Calling country home

Image: robdthebaker/Adobe Stock

Image: robdthebaker/Adobe Stock

Black and white portrait of a male with dark hair and eyes wearing a white collared shirt.

Journalist and editor Harry Clarke (Bachelor of Journalism '13) reflects on founding a successful online news service for rural Queensland.

After an early career in print and television news media, I made the difficult decision in mid-2020 to leave my secure employment with a major network and return to my home town of Chinchilla to explore other opportunities. 

Previously, my dream had been to move abroad to London and work as a freelancer in the cut-throat world of the Fleet Street press.

Working in the vibrant UK media is a rite of passage that a lot of young journalists embrace, but when the pandemic came around and international borders closed, that plan was dead in the water. 

Chinchilla is a long way from Earl's Court – and a long way from the Channel Nine newsroom on Mount Coot-tha, for that matter. For a long time, towns like Chinchilla have not been places experienced journalists would consider moving to in order to progress their careers.

Harry Clarke standing in front of the Brisbane River at night holding a microphone

Harry Clarke presenting for 9 News. Image supplied

Harry Clarke presenting for 9 News. Image supplied

The decline of traditional news, especially in rural and regional towns, is widely lamented in the media industry. 

But, while a lot of country newspapers are folding and newsroom staff are being culled because of shrinking audiences and decreasing advertising revenue, there have also been a lot of interesting entrepreneurial efforts in small-town media.

In some cases, newspapers are being revived and turning a profit. In other cases, websites are starting up and building notable followings.

Communities are also turning to social media to share information that’s important to them, their families and their neighbours.

It appeared to me that while traditional companies were facing challenges to keep up with drastic changes in the ability to deliver and monetise journalism, audiences were still demanding local news as much as ever. 

So, within only a few days of moving home to Chinchilla, jobless, I realised there was an opportunity to make an entrepreneurial effort in my own.

For some reason, the name ‘Country Caller’ arrived in my head.

I purchased the domain name for about 10 bucks and found a classical old English news font with which to design a masthead, or logo. Suddenly, I had my own news brand and website, and I set off to do the only thing I knew how – produce news stories. 

The response, feedback and engagement I’ve received from Country Caller news has been overwhelmingly positive from the get-go.

Local readers say they appreciate having a source of independent news from an experienced journalist who has the wider Chinchilla community’s interests at heart.

But stories haven’t come from Chinchilla alone. The Country Caller has taken me as far as Cairns, Mount Isa, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. That’s because I’ve pitched the publication as a news service advocating for rural and regional Queensland as a whole.

What I’ve really liked is that close to half of my audience is in Brisbane. It indicates that not only are country folk enjoying news from the bush, but city folk are also taking an interest in what’s happening outside the south-east corner. 

Image: fotobeam/Adobe Stock

An image of Toyota Landcruiser driving along the country roads of country Queensland.

I've relished the editorial freedom that's come with establishing an independent news service. Should I have a shot of Fireball Whiskey with Lee Kernaghan and Bob Katter and put the footage in a news story? Sure thing!

Drop the f-bomb as well? No problem! That's what happened when I travelled to Mount Isa to cover its iconic annual rodeo last year.

I reported on the intense competition in the rodeo arena, and there was so much colour surrounding the event that could only be captured by bending a few rules instilled in me from traditional media.

There's editorial freedom in the more serious news stories as well.

An award-winning story I produced for the Country Caller involved spending a couple of days paddling and dragging a kayak along the Condamine River catchment to find evidence of coal seam gas bubbling to the surface.

An image Harry Clarke after kayaking along the Condamine River.

Harry Clarke after kayaking along the Condamine River. Image supplied

Harry Clarke after kayaking along the Condamine River. Image supplied

Then I found a mate with a chopper to show me the key stretch of river from the air. The early days were a bit of a cowboy operation, but they brought lots of excitement and reward.

Very pleasingly, Country Caller has also received considerable formal recognition from within the news media industry in a relatively short space of time.

It’s been named winner of four prestigious awards at state, national and international levels – the Digital Media Award from the Rural Press Club, the Star Award for Broadcast Journalism from the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists, runner up for the Digital Media Award from the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and, most recently, the Journalism Award from the Local Government Association of Queensland. 

Harry Clarke wearing a suit and tie and standing at a lectern.

Harry Clarke at the Local Government Association of Queensland Awards. Image supplied

Harry Clarke at the Local Government Association of Queensland Awards. Image supplied

How am I making a living?

It’s been a struggle, especially in the beginning. However, bit by bit, I’ve established a business model that I believe will become sustainable and profitable in the long term.

It’s been an enormous learning curve to start a small business and learn the intricacies required to sell digital advertising in the new world of digital-only rural and regional media.

But, with an ever-growing audience and the help of some with more experience in this field, I’ve devised a range of advertising products that are servicing the Country Caller’s advertising clients effectively.

Slowly but surely, Country Caller revenue is flowing and growing. 

The latest very exciting development from my endeavour is that last month, the Country Caller was announced by the Walkley Foundation as a recipient of the Facebook Australian News Fund.

The fund is an initiative by Meta to recognise and support public-interest journalism where its business model has been dramatically affected by the advent of new technology and social media.

The grant will allow me to employ a second journalist based in the thriving regional hub of Toowoomba, scale my business for the first time, and create new and genuine opportunities for growth.

Watch this space.