Chairman
Dick Mitchell.
Guests
Guest speaker Mark Baker.
Sean Moraes, from RC Epping.
Senior Constables Veronica and Thomas Dempsey from Portland, along with Andrea Krelle, Manager Practice & Learning at the Centre for Adolescent Health and Dr David Broderick, Community Portfolio Manager with Victoria Police.
Ivy Bao, for induction into RCCMS.
Announcements
Kevin Walklate advised that he will be the On to Conference contact person for 2016. The conference will be held in Bendigo over the Labour Day weekend – Friday, March 11 to Sunday, March 13. Due to a shortage of accommodation in Bendigo, Kevin will make a block booking now for 15 people, for three nights, Friday-Sunday.
Rob Hines asked for members to attend the 2015 D9800 Foundation - grants seminar, on Monday, September 21. Following a show of hands it was agreed that Rob, Neville John, Kevin Walklate and Ivy Bao will attend.
President’s announcements
Past President Roy, standing in for President George, used the opportunity to make two presentations to club members who were unable to attend the Changeover dinner.
Roy’s first award, for the Rotarian of the Year, went to Greg Cuthbert for his unceasing fund raising efforts over the past couple of years, culminating with upcoming commencement of the Gourmet Farmers Market in Goldsbrough Lane on Thursday, September 3. [Greg is obviously pleased with receiving this award]
Roy’s second awardee was Tony Thomas. Roy firstly awarded Tony with a Certificate of Service for his excellent performance as club Secretary, enhanced by his ability to use shorthand. Then Roy awarded Tony with an Avenue of Service Award, conferred by Rotary International for notable club activity in each and every avenue of service available. [Another happy member].
Silk Miller Scholarship
PP Roy invited this year’s Silk Miller scholar, Senior Constable Veronica Dempsey to come up and receive her scholarship award from Andrea Krelle, Manager Practice & Learning at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Adolescent Health. Dr David Broderick, Community Portfolio Manager at VicPol, and Tom Callander participated in the presentation.
Andrea Krelle said she was pleased to be making the presentation at a Rotary meeting, because of the valuable support we provide to participants of the Adolescent Health course. She remarked that the course is multi-disciplinary, both in its course content and in the range of participants it attracts. She went on to commend VicPol for its involvement, saying that the course provided fantastic training to those involved in community policing.
Veronica Dempsey, in accepting the award, commented that she worked with 34 dedicated professional colleagues in Portland (and on occasion shares a patrol car with her husband Tom) and she is already finding that the course is improving her ability to deal with young people, especially those with mental health issues.
New member induction
PP Roy inducted Ivy Bao into membership of RCCMS, with the classification of Management and Education. He introduced her to her mentor, Anne King, and Kevin Walklate, standing in for Community Service Director Peter Duras.
Ivy said she was proud to have the opportunity to know Central Melbourne Rotarians. She wants to help those in need in the community and feels that membership of RCCMS will provide her with the opportunity to do this. [See story about Ivy later on in this Bulletin].
Guest Speaker
Chairman Dick Mitchell introduced
Mark Baker, Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Press Club, to talk about
Press Freedom.
Mark started his talk by saying that this was not the first time he’d spoken to a Rotary club. In 1969, when he was a school boy, his father (and head master of his school) coerced him to speak to the Camperdown Rotary club, of which he was a member. However, the experience was sufficiently daunting that he hasn’t spoken to a Rotary club since!
Mark explained that he has been in newspaper journalism almost all his working life, including 13 years as a foreign correspondent, culminating in the position of Senior Editor at the Age for 7 years. He has been CEO of the Melbourne Press Club since 2013.
One of the Melbourne Press Club’s recent successes has been the creation of the Media Hall of Fame, which recognises people who have made significant contributions to the craft of journalism and enhanced the history of the news media in Victoria. The Hall of Fame has been established over three years with a foundation membership of 81. In 2015 the honour roll will go national, becoming The Australian Media Hall of Fame.
In addressing the question of press freedom and the quality of journalism, Mark acknowledged that the media doesn’t always live up to expectations. These are very challenging times, he said, with the two major challenges being (a) Government attempts to control the media and (b) technology, which is leading to greater diversification and the erosion of traditional media.
In Mark’s view, print media made a fundamental mistake in allowing digital media to be free. During the 70s, newspapers were genuine rivers of gold, due to classified advertisements (with the Saturday Age being up to 300 pages thick). Management became fat and lazy and allowed young talent to enter the field and steal much of the business away from them and onto the new online media (cars, for example).
The net result is that newspapers are no longer making money and massive staff cuts have ensued. Over a 20 year period, the Age’s editorial staff has halved and over 2000 journalists in Australia have lost their jobs. Mark believes there is some hope, however, because people still want good journalism and reliable news. He believes that, over time, people will be prepared to pay for such coverage.
Even in the past, journalism did not make money, Mark said, but was supported by philanthropists who used the wealth gained from advertising to underwrite good journalism. And today, this practice continues in a few cases, such as the Guardian, which is supported by a philanthropic fund but still retains its editorial independence.
Mark understands the trend of Government to tighten control of the media in the current age of global terrorism. However, he feels that the privileges of society, such as privacy and civil liberties are at real risk. Journalists and whistle blowers will be much more cautious now that there is the threat of a 10 year jail sentence for disclosing special operations. Especially now that metadata are being stored for two years and a journalist’s every movement can be traced.
PP Roy’s closing
PP Roy closed the meeting at 8:45am.
She came to Australia in 2013 from the north-western Chinese city of Dun Huang. She discovered Rotary when her Economics teacher, Newton Langford of RC Glenferrie, took her to the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) at Camp Getaway, Axedale, last May. “I enjoyed very much seeing the school students debating and showing their knowledge of other countries,” Ivy says.
