By Josh McDermid
Imagine being an up-and-coming journalist in Queensland, dreaming of becoming a foreign correspondent, but terrified of flying. This was the conundrum faced by our recent dinner guest and speaker, ABC News Breakfast co-host, Lisa Millar. On Wednesday 22 May the Corpus Christi College community took great pleasure in welcoming Lisa to give a glimpse of what it is like to spend 31 years of your life as a journalist.
Lisa Millar addressing the seminary community.
Of course, Lisa was able to overcome her fear of flying and become the great foreign correspondent that we have known her to be, but the trauma of flying was replaced by the trauma of reporting on such tragic events as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Bataclan theatre massacre in Paris, and the execution of Australian, Van Nguyen, in Singapore. This topic of trauma was a focus for Lisa who revealed that eventually the ABC not only began to consider the impact of trauma on its journalists and how this could be mitigated, but also how they, as journalists, could be trauma aware in their own reporting.
Lisa Millar with College Vice-Rector, Fr Brian Nichols.
The question-and-answer section of the evening raised new themes, including social media abuse and subjectivity in news reporting. Lisa recalled the abuse she received on Twitter, particularly about her father having been a State MP in Queensland for the National Party, and the attacks made about her appearance, which were amplified by other media outlets, but she is nevertheless comforted by the encounters she has with the people she has interviewed over the years.
Lisa Millar with formator, Maria O’Donnell.
Conscious that Lisa had to wake up at 3 am the next morning, Deacon Jean-Sebastien Gery thanked her for sharing dinner and speaking with us. Lisa was an incredible speaker, and we are so grateful that she made the time in her busy schedule to visit us.
Daring to Fly is the title of Lisa Millar’s 2021 autobiography.