It might be the aesthetic-obsessed monster inside of me that chose these red rocks, red locks, and my mega purchase of the week (month/year/lifetime): a bright yellow sunny little Honda bean – wholly impractical for road trips, but cute as hell.

Princess Buttercup is what I am calling her, and she is my reward for the last 13 months of learning and growth at the fine Fairfax Media institute, The North West Star. 

This week, like so many journos before me, I bid adieu to the fabulous training ground that is the Star – a beacon of local truth in 2018’s desert of fake news and PR puffery.

I won’t be far away as I return to my first love, radio blah blah. 

From Monday I’ll be just next door presenting mornings (10-11am) and helping out on breakfast, at ABC North West. 

It was a steeper learning curve than I could have imagined, signing up for a stint as a reporter at the local paper, after following my parents to the Outback to save money and sanity (sayonara to six years of work in independent radio).

I thought Mount Isa was a sleepy mining town. I thought there was just the one corner store? 

Working at the local paper for a year sounded quite a romantic notion. Lol! What a chump. But haven’t we learned a lot.

P.S. Must give a “shout out” (radio speak for “hey, good on you”) to editor Derek Barry – one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met. 

Am infant sloth in comparison.

Please be kind to your local journos, in the community and online. They are working very hard to inform, educate, entertain, and reflect you.

And, as always, the local rag relies on your stories to make it to screen, and print.