My first story in Big Issue Magazine (2006)

This was my very first story published in Big Issue Magazine as part of a regular fortnightly series back in 2006. Big Issue employed me with money they received from Sarina Russo and The Vodafone Foundation.

Dear Mum,

Sorry I haven’t written for a while. Okay, so it’s been three years. This is just a short note to let you know where I’m up to with things.

As you know, my mental illness has stopped me from getting a lot of jobs. That narrow-mindedness really makes me mad. Well, now I have a traineeship with The Big Issue magazine as a journalist. My rehabilitation caseworker told me this is beyond my capabilities. “It’s a very responsible job/ he warned. “Your mental illness will stop you from doing it properly.” Typical public-service thinking. Many would say mental illness is a prerequisite to being a journalist. Ask anyone who’s ever been interviewed.

So I’ve taken the job with the magazine, despite my rehab worker’s reservations. His tests show I would make a very good junior records clerk and, after all, his tests couldn’t possibly be wrong.

The magazine seems to like what I have written so far, and want to hone my writing skills. It seems like a better option than filing and sealing envelopes. And I certainly don’t want to be back living on the streets like I was six months ago. That was before I started selling The Big Issue up here on the streets of Brisbane.

Anyway, I’ll tell you about today – my very first press conference. I went to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on avian flu, attended by over 100 experts from the Pacific Rim nations. I was proudly wearing my collar and tie, and the $10 pretend-leather shoes I bought from the Red Cross this morning. I stood smugly among my new-found media colleagues, waiting anxiously to hear the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer fearlessly asserting Australia’s position in the fight against bird flu. I was a little disconcerted that there was only about 30 or so journalists there, but I was a little early. (Mental note: media people arrive late.)

Pretty soon, 200 or more people appeared en masse. Great, I thought. This is what being a media person is all about. The crowd. The probing questions. Trying to get the truth from the scheming politicians. But this lot walked straight past us, eyes bulging, tongues hanging out. They were on a pilgrimage to free drinks and beer nuts at a gala function elsewhere in the building, courtesy of some government department or other. No time to ponder this. The press conference was about to begin.

We were herded into a corner reserved for we media people. But by this time, all the experts had gone. Maybe they were at the gala function too. Oh well. I settled into my chair in the largely empty room, right behind a famous TV reporter. The feeling of pride swelled in my chest again, being on the same mission as someone so well known. Next to him was another big-name reporter, from one of the major papers. I’d seen her picture many times.

My ears strained to hear their conversation and, hopefully, get an insight into how famous journalists behave, and model myself on them. “I hope this bullshit doesn’t take too long,” said the TV reporter. “There’s a do on upstairs.” Okay. I got the picture. A gala function is more important than millions of people in peril.

Australia’s APEC ambassador, Doug Chester, kicked off the press conference by telling us that Mr Downer wouldn’t be making it. During the question time that followed, the ambassador stated that at least one APEC nation planned to distribute anti-viral medication (used to suppress avian flu until a vaccine can be created) only to those on a ‘priority list’, rather than the general public. That’s when it happened! The room became charged with electricity. Everyone was suddenly sitting up straight and alert, all wanting answers. I scanned the room, marvelling at the reactions of the ‘real’ journalists.

The newspaperwoman wanted to know which country it was. Mr Chester preferred not to say. He seemed agitated, his eyes blinking rapidly. The TV reporter asked the most important question: “Is it Australia?” But Chester’s press secretary had called a halt to the conference. The question remained unanswered. It was all over.

The other journalists got into their corporate cars. I caught the bus, and read my notes on the trip back to the office, formulating a story in my head. I just hoped I could get it right. The Big Issue had given me a new start in life and I wanted to make a good impression with my first story. I felt very confident. I also felt a little hungry. Maybe I should have taken up that offer of free beer nuts…

by Craig Hill illustration by Matt Clare

Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management.