t be surprised if that is what eventually happens.

If you are interested in the roles please contact leavitt.deborah at abc. net.au