How I Got Here: Emma Macdonald
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Admit it, we’ve all been there—deep dive stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you wanted to know about the secrets of career success.
To kick off the series, here we share Emma Macdonald’s story of how she got here.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
I am Emma Macdonald, Associate Editor of HerCanberra, multi-award winning journalist, Canberra Convenor of Women in Media, Co-Founder and Board Director of international maternal health charity Send Hope Not Flowers, mother of Thomas, 17, and Imogen, 12, wife of Paul, cat-mum to Cosmo and Jupiter, avid cook, Canberra devotee, news junkee, 80’s tragic, and cheese and butter addict. In June I was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to journalism and to women in the Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid, have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
I can remember the day my internal direction to become a writer was set. It was in third grade, during an English lesson. “Suddenly I was distracted by the cackling of fearsome witches,” I began my story. Of course, I didn’t spell most of that correctly, but I had harnessed the excitement of words, drama and a good lede. Got five gold stars, had to read my story out at assembly and the school principal at North Ainslie Primary told me I was a natural-born writer. So that was basically that.
Tell us about when you were first starting out, what set a fire in your belly to get here and how did you do it?
I was always going to be a writer and it was just something that came naturally and joyfully to me. The journalism side of things was more difficult. It was competitive to get into (the University of Canberra’s cut-off for Journalism was the highest in the entire institution) and suddenly I was jostling for opportunities with extremely motivated and clever classmates. We ALL wrote well. I look back and think it was sheer bloody-mindedness that got me through. I just wanted to work harder, do better and get further than anyone else. I think most journalists fit into that category, particularly those who choose the newspaper/political/Press Gallery career path that I did.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
When I think about having to dig really deep, I tell my kids about the time I spent weeks researching an idea for a big exposé on higher education funding. I was applying for the John Douglas Pringle British Award for Journalism and wanted to compare how the United Kingdom was following Australia into a user-pays funding model based on our HECS (sounds dry I know but I spent years as Education Editor and actually loved this policy wonk stuff). Of course, I left the application until the night before it was due although it was only 1000 words long and I knew what I wanted to say. Long story short, forces conspired against me that night. I went out to a function at the National Press Club with my boyfriend (who would later become my husband!) and stayed out late, my car broke down on the way home, and when I finally arrived home we had nothing to eat (the function was only finger food, I was starving and scrounged around for some toast). At about midnight I finally settled in to get this thing written. It was all done meticulously by about 3am and then my little box of an old Apple Mac froze and ate my words. This was back in the 90s when I had even less technical ability that I do now… I just started to cry because I knew my ideas were good ones and I thought I had a real chance. And I was sooo tired and it had been quite the night. I had two choices. Go to bed, or start at the start again. Well, I got it in by 8am. And yes, I won. It really was a major career break and I was flown to London for a series of interviews and to sit in the Press Gallery of British Parliament and have tea and scones with the Shadow Education Minister. I will never forget the privilege of interviewing the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University in his ornate office, nor seeing all my words and subsequent analysis printed on the op-ed page of The Times (of London). I have used that experience on more than one occasion to pick myself up of the floor and keep going.
What was your biggest break?
While at university I forced myself to apply for every extra-curricular opportunity, including doing an internship for a then Labor Senator in Parliament. It was terrifying setting foot in that building and overwhelming to be speaking to actual journalists and politicians (including Paul Keating himself!) as I was just so young and inexperienced. But I realised the value of networking because when a job as a researcher at the Australian Financial Review came up, I had a champion in one of the journalists I had met, the late great Alan Ramsey, and he put in a word for me with the Bureau Chief Tom Burton. Tom encouraged me to write articles and the very first story I had published went on to win a Walkley Award as part of a supplement on the ins and outs of Canberra which is another story completely on big breaks…But I digress. Of course, I studied the newspapers like a woman possessed the days before my interview and could answer every current affairs question they threw at me. But I know that being “known” and being eager enough to hang around Parliament was a kick-start to getting hired. I cannot stress enough how crucial developing personal relationships and networking has been throughout my career and it is something I fervently promote as the convenor of Women in Media Canberra.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I have benefited from the experience and kindness of many people, most notably Verona Burgess who was my mentor and champion at The Canberra Times. But in terms of life-changing advice, my mate Sarah Wilson asked me about ten years ago where I was going with my career and would I stay with Fairfax forever? (I was at The Canberra Times for 23 years) While I was deeply satisfied with my role, Sarah said the media landscape was changing and I needed to define my own personal brand rather than giving everything to my masthead. She could not have been more correct and I started to recognise the power of having a track record and personal credibility. I began to emerge from the shadows of my byline to do more media opportunities and to do a lot more public speaking. Again, terrifying at first, but also less scary the more I did it. I also took a long hard look at my newspaper and while I adored my then editor, I decided if I didn’t leave soon I never would. Having been a huge fan of HerCanberra since it began (I remember warning my paper that we needed to either copy it or buy it as lifestyle content was where things were at!) I decided to make the leap. I have not looked back. It really is the dream job.
What is it about your industry that you love and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
I love words. I love sitting down at a keyboard and translating the human experience into prose. I love the connection of journalism to readers, the way it can affect change, and the goddamned THRILL of getting a story ahead of the competition. Having always been interested in lifestyle and human interest journalism, I have relished my role writing about Canberra, its people and food scene. I get the opportunity to do a lot of social justice reporting as well and that keeps me sustained. I also love encouraging our interns into the industry like the mother hen that I invariably become.
Hair-pulling? I don’t do nearly as much of that as I used to. But something that has been irritating me lately is the amount of HerCanberra copy that is lifted by our competition. Fair enough our stories get copied, but please don’t steal our actual words and headlines verbatim. That’s a laziness that drives me mad.
Tell us how you ‘stay in the know’, what media do you consume?
I am far more selective these days as the volume and ease of access to information threatens to overwhelm us all. I rely on the ABC and absolutely love my local 666 radio (although I still miss the wonderful Alex Sloan!) I read The Guardian and subscribe to the New York Times. I read the weekend newspapers to feel ink on my fingertips but have virtually stopped buying magazines in lieu of Instagram which sucks up way more of my days than it should. My absolute go-to news fix each day is The Squiz which I love for its short, sharp and clever messages. For podcasts, I go to Em Rusciano for all things pop-culture and Chat 10 Looks 3 for the book and Netflix low-downs. I have been absolutely consumed by Virginia Tapscott’s podcast My Sister’s Secrets on her and her sister’s experience of child sexual abuse in a country town but it is hard to listen to.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Right where I am. I have some ideas on how to move forward, stay fresh and broaden my skills, but in the main, I am eager to keep pace with this city of ours and it’s clever, entrepreneurial people.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
Because getting paid to do something you love to do is the best way to live. Because you have an opportunity to do real good as a journalist. Because you will never spend two days doing the same thing. And because you will never run out of incredible stories to tell.
What advice would you give your past self?
Have faith because the best is yet to come. And to always do the work. You can catch up on sleep in another life!
