My name is Emily Mayo. I am thirty-five years old. When I was a teenager I wanted to grow up and be a journalist (Yes, I know, I’ve not been hugely successful in either of these endeavours to date, but, only time will tell). I was a pretty keen kid, idealistic, bright, a go-getter even and so to learn all about being a proper investigative journalist, twenty years ago, I did my school work experience at A Current Affair.
I am bringing this up now because I’m scared. I’m scared because of what has happened to the keen, bright and idealistic young thing from Melbourne Uni following her authoring of a anonymous report in her Uni Rag about her views of her work experience.
The story has gone wild. Google it.
I’m scared. I am freaking really scared because in July 1992, I, a fifteen year old Emily Mayo, wrote a report about my time a A Current Affair. Its content is shocking. It’s time that I named and shamed myself.
Here it is:
Now, that crazy old-school cover might be shocking enough, but for your reading pleasure and in a Say it on Sunday exclusive, I present, with some trepidation, the best bits of the stupid things I said when I was a work experience kid.
DAY ONE
8am. Day One and it looks like I have journalism ACA style pretty much worked out:
But, let’s not stop there. I also reveal that in my lunch-break I ‘thought about meeting Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise’. Deep. In a strange twist, following my aforementioned lunch-break, I report that I meet Tom and Nicole. Then, in continuing the name dropping I throw in details of meeting Jana Wendt’s fish (’2 Goldfish CUTE’). Idiot.
In the afternoon of day one I report that I was beginning to ‘get fairly tired’ and at the end of the day I reflected that people were ‘great’ and ‘down to earth’. Which sounds nice until I say:
DAY TWO
This little bit of childish awesome really is the hit of the report of Day Two:
I’ve nothing more to say about that.
DAY THREE
“Today I went to Campbelltown to do a shoot about ‘young Jason’ He has Down Syndrome is 2 1/2 years old and can’t find ‘parents’ willing to adopt him. I was talking to his foster mum, Ros, and she only wishes she could adopt him but her and her husband are over 45years old and are not permitted to do so.”
Far out, it’s only day three, and with that little number I was showing real ACA potential. That is until, I broke all the rules of Work Experience and bragged about going in a freaking helicopter:
Fool.
DAY FOUR
Topic of the day:
Unions? WTF? On, no, what did I say?! Oh, dear:
I remember asking the researcher those questions and I remember dutifully writing what she said. Twenty years, the more things change the more they stay the same hey.
DAY FIVE
And here’s my wrap-up:
My employer had nothing but nice things to say about me and to accompany all my excellent ‘ticks’ I got this comment:
So, if my job as a Union Organiser working with community workers, winning equal pay and stuff, ever gets a bit too much. I suppose I could get back to my early aims of growing up AND being an investigative journalist… I could ‘front-up’ to ACA and offer to ‘volunteer’.
Although, now I’ve published my report, they might not want me! Maybe? Maybe not.
I do hope if they ever find this, they are not too mean. Just like the Melbourne Uni intern, I was just a work experience kid…
Source:
http://sayitonsunday.com/2012/08/12/interns-and-work-experience-kids-anonymous-iweka/