Australasian Update, Autumn 2007

For freelance journalist and author Melissa Sweet, one advertisement in The Walkley magazine could not have come at a more appropriate time.

Since the early 1990s, Melissa had written about health and medical issues for key Australian news outlets, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin and AAP. In 2003, she moved into freelance writing, with her articles appearing in a range of professional and general publications.

Her first book, Smart Health Choices (Allen and Unwin, 1999) – a collaboration with evidence-based medical professional and educator Les Irwig and his wife Judy, a health services consumer – had done well.

But she had just spent a harrowing year completing her second book, Inside Madness (Pan Macmillan, 2006), a frank account of the murder of South Australian mental health services director and psychiatrist Dr Margaret Tobin.

More broadly, the book also paints a history of mental health reform in Australia, and examines the difficulties of achieving change in complex, conservative health systems.

The book had just been published when Melissa saw the advertisement for the 2006 Dart Ochberg Fellowship.

“The ad for the fellowship resonated with what I’d just been through,” Melissa explained.

“Researching and writing this book was an extremely traumatic process, both for myself and for some of Margaret Tobin’s friends and family members.

“By telling Margaret’s story, I was also telling the stories of those close to her. When you write a book like this, you have to accept the uncomfortable reality that you may be adding to the grief and trauma of those who have already suffered huge losses.”

It was the third time the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma – Australasia had offered the fellowship and it was clear to the judging panel that Melissa had what it takes to fill the shoes of her predecessors, ABC TV’s Phil Williams and The Age’s Gary Tippet.

Dart Centre Australasia director Cait McMahon summed up the judges’ assessment of Melissa’s work by praising her ability to combine significant skills when researching and writing about traumatic incidents.

“This book, along with Melissa’s other presented work – ‘Rising from the Ashes’, which is about survivors of the New Year’s Day bush fires in Junee, south-western New South Wales – indicated her talent in combining some significantly important skills when writing about traumatic incidents,’’ Ms McMahon said.

“The ability to sensitively bring together issues of human suffering, respect for the humanity of victims, survivors and perpetrators of tragedy combined with fine journalistic investigation and craft is not always well achieved.

“Melissa’s ability to do this while continuing to enthral her audience throughout, placed her at the forefront of a very competitive group of applicants for the 2006 fellowship.”

As part of her fellowship, Melissa joined other fellows from around the world at a special seminar in Los Angeles in November 2006 where the gathered journalists examined the media’s role in covering violence and trauma.

“One of the main things I got from winning the fellowship was the re-igniting of my appreciation for good journalism,” Melissa explained.

“I got to see there are very good people out there doing good work and it was inspirational.

“As a freelance journalist, the benefit of being connected into a network of fellows is also invaluable. Dart’s collegial contacts have definitely been a great help.

“I got to hear the stories of other fellows who attended the seminar. The diversity of their work was impressive. Some had done really difficult work over a long period of time in difficult circumstances, sometimes at great personal cost.

“So it really was a privilege to be with this group. Just the chance to chat with people who are very experienced journalists was so stimulating.”

Having worked from within a newsroom and as a freelance journalist, what does the newest Dart Ochberg fellow see as the most important element of change needed to make a difference in the news media.

“While I am delighted there are many people out there striving to be good journalists I don’t perhaps feel so optimistic about the industry itself and its future, especially its commitment to good practice.

“We really need to move away from the recent trend to filling our news with celebrity stories, to go back to telling real stories and stop trying to second-guess what readers and viewers want.

“The social role of journalism is lost when the focus is on celebrity. Market research-driven journalism has a huge opportunity cost. It may well be a reflection of broader social trends but it does nothing for democracy.

“So I think it’s time to go back to good journalism, the basics, and to covering real people with real stories.

“It all comes down to the investment news organisations are prepared to make in good journalism.

“To me, one of the wonderful things to see during the gathering of Dart Ochberg fellows was the effort being put into journalism by small-town newspapers in the United States.

“Globally, though, I think journalism is becoming too seduced by the corporate model.”