Foreign Correspondents' Association

STEVE MARSHALL

PRESIDENT

As a fellow foreign correspondent, I have experienced the support and recognise the value Foreign Correspondents Associations around the world offer resident, visiting and posted journalists.

I returned to Australia last year after a foreign posting with the ABC to take up the position of Australia Correspondent for Television New Zealand and one of the first calls I made was to the FCA to re-establish a network of contacts and get connected.

I am proud to be a member of the FCA and am committed to helping and inspire fellow journalists in their work. I aim to lead the association in the direction of securing quality newsmaker speakers, building FCA membership & sponsorship, increasing the visibility of correspondents and the association in Australia and the South Pacific.

I re-joined TV New Zealand as Australia Correspondent in March 2009 after six years with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This included a four-year posting as a Foreign Correspondent based in Papua New Guinea for ABC TV and Radio services.

During my ABC career, I covered major assignments such as the Asia Tsunami in Banda Aceh, the Schapelle Corby and Bali Nine drugs trails and the Football World Cup in Germany.

Prior to the ABC, I was a reporter for TVNZ which included a three-year foreign posting in the Australian Bureau. Major assignments included the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 2001 Solomon Islands coup and the Bali Bombings the following year.

My video-journalist skills enable me to travel solo, filming and edit my own work on international assignments such as the Shanghai World Expo and the Bangkok political riots earlier this year.

As one of the Associations 160 plus members, I look forward to working together and forging a positive path with a number of new board members for the FCA. The future is looking positive.

ROGER MAYNARD

VICE PRESIDENT

As a member of the FCA for about two decades and a journalist for more than 45 years, I like to think I have something to contribute to the Association.

I have worked as a stringer/correspondent out of Sydney for 23 years and know what it's like being a lone operator covering occasionally difficult stories where – because of working for an overseas outlet – you don't always get the local co-operation you need.

I have worked for most of the London broadsheets including 12 years with The Times and more recently on an occasional basis for The Independent. I've also written extensively for the Daily and Sunday Express and several other tabloids.

As a freelance I have always believed in diversification, which is why I also work for radio and TV. (I spent more than 20 years with the BBC before moving to Sydney). Before it became fashionable, I trained to become a video journalist and still shoot a lot of my own stories for overseas outlets. I've recently shot material for ITV News in the UK, HDnet in the USA and Getty.

As vice president of the FCA I will commit myself to helping and supporting all our members, particularly those freelancers and stringers whose head office is often many thousands of miles away.

I will also endeavour to encourage the FCA to be fiercely independent.

While I am the first to accept that we need to encourage dialogue and good relations between government and commercial organisations I do not feel we should allow ourselves to be pressured in any way by them.

I am extremely proud of the FCA and believe it should always be prepared to stand up and be counted. As Vice President I shall certainly continue that commitment.

TREVOR WATSON

HONORARY SECRETARY

Trevor Watson is a multi award winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience in national and international television, radio, print and online journalism, editorial management and public relations.

As National Director (Media) for Australia's largest public relations firm, PPR, Trevor currently provides strategic level communications counsel to a wide range of corporate clients.

In addition to his work with PPR, Trevor has maintained an involvement in daily journalism.

He has recently written on China for Fairfax online and until 2007 produced and presented a World Bank sponsored business affairs radio program, Pacific Business Report, which was carried by broadcasters in 14 Pacific nations and by Radio New Zealand International.

For more than two decades, Trevor worked as an Asia/Pacific Specialist for the ABC and later the Bulletin Magazine. During this time he covered the events and issues as well as the more subtle cultural, political and economic trends that shaped the life of the region.

For the ABC he was variously based in Canberra, Sydney, New Delhi, Bangkok, Beijing, Port Moresby and Singapore

His book, "Tremble & Obey, an ABC Correspondent's Account of the Bloody Beijing Spring", was published by Allen & Unwin.

He has a prestigious Walkley Award for his coverage of the South Pacific and a United Nations Media Prize for a series of documentaries on the political, social and economic impact of global migration.

He is a founding member of the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Australia and the South Pacific. He has also served as the President of the Foreign Correspondents' Association of South Asia, Vice President of the Foreign Correspondents' Association of China and as Treasurer of the Singapore Foreign Correspondents' Association.

As FCA Honorary Secretary, Trevor will work to ensure that the Association works to advance the professional and social interests of correspondents. He will also seek to further expand the membership of the Association.

HENRY BENJAMIN

TREASURER

Born in Scotland, Henry Benjamin has lived in Sydney since 1970.

He worked for the UK Daily Mirror's Scottish paper, the Daily Record, before transferring to London in the early 1960s.

In 2000, Henry resumed work as a journalist covering Sydney Olympic events for the Jewish Chronicle in London, the beginning of a relationship which was to last eight years.

He covered Jewish news from Australia and New Zealand in that time, adding the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to his client base while at the same time maintaining stringer relations with The Herald in Glasgow.

In 2009, he started J-Wire, an online news service covering events impacting on both the Australian and New Zealand Jewish communities. J-Wire publishes daily and draws its readership from a world-wide audience.

Henry has had plenty of experience working on boards.

He worked under Frank Lowy on the Board of the Hakoah Club and was on the Australian Federal Executive of the United Israel Appeal.

From 1970 until 2010, he also ran clothing manufacturing and textile companies and administratively, Henry has an above average knowledge of accountancy and is familiar with both MYOB and Quicken.

