Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A Listener Production. Hi, Natasha Belling with you and welcome to the afternoon edition of The Briefing. Coming up in our deep dive, we speak with Emma Lawrence, the sports journalist who this year made history as the first woman to call an NRL game.
In the same week of game one of State of Origin, Emma chats with us and reveals why she wanted to smash the glass ceiling and how her young daughter inspired her to take on one of the toughest jobs in a male-dominated industry. But first, here are the headlines this Friday the 29th of May from the Listener Newsroom.
Chapter 2: What are the latest headlines affecting Aussie rents?
Afternoon, I'm Tessa Randello. New modelling shows that Aussie rent could increase by $9 a week due to new housing measures which have been revealed in Labor's budget. Master Builders Australia, the Property Council of Australia and Real Estate Institute released the data from Quave and Tulipwood today. It claims that negative gearing and capital gains tax would hike rents by $477 per year.
But Labor's modelling claims that tenants would be paying an extra $2 a week by 2030.
Chapter 3: What controversy surrounds Amazon's backpack product?
Music We've heard from the opposition leader after calling the Prime Minister an arrogant prick during question time. Angus Taylor made the comments after those tax changes were introduced to Parliament yesterday.
I had to withdraw it. It was unparliamentary. But what I am hearing everywhere I go is far worse than that.
Speaking online there. A unicorn backpack has landed a major company in hot water, the consumer watchdog suing Amazon Australia for allegedly failing to comply with the mandatory button battery safety warnings. It's the first time the federal court's taken an online marketplace to court. While overseas, the EU has fined Timu $325 million over illegal and unsafe items.
And a massive tribute show is set for Aussie icon John Farnham after he revealed he'll never sing or perform again due to his cancer diagnosis. Farnham telling the Herald Sun that we can rule that out. Superstars Hugh Jackman, Celine Dion will perform via satellite, with Keith Urban also headlining in Melbourne on September 20. The event will raise funds for head and neck cancer Australia.
Now it's time to get into our deep dive with one of the most respected voices in the NRL, Emma Lawrence, who made history this year becoming the first woman to be handed the prestigious play-by-play call.
Quick hands, RTS, out to Lofi Con Pereira, and he says, get that up your Gold Coast Titans. I've just got a double. The Warriors are on fire. Get that up ya. What a great call there from Emma Lawrence.
Thank you. Her achievement has been hailed as a major win for all women in broadcasting. I had the great pleasure of working with Em almost a decade ago, and like so many others, always admired her incredible work ethic, her knowledge and sharp analysis of the game.
Emma joins us for this great chat and reveals why she almost said no to taking on this incredibly high-pressured role of calling an NRL game and what's next for this superstar who continues to inspire and shine. Em, thanks so much for joining us.
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Chapter 4: How did Emma Lawrence become the first female NRL caller?
It's like back to the future. I had the great pleasure of working with you many years ago. It was lots of fun. You had all the qualities to be an absolute superstar behind the scenes, but also in front of the mic or in front of the camera. Tell us about how it started for you, why you wanted to be a journalist.
Well, I think the passion was more so... with sport as opposed to journalism. Sure, I love journalism, but I know when I was coming through school, I just knew I wanted to work in sport, whether that was as a sports physio or a journalist. I wasn't exactly sure, but was obsessed with sport, grew up playing it, all of my family played it. And I kind of liked
all the English and maths kind of subjects at school. So that's why I didn't really know what my path was. But yeah, and it's funny, once I finished my journalism course, I still thought, oh, I really like that other side of the brain. So I went back and started commerce and finance. Wow.
Chapter 5: What inspired Emma Lawrence to pursue a career in sports journalism?
Believe it or not. And I was working at a law firm for 18 months, but got an opportunity at Fox. So actually then didn't even get to the end of that master's. And yeah, and so journalism was the path. So I think you could never shut me up. So I loved public speaking. I loved doing the speeches at school, which most people hated. So it was probably always destined for me, I guess.
You can see working with you and knowing you that it's in your blood sport. You love and you breathe it. What do you love about sport?
Oh, that's a good question. I think it just brings people together, right? The sense of community. And I think, I mean, I mostly work in rugby league now, but it's the same with all sports. I think there's, gives you a sense of purpose and you build great friendships with like-minded people. So... For me, that rugby league community almost feels like a second family.
And it brings so many people together that are from all different walks of life. We were having a chat about some of the origin selections just as we came in. It's one of the first things that people talk about, whether they come into work or you're on the train or you're getting a coffee or things like that. So sport has enriched my life and I know so many others.
