The Daily Advertiser’s Emma Horn with Wagga stalwart and former paramedic Phil Hoey in 2019.
Weekender feature writer at The Daily Advertiser in Wagga, NSW between January 2019 and June 2021, focusing on stories that showcase the rich history of the Riverina and its people.
- The stories that define us
- Saving Private Brien: The soldier that survived his own beheading
- The Australian pilot and the German captain he befriended
- ‘Missing Michael’: The century-old mystery connecting a Welsh family to Junee
General duties reporter at The Daily Advertiser since May 2018.
The reporter in charge of the weekly Junee Southern Cross from June 2018 until September 2019. Included the successful campaigning for better police presence in the small jail-dominated town, following the resignation of several high-ranking officers.
Life as a reporter affords many joys. There are moments to be cherished and celebrated. For example, when Wagga Base Hospital surgeons successfully pulled of the region’s first single-day discharge hip replacement.
Then there are moments of utter tragedy and heartbreak. Witnessing the Green Valley and Dunns Road fires devastating communities across the Snowy Valleys in 2019/2020 was once such occasion.
But nothing quite compares to the unspeakable heartbreak of seeing a family torn apart by the untimely death of twin toddlers.
- ‘Tragic accident’: Police investigating fire that took lives of twin toddlers in Batlow
- Family pays tribute to beautiful young lives lost in Batlow house fire
Serving as the education and history reporter since August 2019, has included a chance to break the huge news surrounding the shock departure of Kildare Catholic College principal Rod Whelan.
The story unfolded over more than a year, with The Daily Advertiser ahead of each update, keeping the community informed, and the powers to account.
Reporting of the situation resulted in an independent inquiry being set up into the resignation and the processes at the school.
It resulted in numerous high-profile resignations at the Catholic Education Diocese of Wagga Wagga, and the Archbishop’s personal apology to the former principal.
The full account of the situation is chronicled here:
Working in a regional newsroom comes with the added challenge of being all things to all people. With finite resources, reporters quickly switch from writers quickly become photographers, filmmakers, documentarians, and digital producers. It’s all in a day’s work.
That is part of the charm and the fun of working outside the big smoke. It also makes regional reporters some of the most agile and versatile workers in the world.