The war correspondent
Meet the UQ alum reporting from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
Content warning: please be advised that this story contains references to warfare and conflict.
On a typical day in Sydney, Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop (Bachelor of Journalism/Arts ‘07) was sitting at a cafe with a source, doing his regular investigative work. At 11am he checked his phone and saw seven missed calls from ABC’s foreign editor.
“I rang back, and she said ‘Can you go to Poland today and possibly into Ukraine? There’s a flight around 9pm.’”
“That’s how it all began. I had the day to pack and go into ABC to fit a flak jacket and ballistic helmet, and gas mask for... you know… for the worst possible circumstances. Before I knew it, I was on the plane.”
Day to day, Rubinsztein-Dunlop is an Investigative Reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), but his most recent assignment was a secondment as a Foreign Correspondent reporting on the war in Ukraine.
Life on the frontline in Ukraine
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop reporting on the war in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
“The days are extremely hectic and you’re operating on an Australian schedule. Morning to lunchtime in Ukraine is evening news time in Australia.
“And vice versa – night-time in Ukraine is when Australians are tuning into the morning news," he said.
For Rubinsztein-Dunlop, this meant getting up early in the morning to finalise his story for the 7pm evening news, and always thinking one step ahead.
“I start sprinting right away,” he said of his typical morning in Ukraine.
“When I wake up, it’s only when I’ve finished my evening news duties that I can then turn my attention to the rest of the day’s tasks.
“I will have yesterday been thinking about, ‘Okay, what am I going to do tomorrow? What can I organise?’
“But obviously, because it's a breaking and unfolding news situation, you've got to be quite agile and responsive and jump on what the latest, most important thing is – if it's possible to do. If it's proximate to you, if it's close to you geographically, which Ukraine being a huge country, often that isn't the case.”
ABC Camera Operator Phil Hemingway filming in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
One day driving through downtown Kharkiv, Rubinsztein-Dunlop and his team witnessed a missile attack.
“Before we knew it, we were at the scene. Right there on the attack site, where there were injured, bloodied people,” he said.
“We were with a Red Cross team whose duty it was to deliver first aid and our duty as journalists was to film and report on this event.”
“While we were there, there was a second attack just a few minutes after the first, and that is what's known as a double-tap attack, where a location gets hit again, just a few minutes later. And that is known to have the potential to cause great harm to first responders.”
“When you come under a shelling attack, the priority must be your team's safety. So, we took shelter until that immediate threat had passed. But of course, the second priority is to report on what's happening in a safe way.”
During the attack, the cameraman was rolling – taking in all the action – to capture firsthand footage of what it’s like on the ground in Ukraine.
Watch how our @abcnews team got caught up in today's fatal attacks on the heart of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The earth-shuddering booms and bloodshed a reminder of the terror that civilians here endure each day. Full story 7pm tonight pic.twitter.com/j412GgmcZS
— Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop (@seanrubinsztein) April 18, 2022
Once the immediate threat was gone, Rubinsztein-Dunlop and his team once again looked to how they would report on the event.
Safety first, story second.
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop reporting on the war in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop reporting on the war in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
ABC Camera Operator Phil Hemingway filming in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
ABC Camera Operator Phil Hemingway filming in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: supplied.
“The challenge is how to make people care every day”
Rubinsztein-Dunlop said one of the most important parts of the job is connecting with the audience back home in Australia – to convey not just the facts, but the importance of the story and also the humanity in the situation.
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop meets with locals in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: Phil Hemingway / ABC.
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop meets with locals in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: Phil Hemingway / ABC.
“I think our instinct, when something is far away, and when we feel helpless, is to push it away in our minds and switch off. It's a very natural response.
“The challenge is how to make people care every day.
“The way that you're delivering that message back home. An objective story, but with empathy.
"Making sure that people back home can see that, while this is geographically far away, in terms of the impact on us, as humans, it's huge.”
“In Ukraine, you walk up to anyone, and they have an amazing story. The challenge is to tell that story in a clear, compelling, authoritative and elucidating way, a way that helps people understand.”
Then, there’s the fatigue and the suppressed emotions.
“You're working extremely long hours, you're giving so much of your energy to this. You need to manage your fatigue.
“When you're on the job, you're thinking about the job. You switch off a lot of your natural, emotional responses to a horrible situation.
“A lot of the processing of the extraordinarily horrible things happens later, and I think people have their different ways of doing that.
“For me, it's a matter of talking openly and honestly with the people I care about and trust. It's about being brave enough to not repress the confronting things you might be feeling, but to be honest with yourself about them.”
It takes a certain type of person
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop reporting in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: Phil Hemingway / ABC.
ABC Foreign Correspondent Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop reporting in Ukraine, March 2022. Image: Phil Hemingway / ABC.
When Rubinsztein-Dunlop started journalism classes at UQ, he was told to take a look around the lecture room, as only a couple of people would remain at the end.
“Make sure that you really want to be a journalist, because it's hard to get a job,” they said.
Rubinsztein-Dunlop said they weren’t wrong in saying it's challenging to get a job.
“But I haven't met anyone who wanted a job in journalism, who didn't end up getting one.
“It does require a certain personality and demeanour though.
“You need to be tenacious and demanding. Pushy. You need to really back yourself and trust yourself to go after what information you’re looking for, or the person you need to interview.”
“It’s as simple as that. And the industry really needs anyone who wants to do it.”
Rubinsztein-Dunlop's enjoyment for journalism grew throughout his degree at UQ. He said lecturers and tutors stimulated his passion.
He landed an ABC internship during his studies and has been there ever since.
“In journalism, the challenge is to not give up and to stay strong in the pursuit of truth. If you have that within you, then you'll absolutely succeed in journalism.”
WORDS: Camille Brandon
EDITING AND DESIGN: Rachel Westbury
Built with Shorthand