Alumni Profile: Clare Arthurs
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Degree:
Arts (Majors in History and Political Science), 1980 What does your work involve? Thanks to my British parents, I've got dual nationality and I've been based here since the late nineties, reporting on East Asia, and writing and producing for live news and current affairs programmes and making the occasional radio documentary. |
| Photo: bbclearningenglish.com |
I've dabbled a bit in teaching through most of my career and
in the last couple of years I've had opportunities to run workshops
for journalists and development agencies. I enjoy it and it's taken
me to some new places in Asia and eastern Europe.
What does a standard day at the office entail for you and what
do you like to do in your spare time?
We work for ten hours over four days, then have four days off.
That gives me a bit of time to read, to renovate my tiny flat and enjoy
London with friends.
I think I hold the world record for the amount of time I've been studying Spanish 101, and I'm always urging my young Aussie relatives to learn a language, and to begin NOW! It's not just great to have on the job, it opens a window into another world and it's fun! Most of the people I work with speak at least one other language.
We have access to a huge range of written and audio resources, and they all come to us on the desktop - correspondents' reports, translations of the world's media, audio clips of the great and the good, agency reports like those of Reuters and AFP, and of course we use the Internet a lot.
You can imagine the size of our collective 'little black book'! There's a lot of world to keep up with and we're under constant pressure to keep across the major issues and the major conflicts. When we're not synthesising information into a news or current affairs piece or an interview, we're listening or reading, or arguing the finer points to get things as exact as we can.
What's the most difficult decision you have had to make in
your career?
I had always planned to be a political journalist and that's what I
did for almost fifteen years, in three parliaments: Victoria, Canberra
and Queensland. But after spending a year backpacking I got the travel
bug and when I tried returning to Melbourne I found myself agonising
over whether to stay or move to London. It was a tough choice and it
took me a year to make it.
I didn't dream I would one day be working as a correspondent. And of course I wonder what would have happened if I'd stayed close to Australian politics; and I continue to miss my home.
What is the most enjoyable aspect of your job?
Taking a job at the BBC made the decision to move to London worthwhile.
It's an amazing operation and I stay here because I share its commitment
to accuracy and balance, and respect for the people we're broadcasting
to.
What inspires you about your job/life?
I'm completely addicted to challenge and change - I suppose it's the
intellectual butterfly mentality many of us suffer in the rich world
where there's an overflow of information and opportunity.
I stay with it because I'm convinced that accurate information is one
of the best tools we have for making good choices about our lives and
the sort of world we want to live in.
What is the most stressful/difficult aspect of your job?
I miss reporting in the field when I'm in a job which puts me in front
of a computer all day. I'm sure our bodies weren't made to keep this
still; mine certainly wasn't. I'm happiest when I'm out and about persuading
people to tell me their stories.
What have been the most significant moments of your life, post-study
or some career highlights?
Two things always spring to mind when people ask me what I've done although
I've had great memories from the Franklin Dam blockade, the storming
of Old Parliament House, the fall of Joh's corrupt government and, well,
would you count hearing one of Castro's mighty long speeches?
I'll never forget the night a cyclone hit the Queensland coast and we worked and slept inside a tiny ABC local radio station for long hours. I felt that I was playing a really important part in helping to ensure people were safe, as we broadcast information about the wind, road conditions and destroyed bridges. It was a reminder that things don't always have to be world-shaking to matter.
The other key career moment is my last posting, as the BBC's correspondent in Hanoi. I spent a fantastic two years there, covering stories ranging from economic development to human rights in a beautiful country with fascinating people. It was personal as well as a professional challenge and it's one of my proudest achievements.
What are your strongest memories of life in Melbourne while
you were studying at University of Melbourne?
I never stop missing Melbourne and its hot summers, and the starkness
of the Victorian bush. I get a buzz when I see the city - including
the university, on TV.
I was the first in my family to study at university and I remember how proud and nervous I was when I was the first (alphabetically!) to go on stage for graduation. It took a lot of toasted cheese sandwiches in the cafe and turns at the reference collection to get there. And it was a nice change to high school when being an A put me at the top of the queue for vaccinations!
I still use the learning I gained at uni, particularly from some of the psychology/statistics lessons which I've found useful in understanding polls and elections, and the political sociology which fascinated me as we looked at how people and politics are shaped.
I was radicalised by the Second Wave feminists I was hearing and reading - that too has stayed with me and I've always been active on equality issues. I was also lucky to study under some marvellous historians who gave me some rich insights as well as a great respect for the value of history, including that of Melbourne and also of Aboriginal people.
I've retained my love for exploring literature. I remember there was a bookshop on Swanston Street I was always browsing to 'discover' a writer I hadn't read before before I jumped on a tram.
I think I was a pretty attentive student. I loved the campus: the old stone halls, the lawns; and always enjoyed exploring a new part of the area, although parking my old blue HD station wagon (cost, $50!) was a nightmare. And it's helpful to have studied at such a prestigious university. One of the first questions I was asked when I came to the BBC was, "Which university did you attend?" Marvellous!
