While most of Brisbane is either tucked up in bed or just starting their day, Sarah Greenhalgh, is flying high above the city surveying the roads to keep commuters informed of the best routes to work.
Ms Greenhalgh, who graduates with a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Queensland (UQ) tomorrow (20 July), has spent the past four months working as traffic reporter for Channel 9’s Today Show.
Her 4am wake-up call is tough at times, but Ms Greenhalgh says it is all worth it once she is cruising the skies above Brisbane.
“It is an incredible way to start the day,” she said.
“But it is a job that has its highs and lows. In my first two weeks I had to report on a fatal accident and it was difficult to keep the emotion out of my voice.
“Then there have been times when I have reported on incidents that were quite funny, like when there was a cow strolling down the east-east arterial road the night of the Katy Perry concert – we thought she might have been a big fan who had got a little lost.”
Ms Greenhalgh started work at The Australian Traffic Network at the start of the year, while also completing her final semester of her degree. In addition to reporting for the Today Show and 97.3FM each morning, she is also traffic reporter for Nova, 4KQ and Hot 91 on the Sunshine Coast in the afternoons.
Working while also studying has kept Ms Greenhalgh busy during the first half of the year. The busiest times for a traffic reporter is peak morning and peak afternoon, which means she does a split shift and drives from her Paddington home to the aerodrome at Redcliffe twice a day.
Never imaging that she would be reporting on traffic from a helicopter, Ms Greenhalgh said not knowing the difference between the Ipswich Motorway and the Pacific Motorway soon changed.
“I have learnt in this industry that your need to take any job that becomes available and just run with it,” she said.
“In journalism, and the media industry as a whole, contacts are crucial. It’s not so much what you know, but certainly a case of who you know.
“This job has allowed me to be in regular contact with so many diverse media contacts. For example, it has been amazing getting to know some of the radio presenters – I often have engaged in on-air banter with Robin, Terry and Bob in the mornings on 97.3 FM and Ian Keenan who announces on 4KQ of an afternoon is always so lovely to talk to.
“Paul Reed who is the chief of staff at Channel Nine here in Brisbane often calls me in the chopper, asking for footage of things they may want to show on the evening news, examples include a protest on the M1, fog covering the city skyline, or a nasty accident that has made headlines.”
Ms Greenhalgh hopes to continue to work in broadcast journalism and although enjoys both radio and TV says she is leaning towards television.
“I love the way that images married with words can be used so effectively to communicate to audiences,” she said.
“It wasn't until 2010 that I decided I wanted to do something in television, and when the opportunity arose to do a ten day internship with Channel Nine at the Ekka, I jumped at the opportunity and applied.
“Luckily, I got selected as one of the two students, and spent ten jam-packed days at the Brisbane Exhibition at the Nine Broadcast Centre, producing video reports for ninemsn, the UQ website and the official Ekka website. This provided me with some great material to produce a showreel.”
Ms Greenhalgh is among almost 6000 students graduating from UQ this week.
Media: Kathy Grube, 0418 524 297
