50 years of journalism at RMIT

We’re taking a look back on the significant moments and memories that have paved the way for past, present and future RMIT journalism students.

RMIT is this year celebrating a golden jubilee, with 2023 marking a half-century since the study of journalism was first introduced in 1972.

Renowned for producing graduates with a thorough and practical understanding of media, invaluable skills and industry contacts, while being well-practised in live productions of radio and television, RMIT alum continue to make their mark in Australian and global news.

To celebrate the milestone, we’re taking a look back over the years and reflecting on the significant moments and memories that have influenced, shaped and paved the way for past, present and future RMIT journalism students.

1972: RMIT introduces journalism as a part-time, four-year diploma

85 years after Francis Ormond founded the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the study of journalism is introduced as a part-time, four-year diploma, welcoming its first cohort of students in 1973.

1978: Journalism becomes part of RMIT’s Bachelor of Arts

Just six years later, the growing demand and success of the diploma sees journalism become part of RMIT’s Bachelor of Arts.

RMIT alum John Tidey wins the University’s J N McNicol Prize in 1982 before he graduates from the Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) in 1983. His career ends up taking him across the globe, with milestones including authoring several biographies and memoirs.

“The study – politics, history, and journalism – imposed a discipline and a structure on the craft I had pursued on leaving high school and undertaking a journalism cadetship in Queensland,” he said.

John Tidey

RMIT alum, Adjunct Professor, award-winning journalist and Channel Nine presenter Brett McLeod also graduates from the degree in 1984.

“RMIT was the only choice. Its reputation made it that way. There was no other tertiary institution I wanted to get into,” he said.

“[In] second year, 1982, I started the radio subject with Helen Molnar as my lecturer. And for the first time I can remember, I thought: this is what I want to do!

“In third year, I did work experience at 3AW. They offered me a job and away I went.

“I never planned a career in the media. But I'm still doing it, and it all started with that radio subject.”

Brett McLeod

Alicia Loxley

1987: Australia’s first public television station for students goes to air as part of RMIT’s centenary celebrations

RMIT journalism students make their first claim to fame on screen, producing Red Eye News and Newsline, going to air on TV from the top of the RMIT city campus to the nearby suburbs of North Melbourne, Brunswick, Carlton and Fitzroy. The programs were born out of RMITV – the brainchild of engineering student Martin Schneeberger who built a television transmitter as part of his final year project in 1985.

2000: The RMIT Student Radio Association joins forces with 3TD, establishing SYN Media

RMIT’s Student Radio Association (SRA) merges with 3TD, an AM station run by high school students from Thornbury-Darebin Secondary College, forming SYN Media.

The by-product of the two youth-led radio projects cements its roots at RMIT’s City campus, and commences permanent radio broadcast in January 2003, before expanding to the screen later that same year with the launch of SYN TV on Channel 31.

Among the first students making the most of the broadcast programs and facilities on campus, Channel Nine presenter and reporter Alicia Loxley opens the door to her career as an Australian journalist, gaining invaluable practical experience before graduating from RMIT in 2003.

“My experience at RMIT was essential to preparing me for life in a newsroom […] the practical nature of the course meant we were in many ways job ready, from putting together radio news bulletins to recording and editing our own TV news stories,” she said.

“I was part of a community radio program called Arts Alive while I was at RMIT and in 2002 I was sent to the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

“The film ‘The Tracker’ had its world premiere there that year and I managed to get a one-on-one interview with its star David Gulpilil, which remains an absolute career highlight.”

2005: The first RMIT student wins the Melbourne Press Club Student Journalist of the Year Award

RMIT student Kate Stowell etches her name in our history books, becoming RMIT’s first journalism student to win the Melbourne Press Club Student Journalist of the Year award.

A significant personal achievement for one of our students as well as an honourable accolade for the university, Kate paves the way for RMIT students Lisa Martin and Bridget Davies, who followed in her footsteps to claim the title in 2007 and 2015, respectively.

