The Oral History of TV Journalism

What’s news at the National Film & Sound Archive? Why it’s the Oral History of TV Journalism collection.

As recognition of the uses and advantages of oral history grows, many organisations are creating their very own archives, recording the stories and experiences of their members. Over at the National Film & Sound Archive they are putting together a range of collections that are keeping lived history alive, including the Oral History of TV Journalists.

In a collection full of famous faces – including Lisa Wilkinson, Sandra Sully, Jeff McMullen, George Negus and more – Australian journalists talk about everything from their first day at work, to the most important story they worked on, to how the stories we tell become the historical chronicle of our times.

By hearing these stories we can see how the experiences of the journalists have shaped their ways of viewing the world, and the way they have approached their journalistic work over the years.

Imagine the effect on the way Jeff McMullen would have seen the world after he was born in the Aussie bush, but then grew up surrounded by a multicultural community of muslims, hindus, buddhists, and christians during the 1950s Malayan Emergency. Jeff talks about how his upbringing helped grow his love of telling the true stories of all the remarkable sites, sounds and people he was surrounded by.

You can hear Mal Walden’s story about getting the newsfilm back to Melbourne for broadcast after the devastation of Cyclone Tracy in 1974, or follow Leigh Sales journey through her career, or hear about Sandra Sully’s twin sister!

This small, growing collection of short audio and video interviews allows us to hear the stories behind the faces we see in our living room every night, and some of them are remarkable, and bring new light to the way each of these journalists has approached their craft.

Visit the Oral History of TV Journalists at the National Film & Sound Archive