So it's a great privilege to be able to work in it because I know so many people would think, I can't believe you get paid to sit at the footy and talk about footy and talk to their heroes. So yeah, it's a great job.
And tell us what it was like for you. You just said just then about, you know, chatting and working with your heroes. Tell us about that pinch yourself moment when you thought, I cannot believe I've met that person. I cannot believe I'm interviewing this person. Tell us about that pinch yourself moment.
It's funny because I think I often don't Not that I'm not grateful, but because it's work, there aren't a lot of moments where I think, wow, I'm working alongside these incredible stars. And because my brother played footy, so I grew up around football and my brother played for the West Tigers for 15 years. So I was kind of always surrounded by it.
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Chapter 6: How does Emma Lawrence feel about her role as a female commentator?
So I knew a lot of athletes, not that they were my best friends, but I was just in that environment. But... There have been a few moments.
There was one moment where my first year at Channel 9, when I was working on the grand final for 9, I was working alongside Fatty Voughton and I used to love watching the footy show every Thursday night and Cameron Smith, who's arguably the greatest player of all time. And I remember being at Suncorp Stadium, looking around, thinking they were playing that Flametree song as well.
Like I can actually remember being in that moment and... They had up on the screen all of the former premiers and going through the teams each year. So I can feel like even now, I can feel like I'm in that moment. And I remember thinking, wow, I'm so lucky. I've made it. I always wanted to do this and work alongside these legends of the game.
So yeah, not that I'm not grateful for it, but often just week to week, you kind of just go through the motions. And I mean, we probably should sit back a bit more and reflect and be grateful for the position that we're in. But yeah, it certainly is a very cool job.
Chapter 7: What challenges did Emma face as a woman in sports broadcasting?
Did you ever think being a female was a barrier to anything that you wanted to do in sport?
Yeah, I think for sure. Yeah, when I was coming through, so when I was young, there weren't, I mean, now there are a lot of females working in rugby league. But when I was younger, say when I was in high school or when I was starting out at uni, when you watch the TV or turn on the radio, there weren't a lot really.
And when I first came in working in sports, so my first job was at Fox Sports News. I've worked at Triple M for 10 years now. Like on the whole, I think I was... treated really well. But I did feel there was this sense that you had to prove you knew what you were talking about. I really felt like you had to prove yourself more. than your male counterparts.
I mean, you get a few sly comments here and there, but maybe that was mostly a fabrication in my head that maybe I just put the pressure on myself like I had to. Maybe my colleagues and employers didn't feel that to the same degree I did, but I always felt like, yeah, I definitely had to try and prove myself a bit more with my knowledge and work ethic and whatnot.
So not that you couldn't get to where you wanted being a female, but that you just have to work that bit harder for it.
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Chapter 8: What advice does Emma Lawrence give to aspiring journalists?
Did that frustrate you at any time thinking, okay, I've come up to this program or I'm doing this segment or I'm calling this game and I've put in twice as much effort or three times as much effort thinking, well, hang on, one of my colleagues isn't well prepared?
Yeah, for sure.
And
It's different in the sense that I guess there's two things. So if it's one of your colleagues is a former player, right, it's completely different because they offer something that you don't. They played the game. So you can only ever really compare yourself to reporters or hosts. So at times, yeah, throughout the years, I would think, oh, well, I've put in all of this effort.
are you being held back because you're a female? But I will say on the flip side then, because I've been in the industry for, I guess, maybe aside when I was 21, so maybe 15, 16 years, the industry has gone through cycles. So I feel like the very beginning it was like that and it was harder to prove yourself. But I feel like we went through a wave of, oh no, we need more females in sport.
So let's just get a whole bunch on, which almost then for a while, like I think maybe was being overcorrected and you'd pull in females that had never really liked rugby league, never really watched it. And I would think, well, that's a disservice to the ones currently. It's tokenistic. So I would never want to be on something that, just because I'm a female.
I would want to be picked because I work hard, I know my stuff, not just because, oh, we have to have a female on the coverage, you know? So I think there was a little bit of a period where... It was like that and maybe we overcorrected. So I think the balance is great now.
So yeah, frustration early, but then it was almost frustration at the opposite end of the scale where I thought, well, now anytime I get a gig, everyone thinks, oh, you're only there because there has to be a female on the broadcast.
Not because of your incredible talent and knowledge.
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