La Trobe University students Paul Bastin and Ben Rowles are amongst five journalism students who will be part of the inaugural AFL Rookie Reporter program, which is a partnership between the Victorian Government and the AFL.
The young reporters will be working alongside senior AFL journalists and editors, reporting on all aspects of the game in the 2013 season.
Congratulations to the five young Victorians who are the new @aflmedia @youthcentralvic Rookie Reporters #springst twitter.com/RyanSmithMP/st…
— Ryan Smith MP (@RyanSmithMP) February 27, 2013
Bastin (pictured second from the left, front row), who is also upstart‘s incoming sports editor, says he is ‘privileged to have the chance to learn from the likes of Damien Barrett and Leigh Matthews in the AFL media department.’
‘I’m sure I will get a lot out of the program and greatly build upon what I have already learnt at university. Being in my last semester of uni, the program couldn’t have come at a better time,’ says Bastin.
Ben Rowles (pictured first from the left, front row) says it was a big first day on the job, being welcomed by AFL deputy CEO, Gillon McLachlan and the Victorian Minister for Youth Affairs, Ryan Smith.
‘Judging by my first day, I believe the whole experience will provide a solid grounding for me in what I anticipate will be my future career,’ Rowles says.
Bastin and Rowles stood out amongst more than 100 applications.
‘The AFL Youth Central Rookie Reporter program has uncovered some terrific aspiring reporters who share a passion for AFL football and want to apply their journalism talents on covering the game,’ Mr McLachlan said.
In announcing the program in October last year, he said the AFL is no longer just a sporting organisation but a serious media entity, especially with its growing online presence where, ‘traffic has over doubled with 4.7 million unique visitors a week,’ to its flagship AFL website.
In addition to learning the ropes of AFL reporting, Bastin and Rowles and their fellow recruits will be blogging about their experience on the Victorian Government’s youth central website.
upstart congratulates them on their success in gaining entry into the program.
