Journalism students meet with lecturer Bruce Woolley to discuss reporting on the G20.
Journalism students meet with lecturer Bruce Woolley to discuss reporting on the G20.
30 October 2014

University of Queensland journalism students will take Brisbane news to the global stage when they report on the G20 summit in November.

World leaders from 20 countries will gather for the summit on 15 and 16 November, and School of Journalism and Communication students have been accredited to cover the event.

Lecturer Bruce Woolley said the 10 students would have full access to media scrums, leaders’ news conferences and all major events.

“They will be actively engaged in reporting on G20 leader discussions and providing analysis of their actions for an international audience,” he said.

The opportunity is part of a work integrated learning course which has previously seen students travel to Vietnam to cover global issues.

“This time, instead of travelling abroad to gather stories for an Australian audience, these students will be reporting from Brisbane on the G20 events for two million students at a dozen universities around the world,” Mr Woolley said.

“They are going to be producing two 30-minute news and current affairs television programs for the Global Campus Network— an initiative of Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.”

UQ student Evangeline Dickson will be a reporter for both programs.

"Young people are interested in politics and global events but to get access and be actively involved is hard,” she said.

“To be able to cover the G20 and address issues important to young people is really exciting.

"What’s discussed at the G20 affects everyone, so the fact that we’re able to have access to the network is incredible because it allows for open discussion and information sharing from students everywhere."

UQ’s School of Journalism and Communication is the newest partner in the network and the G20 will be their first programming project. 

Ryerson University student and Global Campus Network co-executive producer Rachel Krutow said the initiative was run by students, for students.

“It is about international collaboration in order to create a truly unique student voice, and our partners in Brisbane are a great addition to help achieve that goal,” she said.

“By covering the G20 summit, our Brisbane partners are able to open the Global Campus Network to an exciting opportunity to create quality content."

The two programs produced by UQ students will be broadcast live on the network, which can be viewed online: www.ryerson.ca/~gcntwk.

Media: UQ journalism Lecturer Bruce Woolley, +61 7 3346 8239 or b.woolley@uq.edu.au