Today, Medianet is joined by Jack Egan, Digital News Producer and Reporter. Here, Jack talks about his new position at Fight News Australia, taken up for his passion for MMA and combat sports.
Hi Jack! Congrats on your new role at Fight News Australia! Could you tell us a little bit more about it and where you’re all hoping to take Fight News?
The team at Fight News Australia covers all forms of combat sports, from MMA and boxing to grappling and muay thai.
We produce feature interviews with local and global athletes, full analysis of mixed martial arts news and live coverage of MMA and boxing events. The team aims to shine a spotlight on both regional and international combat news and events.
What does your media cycle currently look like? Are there any special events/dates that you’ll look out for content? Especially with the Olympics, are there any projects we should be keeping a look out for from you or Fight News?
Fight News Australia predominantly focuses on Australian MMA news and events, showcasing the depth of our homegrown fighters as they fight their way onto the world stage. My main contribution to FNA is feature interviews of athletes from global organisations such as the UFC, ONE Championship and PFL/Bellator.
The team and I also regularly produce content around Australia’s biggest MMA organisations such as HEX Fight Series and Eternal MMA.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games is also a huge opportunity for us as we hope to deliver amazing content around our Australian athletes looking to bring home the gold.
You’re also a Producer at Sky News. What does your day-to-day look like here? What are the main responsibilities of a News Producer and where does it fit in the wider media ecosystem?
My day-to-day job is as a Digital News Producer for Sky News Australia. I produce content from all of our political, business and opinion programs for our online and social media platforms. My job within the newsroom is to cover all the stories of the day from local Australian news to global international events while always being ready to produce any breaking news which could come up.
Working for Sky News Australia has been such a huge and exciting opportunity for me as I continue to write real, honest and informative news to keep Australians as well-informed as possible.
How have your previous experience, including your degree in Journalism, helped prepare you for your current role? Would you recommend that other aspiring journos also take up a degree in the field? And what’s your advice for emerging journalists?
Studying for a Bachelor of Journalism at the University of Wollongong helped me so much with learning the fundamentals of written, broadcast and online news. I was able to fine-tune my skills and work on the areas I needed to improve in. With the classes, volunteer work and internships offered from my course, I was able to gain real-world experience in the field of journalism.
You’ve also worked for a few media outlets throughout your career thus far. How have they differed in planning and producing content?
I worked for several online sports publications before I chose to solely focus on combat sports news. The difference with these sports publications compared to my day job is they are all done online and from home. My role in Fight News Australia is done in the spare time I have as the world of MMA and combat sports is such a huge passion of mine, one I want to be involved in.
Working for Sky News Australia, on the other hand, I’m in the newsroom every day and it’s an incredibly exciting and fast-paced environment.
Lastly, what makes for a memorable pitch?
What brings the most viewers? With any story I write or content I produce, that’s the question that’s always in the back of my mind. I try to create the most compelling headline, the most engaging lead and pair it with an interesting but appropriate image. Those are the three main things I focus on when producing a story as they will be the first thing the audience sees. Once I have your attention and I’ve managed to keep it, that’s when I can share the rest of the details.
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