Sporting Life of a Sports Reporter

By Alexandra Shaw

Bright lights line the mirror. Palettes of makeup powder, hair spray and brushes line in front of him. He looks at his reflection, brushing off the makeup that has come to rest on his neatly pressed suit. He loves sport and loves talking about it. Matt Russell, sports presenter on WIN Television since 1998 doesn't even complain at having to wear make-up five nights a week.

Reading the sports bulletins for Wollongong, the Central West and Riverina districts, Russell also spends his day reporting on sports stories in the Illawarra.
"I really enjoy presenting. At first I really stank. 9am to 3 is a really hard slog because I am flat out writing and reporting but after that presenting helps me relax and wind down for the day."

Russell has never aspired to become a journalist and describes himself as your regular Australian male who simply loves sports. After completing his HSC Russell began a business degree and two days into the course was accepted into Sports Journalism at Canberra University.
"People talk about those moments in their lives where you can really go one way or another," said Russell. "And this was most defiantly one of those moments, that day I packed and moved to Canberra."

After completing his degree Russell worked for the Central Western Daily for three and a half years and then moved onto WIN Television, both located in Orange for another three years before moving to Wollongong.
"Regional television is an excellent training ground for young journalists," he says. "You have to do a bit of everything, you write more stories than anywhere else, even edit. Regional television simply doesn't have the resources of a metro market."

Russell believes journalists gain a well-respected reputation by being fair, accurate and unbiased in their stories. Establishing himself within the Illawarra has given Russell the edge as WIN Television's principal sports reporter. He has gained the trust and confidence of local sporting bodies and teams, but is quick to admit its pitfalls.
"The longer you are in a place the better. I have established not only myself as a sports reporter but also a rapport among the varying sporting bodies within the Illawarra," he said. " This also has its downfalls, I consider a lot of the guys to be a friendly acquaintant which then changes our relationships to sportsman and journalist when a story arises. Reality is we need the news when it's breaking."

While sports may not deal with the overly sensitive issues, Russell points out the need for compassion when approaching a story of a sensitive nature.
"I always have to be generally sympathetic to the cause and put myself in that person's shoes. I can only ever understand to a certain extent," he said. " In approaching a sensitive topic I normally have a chat off camera first. If there are any areas of tension I always ask if I can mention this on camera before proceeding with the interview. Ultimately if we present a fair report, the audience then have the opportunity to make their own mind."

In the past 10 years Russell has reported a huge array of sports and news events. "Damon Lowrey's free throw that landed the Illawarra Hawks in their first NBL grand final was a dead set fairytale. You couldn't have written a better movie script," he muses. "And the Wolves first grand final with Wollongong's favourite sporting son Matty Horsely missing that penalty shot saw all the boys dig in. Both those teams had no right to win, which makes them stories of remarkable achievement."

Russell admits he is lucky to have experienced some of the region's major sporting events so early in his career and believes his relaxed techniques have only assisted him as a journalist.
"I hate the stereotype of journalists as cold and callous, like vultures. The technique I approach is simply not to be like that," he says with a smile. "But I love my job and I have to admit I love coming to work, especially when I think about what I could have ended up doing right back in the beginning!"