ANOTHER three talented up-and-comers in the design and media fields have been helped on their career path by the Herb Thomas Memorial Trust.
RMIT students Lauren McKinnon and Sian Johnson and Monash University’s Dani Rothwell are the latest award recipients.
Their achievements to date were outlined at the 31st annual Herb Thomas Memorial Trust dinner at Georgio’s Restaurant in Beaconsfield, this year hosted by the Rotary Club of Pakenham, on Tuesday 5 May.
Lauren completed a Diploma in Graphic Design at RMIT’s School of Architecture and Design, Sian a Graduate Diploma in Journalism at RMIT’s School of Media and Communication and Dani a Bachelor of Communications and Professional Writing at Monash University’s Berwick campus.
Rotarian and noted MC Sjaak Kusters interviewed each of the recipients, who received cash grants to help them in their endeavours.
Star News Group editor Garry Howe was guest speaker, touching on the changing media landscape and how it was impacting and enhancing the 105-year-old Thomas family media company.
Mr Howe said Star News Group was a very different place to when he walked through the doors 16 years ago – and was even very different to what it was a couple of years ago.
Although historically known as a newspaper company, he said it was now a media organisation, with its work shared on a number of platforms.
Star now employs a full-time web developer, two programmers, an on-line manager and has a team of six working in this field.
“Our sales staff offer bundled packages of newspaper and online advertising,” he said.
“That online ad may provide a click through to the advertiser’s website, where that reader is only another click away from becoming a customer for that business.”
He said the newsroom was changing shape as well, going from weekly newspaper cycles to a ‘news now’ attitude.
“Reporters who previously sat on a story for a few days to wait for the weekly newspaper cycle now may arrive on scene, tweet out a photo with a sentence summing up the situation, take a quick photo and/or video grab on their mobile phone, file the first report from the scene then continually update on the various mediums.
“By the time the newspaper hits the streets, it will carry the latest update, possibly enhanced by comments and information provided through that online coverage,” Mr Howe explained.
“The printed version of the story will be better for that journey.”
He said he was confident newspapers would be around for quite a while yet, especially at the community level.
“So to come back to the topic at hand – where is the future of Star News Group? Well, we will be where you want us to be – whether that’s on your phone, your tablet, your PC – or in your letterbox or on the newsstand.”
There were 11 members of the Thomas family in attendance at the dinner, including Ian and Dorothy Thomas and their son Paul, the current managing director, who is the fourth generation to hold the reins of the company.
The Herb Thomas Memorial Trust was established in 1979 by the Rotary clubs of Berwick, Pakenham and Narre Warren, in conjunction with the City of Berwick and Shire of Pakenham, with the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills joining in 1992.
