Theresa Rockley-Hogan
ABC’S Emergency Broadcast Lead
Q. Your link to Townsville?
I spent around 20 years in Townsville, after my husband was posted to Townsville in the Air Force. I loved working at Channel Ten at the magnificent Queens Hotel building on The Strand. Sadly, I was the last local News Editor in charge of a fantastic team of journalists who put together the 6pm news each weeknight. After the local news finished, I worked for the ABC in Brisbane and then was lucky enough to return as the local manager for ABC Townsville.
Q. Where are you now?
My partner and I now live in Newcastle, where we’re closer to our extended families. I do miss the North Queensland lifestyle but it’s great to have some fantastic beaches here in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. We just bought a campervan, so we’re looking forward to enjoying some scenic spots.
Q. What does your work involve?
I still work for the ABC and have just started a new national role as the ABC’s Emergency Broadcast Lead. This means I work with teams all over the country in times of fire or flood, for example. The Emergency Broadcasting role of the ABC team in Darwin during Cyclone Marcus earlier this year was recently recognised at the inaugural EMPA (Emergency Media & Public Affairs) awards in Melbourne.
Q. How did your time in Townsville set you up for success?
I had plenty of practice doing Emergency Broadcasting with cyclones and flooding in Townsville and North Queensland! It’s a really important role to update our community at times of an emergency but also to help them prepare for an event and seeing the impact of events such as Cyclone Larry, which showed me how the ABC can help communities survive and recover. With much of the country so dry, I’m getting ready for what is already a busy time with dangerous fires.
Q. Do you still come ‘home’ to Townsville to visit?
I’ve been travelling all over the place, including back to Townsville, in the past few weeks, to work with local ABC teams so they’re ready to do Emergency Broadcasting on radio and social media. I also came back recently for a Channel Ten reunion and it was fantastic to catch up with some old colleagues and walk again along the beautiful Strand.
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