MEET THE NEWS JUNKIES
Life on the floor of a Territory newsroom may soon be brought to the small screen in all its weird and wacky glory, featuring nudists, cane toads and horny roos. But it’s been no easy task to get News Junkies off the ground, as ISABELLA HOOD reports
BETWEEN the three of them, journalists Lucy McNally, Emma Masters and Kristy O’Brien have decades’ worth of experience working in the NT’s media industry — beating around the bush, trying to catch the true tales of the Territory.
The trio know all too well how special the Top End is and instead of wasting all of their incredible experiences working as reporters in Northern Australia, they have decided to showcase them in a oneof-a-kind comedy web series.
Named News Junkies, the comedy series encapsulates all that’s great about the Territory with its stunning scenery, unique characters, easygoing lifestyle and, of course, the bizarre stories that the region is renowned for.
Centred around “wannabe hotshot journalist” Elle Walker, News Junkies follows the 22-year-old’s professional life working in a tabloid television newsroom.
After being banished to Darwin from Sydney for an embarrassing rookie error on the job, Elle finds herself in remote Northern Australia where she faces crooked colleagues, intense competition and eccentric characters on the daily.
Producer Kristy O’Brien and producer/director Emma Masters say the series is smart, funny and timely — and more importantly, opens a window into a part of Australia where the stories are rarely seen on screen.
“We are so passionate about the Top End and putting it on the map, so News Junkies is a celebration of the Top End and what it has to offer,” Ms O’Brien says.
“We’re so excited to show off the Territory’s characters, places and stories to the rest of the world, so we are certainly hoping for an audience outside of the Northern Territory. We don’t see this part of the world on television a lot and many broadcasters are saying they’re sick of seeing Melbourne and Sydney on our screens all the time,” Ms Masters adds.
“News Junkies is tapping into the unknown where we’re showing Australian audiences another side to our country.”
Although Territorians will be the main target audience for News Junkies, Ms O’Brien felt there was potential for the series to be embraced by people living overseas as well.
“There are people in London who are opening up their computer screens and logging on to see what front pages are coming from the Territory,” she says.
“We genuinely believe there is a fascination and obsession with the Territory that we wanted to tap into, and we’re all excited to show off this place that we love and call home.”
THE team opened up auditions for News Junkies to actors Australia- wide, and were blown away with the response they received.
“We auditioned nationally and were so overwhelmed by the amount of talent, but we got such strength from the Territory so we decided to run with all local actors,” Ms O’Brien says.
“The cast and crew are 100 per cent Territory, representing a watershed moment where the local screen industry proves it has the talent and experience to deliver quality dramedy.”
The News Junkies cast features award-winning actor Rob Collins — who starred in The Wrong Girl, Glitch and Cleverman as well as big names on the Territory’s drama and comedy scene including Ciella Williams, Amy Hetherington and Stuart Fong.
Writer Lucy McNally felt it was vital for the comedy series to be shot in the Top End and to include Territorians as the cast and crew.
“When we put the call out for auditions, many of the local actors were saying they were really excited as there aren’t many opportunities like this in Darwin,” she says.
“The arts industry is very competitive as it is, let alone in a place like Darwin where it’s even harder to get a break.
“It’s awesome that we can provide more opportunities for Territory actors through a web series, as it’s a whole new emerging media that’s taking off.”
Ms O’Brien adds: “We definitely want to build up the Territory and its film industry as we have such a breadth of talent here.”
Observing the filming of the pilot episode, it’s easy to appreciate the time and effort gone into creating the makeshift newsroom at Myilly Point.
Computers, whiteboards, camera lights and desks have been strewn with all sorts of quirky knick-knacks that could only be found in a Top End newsroom. There’s even a bunch of iconic NT
News front pages plastered upon the walls that sets the scene and gives the series a sense of authenticity.
As for the plot itself, News Junkies centres around rookie reporter Elle and her interactions with the newsroom’s hilarious and unique characters, all of who are based on people that the creators have come across during their time working in the media.
From a casanova cameraman, to a materialistic newsreader and an intimidating boss, there isn’t much that Elle doesn’t have to deal with while trying to make it in the Territory’s media circus. Ms O’Brien says creating News
Junkies had been no easy feat, with the team facing construction challenges, pesky animals and countless hours of isolation and concentration to nut out the perfect script. “We’ve all been doing a lot of roles ourselves to keep costs down and as a result we’ve had to create a TV newsroom from scratch at the old heritage house — I don’t think my back will ever be the same again,” she laughs.
“We had another moment where we were out shooting some photos for one of our characters, Wally the Nudist, and found ourselves trudging through bush, getting eating alive by mosquitoes all while looking out for snakes,” Masters recounts.
“We’re constantly finding ourselves saying things like, ‘only in the Territory’.”
Tracking down quirky props such as the original copy of the NT News’ Horny Roo Stalks NT Women front page has also proved quite challenging for the News Junkies team.
“The Northern Territory Library provided a minder for the paper the whole time it was on set, as it’s the only copy,” Ms O’Brien laughs.
News Junkies is supported by Screen Australia and Screen Territory.
It was awarded funding under the Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Brilliant Stories program.
“We’ve been supported enormously by Screen Australia and because it is a low-budget film, we’ve been incredibly lucky to have support from the community as well,” Ms O’Brien says.
“Schools have donated stuff, people have given a lot of their time and we’ve juggled a lot of jobs which is how we’ve been able to keep the costs down.”
The pilot episode of News Junkies was filmed here in Darwin from November 23-25 and highlighted several well-known locations including Mine House at the Myilly Point Heritage Precinct, Parap shops and Darwin International Airport.
“What we’re making here in Darwin is a proof of concept — we’re shooting the whole pilot as well as some social media segments that will give our audience an idea of what it will be like if we can make the whole thing, which is obviously the aim,” Ms O’Brien explains.
Ms Masters says it has been important to start building an audience for News Junkies through social media now with the hope of shooting the entire web series in the near future.
“It’s all about starting to develop an audience by putting content out on the web and getting people interested,” she says.
“Part of it is also looking to see if we can get a commission to support us to go ahead and actually shoot the rest of the series.”
The News Junkies team urged Territorians of all ages to show their support for the web series by liking their page on Facebook and adding them on Snapchat.
The team are expecting to release their pilot episode early next year through social media and urge people to get in touch with storyline ideas and feedback through their Facebook page at facebook.com/ newsjunkiesNT/.