Meanwhile in 2011, Jane Vashti Ryan and Harrison Tippet are acknowledged for their writing prowesses, winning the Melbourne Press Club/Siemens Award for Student Journalism. Matthew Peirri also claimed the award in 2012, making it back-to-back honours for RMIT.

2013: RMIT Journalism Society is founded

The RMIT Journalism Society is born, setting out to foster the talent and development of RMIT’s emerging journalists. The student-led club provides the chance to access opportunities, network and develop in an encouraging, supportive and social environment.

2017: RMIT partners with ABC to relaunch Fact Check

RMIT combines with ABC in an innovative partnership to relaunch award-winning public news service Fact Check.

The collaboration heightens the university’s reputation for producing journalism graduates with integrity, credibility and commitment to the highest standard and principles of media practice.

Informing the public through an independent non-partisan voice, RMIT ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate.

A year later in 2018, RMIT would lead the way for other universities in Australia, introducing the very first fact-checking subject as part of its journalism offering. But it’s not just journalism students reaping the benefits, with a RMIT ABC Fact Check initiating a 90-minute micro-credential on fact checking and verification, available free for all students on the RMIT Creds platform.

Students film outside RMIT ABC Fact Check Studio

2018: RMIT's new Media Precinct is built

Taking the spotlight in 2018, RMIT’s new Media Precinct is a welcome addition to the City campus, cultivating opportunities for students and industry alike.

Showcasing ultra-high definition 4K video and Zero Density virtual studio technology, the precinct’s state-of-the-art facilities includes tech used by leading media outlets globally, including BBC and ESPN.

Take a look inside RMIT’s Media Precinct as it exists today in the video below.

2019: RMIT and Channel 31 premiere student news program on live TV

A pinch-yourself moment for our final-year journalism students, RMIT and Channel 31 screen the cohort’s ‘News in Sixty Seconds’ bulletins on live television for the first time. The bulletins are part of the students’ final-year assessment, seeing them gain invaluable industry experience with production replicating a fast-paced newsroom environment.

2020: RMIT innovates with remote placements during COVID-19

As the world is struck with the COVID-19 pandemic, new ways of learning and collaborating are born.

Beating the lockdown, vocational journalism students leverage our industry partners including The Age, News Corp, the ABC, Canberra Times and more, to secure a range of internship experiences from data journalism placements, to research and production roles, to dedicated placements in fashion, sport, music and politics.

During this time, Brett McLeod also works with journalism students on a community project, reporting on homelessness during the pandemic.

Published on Nine News, the project engages a small group of third-year Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) students.

“I knew that for most people the image of homelessness is those sleeping in doorways. Yet the reality is vastly different. It's people who have to constantly couch surf, or sleep in their cars, or get what little government accommodation is available,” he said.

“So, I asked some students to come up with stories that would make the public more aware of the reality of homelessness, and make them care more.

“To their enormous credit, they persisted [through lockdowns]. And they came up with some assignments which were incredible in the circumstances. I only had a very small role but I'm really proud of what they achieved.”

2023: RMIT introduces new Indigenous education award, honouring journalism alum, distinguished Wergaia/Wamba Wamba Elder and Professor Eleanor Bourke

The Eleanor A. Bourke Award and Citation for Indigenous Education honours Bourke’s eminent career, outstanding leadership and tireless dedication to advancing Aboriginal education and communities over more than 40 years, after she gained a Diploma of Arts (Journalism) from RMIT in 1976.

Open to RMIT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators, the award recognises the achievements of educators and their contributions to the field of Indigenous education. It will be offered for the first time as part of the RMIT University Teaching Awards in 2023.

50 years marked. The journalism story continues at RMIT.

Join us to celebrate at our book launch! RMIT is commemorating the milestone with the launch of an edited book, Journalism Matters. Compiling 50 years into a single hardcover, the book features articles written by graduates of our journalism programs. Register today for the launch on Tuesday 14 November at the City campus, and get your hands on a copy and a piece of RMIT history.

Are you an RMIT alum with a story to tell about your time on campus? Share your unique RMIT memories with us, and be part of our university’s history.

Story: Jacqueline Guldon

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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Acknowledgement of Country

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