Nine News sports director Paddy Sweeney remembers his first journalism gig at Narrogin Observer

Reflecting on his journey from a one-person newsroom in the Wheatbelt to a leading role in WA sports media, Paddy Sweeney said he “couldn’t have asked for a better start” to his career than the Narrogin Observer.

Now serving as sports director for Nine News Perth, Sweeney got his start in the media industry in 2011, when he took up the role of sole reporter in Narrogin.

“I went down there and didn’t know a single soul,” he said.

Working to cover court, sport, council and any number of community-focused stories in a vast patch stretching from Lake Grace to Wandering, Sweeney said the role served as “great grounding” for a fledgling reporter.

“You are sole journalist, the editor, the photographer, you were everything and it was great,” he said.

“You have to make the best of the situation and it forces you to get involved with the community, which is a wonderful thing.”

Sweeney put out the weekly Narrogin Observer for more than a year before moving to the Kalgoorlie Miner to follow his true love — sports reporting.

The 16 months spent at the Observer and the skills he learned were invaluable to his now-flourishing career, he said.

“It worked out really well because I’m now a journo, a producer, presenter and sport director,” he said.

“I have to do a number of different roles and, reflecting on my time in Narrogin, that’s likely how I learnt how to juggle that.

“You experience so many different things and learn how to do everything.”

He said he is grateful he chose the regional path after university rather than the often “cutthroat” and “ruthless” metro avenue.

He recommends budding journalists take advantage of the jack-of-all-trades education opportunity small regional newsrooms provide.

“In regional papers, you’re probably afforded a bit more luxury to make mistakes, and the community is more forgiving because they can see you’re giving your absolute best,” he said.

“It forces you to take a look at things with an open lens.

“In terms of a career move, it was wonderful.”

As well as skills, Sweeney said he forged relationships in the Wheatbelt that have lasted more than a decade.

“You quickly develop relationships and contacts and many of those turn into friendships — lots of which I still have and am still in touch with today,” he said.

”I’ve been to weddings of people I met during my time there.

“One of the most important things I learnt during my time in the regions is that if you immerse yourself in the community, you get it back tenfold.”