Reading THE NEWSMAN

I’ve started reading THE NEWSMAN by Mal Walden.  I’m not much of a book reader these days, preferring magazine articles or online posts.  It’s just that books are long and can take weeks or months to complete reading.  Often I will either loose interest in a book over time, or forget parts of the story I’d read a month earlier and just give up.  Despite this, I was still motivated to order this part Auto Biography, part History of News Broadcasting in Melbourne.

Growing up as a teenager in the 1980’s, I remember Mal Walden reading the nightly TV news.  I specifically recall the emotions as he told Melbourne that four of his colleagues had been killed in the 1982 Channel Seven News helicopter crash.  Whenever I see or hear anything from, or about, Mal Walden, I think about how he held it together to deliver that horrible story before throwing to a commercial break.

As well as reading about Mal’s experiences, I’m looking forward to reading about the progress of the media industry and technology over 60 years.  I’ve had the book for two days now and have just finished Chapter 1. I’ve already been saddened, laughed and very surprised to learn that Channel 9 had a deal in 1963 to use the Sydney-Melbourne coaxial cable to share news stories, while Channel 7 where forced to send stories interstate by air or road.

I’ll write an update when I’ve finished reading the book.

I’ve finished reading Mal Walden’s THE NEWSMAN.  I was surprised, it was really hard to put down.  Laughing one  minute, crying the next, as I re-lived news stories from my childhood, while learning about the human element behind the scenes.

If you grew up in Melbourne during the 70’s and 80’s (or even earlier), with a modest interest in news and current affairs, then I highly recommend this book!