The Edit: Reporting Trump's White House


Thanks to Cameron Stewart for talking candidly at our recent Edit event. While these events are off-record, we've created a little wrap with some further reading/viewing.

Stewart regaled us with stories of his adventures in the US, took us through an average day on the job and the tactics he employs to get a story. He discussed his role, which he sees as the art of interpreting US politics through an Australian lens ... Highlighted in the following two stories, both of which are based around interviews with current and former administration officials:

‘Shorten fell for elites, says Trump strategist Steve Bannon’, The Australian, 21 May 2019

‘US-China trade deal a coup for Australia’, The Australian, 28 June 2019

Stewart also spoke about his workload, being The Australian’s 'man in America'. Housed with staff from the WSJ, Stewart reports on Washington politics but also the rest of the country. At any one moment he is covering breaking news for the Oz, working on several features and preparing his regular contributions to Sky News.

Here is a recent Sky News segment on Robert Mueller’s statement about Russian interference.

And a choice recent feature piece:

‘Joe’s mates in the States’, The Australian, 27 July 2019

Stewart spoke a little about the visceral experience of being in the media box at a Trump rally, where supporters are whipped up into a frenzy, shouting down ‘fake news’. Here’s the best footage we can find of such a scene, from a rally in Florida.

And finally, a tidbit of personal advice for budding journalists?

“Go for what you’re interested in, because what you’re interested in is what you’ll be good at.”

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