Annie began her career as a film reviewer for the ABC in Darwin while studying for her journalism degree and went on to work there for almost a decade as a producer and presenter. Since moving to Adelaide nine years ago she has balanced a “portfolio career”, managing current affairs at Radio Adelaide, producing features for Radio National and teaching journalism at UniSA, as well as a spot of magazine writing, and most recently working as consultant journalist for the National Science Media Centre.
She enjoys the independence of the Wire, the opportunity it gives young journalists to have a go at doing their own stories and the challenge of broadcasting to a very eclectic audience.
Catherine Zengerer Radio Adelaide
Catherine was bitten by the radio bug when she joined a union show in 2006. A ‘political animal’, Catherine relishes being immersed in current affairs. She loves working on The Wire because every day is different, which she says suits her short attention span! She also loves the opportunity The Wire provides to cover stories not told in the mainstream.
Nursing, working for the union movement and running art exhibitions are just some of the things Catherine has turned her hand to, but the common thread has always been connecting with people in the community, and she sees radio as a natural extension of that.
Catherine joined the Adelaide Wire team in 2008 and is currently studying a Bachelor of Journalism at UniSA.
Faith Valencia 4EB
Faith commenced her radio career at a very early age playing in the studios of 4ZR in Roma, South West Queensland, where her Mum managed the local radio station. Fast forward to the late 90's and Faith was rocking out at Triple M (although she was more of a dag) and reading news on 101.1FM. Soon after completing a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Business, Faith left Australia to live overseas and start a family, while she completed her Masters. Faith discovered her love of producing news and currant affairs while living in Japan, where she produced a daily news and current affairs program for an American television network. After leaving Japan, Faith lived in Argentina for a time before returning to Australia. She’s worked for ABC television and local radio before commencing full time study of Law at QUT … and becoming the Brisbane producer for The Wire.
Tim Roxburgh 2ser
Tim Roxburgh has worked in Radio since the beginning of 2009 and, from mid 2011 is the Producer of The Wire's Monday and Tuesday shows from Sydney. After finishing a degree in computer science and working as a web developer and a programmer, he completed a masters in political economy, and then studied Mandarin Chinese in Beijing. In 2008 he began working as a journalist in community radio at Sydney's 2SER. Alongside his journalism work he has also completed research projects for the University of Sydney and the Centre for Policy Development. His research and journalism is often focused on communicating debates and concepts that lie at the intersection of politics, economics and environmentalism.
Contributors
Ruth Chalker 4EB
Ruth started her career at community radio in 2006 at 4ZzZ in Brisbane. After working on the headlines team for a year she made the transition to current affairs and eventually started her own program. She managed and produced the hour long program on alternative international news for a year before moving stations and joined the team at The Wire. She loves the opportunities The Wire provides, being able to talk to a variety of people on many different stories which aren’t covered by the mainstream. Ruth particularly enjoys reporting on social justice, indigenous and environmental stories. Also, as a politics nut she gets a bit crazed at election time! (so much news!) Ruth Graduated from the University of Queensland in 2010 with a dual degree in Arts and Journalism and is currently looking to continue working in the exciting field of broadcast journalism. Her journalism dream is to travel overseas and report on an election in another country.
Bridget Backhaus 4EB
Bridget is a highly-caffeinated journalist who started her career in radio in 2009. She dabbles in corporate communications, producing, teaching and social media as well as freelance writing whenever people will publish her. After studying in Germany and a whirlwind trip to Vietnam, Bridget was well and truly bitten by the travel bug. She now travels whenever her schedule (and bankcard) will allow it. Her next jaunt will be back to India and Sri Lanka. Bridget joined The Wire team in 2010 and loves the range of alternative stories she gets to cover and produce. When Bridget grows up, she wants to be a uni student.
Brit-Helen Johansen
2ser
Brit-Helen has worked in radio since 2010 when she joined 2ser as a volunteer. Brit-Helen is from Norway and came to Sydney in 2008 to study. In 2010 she finished a Bachelor of International Studies at the University of Sydney and decided to pursue a career in journalism and started at 2ser. She is also studying journalism at UTS, and if all goes well, expects to graduate with a master in journalism in 2012. Brit-Helen joined The Wire in May 2011 and absolutely loves it. She initially had her mind set on print media, but her experiences at The Wire have made her realise she wants to work in radio when she finally finishes her studies.