Over the last 12 months, Henry Benjamin has both photographed and videoed FCA events and has worked closely with the production process in preparing content for the FCA site.

Henry's aims for the FCA are for the Association to have quality membership and quality events and he believes that senior Australian journalists should also become FCA members and involved in its activities.

He plans to encourage all major foreign correspondents who are not yet members to join the FCA and Henry believes that annual proof of publication/broadcast outlets should be part of the membership process, with the exception of those who have retired from active journalism but who remain interested and involved in FCA's activities.

BARBARA BIERACH

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Barbara Bierach works as foreign correspondent for many traditional German quality media like Welt am Sonntag, Capital and Versicherungswirtschaft.

Writing both in German and English she also contributes to international online platforms such as mba-channel or knowledge@Australian School of Business. Barbara specializes in business reporting, but also loves the opportunity to go exploring and do travel stories. Some of her work can be found on barbara-bierach.com.

Barbara holds a masters degree in political science and economics from Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-University and graduated at Deutsche Journalisten Schule. She started her career at the German edition of “Forbes” magazine and “Wirtschaftswoche”, Germany's leading business weekly where she served as senior editor for the management and career sections. She has also published several books on management issues. Before moving to Sydney in 2006, she worked as foreign correspondent from New York City.

As an FCA board member, Barbara aims to be more closely involved in helping organise luncheon and briefing speakers, being involved in event and briefing coverage, and maintaining contact with members to ensure consistent feedback.

For the FCA Barbara aims to ensure quality membership and events and she believes that senior Australian journalists should be invited to join foreign correspondents as members of the Association and be involved in its activities.

MIMI CHAU

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Mimi is the Director of the Asian Media Centre and Asia Pacific News Agency and she is the Editor for Xinhua News Agency (Sydney Bureau).

Mimi has lived in Sydney since 1996 and she has extensive experience in media and communications. She received her Masters degree in digital media research from UTS and is an award winning journalist for South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

Mimi has worked for South China Morning Post and Sing Tao Newspapers as a journalist. She has covered and produced programs for various media organisations including SBS Radio, ABC Asia Pacific, CCTV International. She was also the media consultant for Beijing International Media Centre for 2008 Olympic Games.

Mimi's aims for the FCA are for the Association to have professional membership and she believes that Asian journalists should also become FCA members and be involved in its activities and, as a board member, Mimi will encourage more Asian journalists to join and participate in the FCA.

She plans to assist FCA through helping facilitate a variety of events that would appeal to members' needs, including press briefings by Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard, US President Barack Obama, social networking with foreign journalists, as well as media tours in Australia and Asia.

Mimi was previously elected to the FCA Board as an Executive Member in 2003.

NANCY NOTZON

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Nancy Notzon is a journalist with the Sydney bureau of Jiji Press, a major business and financial Japanese newswire. She writes for the English service of the Jiji wire and is in charge of research for the Sydney bureau's Japanese stories as well.

With a degree in International studies majoring in Journalism from the University of Canberra, Nancy has also studied abroad at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.

She began her career in media and communications as a manager for a Canberra-based promotions and marketing agency and went on to work for the University of Canberra as an academic learning advisor. Whilst employed by University of Canberra, she also worked on fundraising activities, reporting and website content management.

Nancy has worked closely with the FCA in the past 12 months, attending most briefings and other events, assisting with contacts, advice and in compiling the Summary of the 2010 FCA Members' survey. She is hoping to increase her level of participation as an FCA board member and would like to develop a number of areas, such as creating a new article submission system for the website, helping to organise events and briefings, and developing and maintaining contacts with members so as to ensure regular feedback that will contribute to the positive, constructive development of the FCA.

As an Executive Board Member, Nancy also plans to help increase the FCA's membership base, to include all major media organisations whose membership would attract and expand the range of high-quality guest speakers at FCA events.

Nancy is keen to help the continued development of the FCA be strong and as rewarding as possible for all its diverse members and she intends to use her skills and time available to achieve real outcomes in the coming year on the FCA Board.

CLAUDIO PAROLI

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Thirty years ago Italian-born Claudio Paroli swapped his law degree from Rome University for a job as a journalist with SBS-TV - four weeks before the multicultural broadcaster went to air in October 1980.

By 1986 he was SBS Deputy Director of News in charge of liaison with Asiavision members, in 1990 he led SBS's first foray into live Football World Cup coverage and three years later he was project manager for SBS-TV's move to its current Artarmon premise.

In 1994 Claudio set up his own company in Sydney to work on news, documentaries and the logistics of major TV events (Perth World Swimming Championships, Sydney Olympics, World Youth Day 2008) often for RAI of Italy but also for Aboriginal TV Imparja, for the Catholic Church's satellite TV Sat2000 and for a range of other clients.

Claudio loves getting his hands dirty with camera, lights, sound and editing, as well as writing, producing and directing.

He has previously served as Board member on the Sydney Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the word's largest ICCI.

Claudio, who will also be the FCA's Public Officer, believes his background as a former constitutional lawyer and a senior journalist will be useful in a Board which recognises the challenges and the opportunities of today's new media and which considers extending its membership to professionals in the new areas of the communication industry - while still assisting members of traditional media with information, lobbying and possibly opportunities of development.

He believes the FCA may also want to look at mentoring schemes assisting newcomers find their professional feet in Australia.