When Michael (Thommo) Thomson started work in journalism as a cadet at the Daily News, Perth’s now defunct afternoon newspaper, stories were produced on a manual typewriter and sent down a tube to be typeset.
The Channel 9 6pm newsreader says the changes since he started in newspapers in 1980, are “mind-blowing”.
“The difference is extraordinary. When I started at the Daily News, there were no mobile phones, there were no computers in the newsroom,” he says.
“I did a cadetship. You had to learn shorthand, and you had to learn touch typing. And then you’d go out with each round’s person, the crime reporter, the court reporter, the council reporter. You had to do state rounds, politics; learn the ropes.
“There were six newspapers in Perth. There was the Daily News, The West Australian, The Weekend News, The Countryman, The
Sunday Times and The Sunday Independent. Newspapers were huge.
“But then the six o’clock news started to become a major factor. And sadly, the Daily News folded. A lot of afternoon newspapers did.
“That’s when I moved to Channel 9. And then a lot of the changes started to come in – computers, mobile phones. The technology changed dramatically.
“Satellite technology changed and improved the ability to transfer and broadcast pictures from virtually any location.
“In the last four or five years, that’s gone to a whole new level. You can take a satellite dish, you can put it in a backpack and broadcast news from the outback. The technology changes have been incredible.”
Michael also believes the way television operates these days influences people differently than it did 20 or 30 years ago.
“There’s no question about that. And we must change with the changing world and changing needs.
“In the old days, you needed to watch the news on TV to see it, but now you can watch things almost instantly. You hear something’s happened; you’re quickly going to grab your phone or whatever device to watch.”
Michael says that while Nine is part of that move; offering a news service on mobile devices, there is a need to diversify.
“But as we’ve found, six o’clock news is still very important to people. So, it’s still a major focus of ours, but we’ve certainly got to spread our attention much wider because the ability to see news is much bigger and greater now.”
And looking towards the future, Michael believes competition in television news will continue to increase.
“Our competitors are not just Channel 7, Channel 10, the ABC, there are competitors in other platforms. The digital era is here, and at Nine, it’s actively decided, and it’s the right decision, to broaden our outlook and our ability to compete.
“It’s certainly a very instantaneous game now, and you’ve got to be right up there, because that’s changing and evolving almost monthly.”
Michael, who is now 65, says you must be prepared to move with the times.
“You can’t say, ‘back in my day’, this is the day, and this is probably the most explosive and dynamic change that media has seen for a very long time. There’s been some major changes and we’re right in the middle of one now.”
In his 45 years in the media Michael has worked on some memorable stories, but without doubt the pandemic was the biggest story he has worked on.
“We were doing four or five live crosses a day, breaking to Mark McGowan or the prime minister, or there was something international. It’s the biggest for me because it affected all of us, and it affected the entire planet. And we really didn’t know where we were going.
“We were doing things that we’d never done before. So that was certainly the biggest impact of finding out something.”
Other major stories included 9/11 and Princess Diana dying.
“I can remember exactly where I was when that happened. I was the acting news director getting a phone call about it. That shook the world. And on a more local sort of level, I think Shane Warne passing was a massive story.
“I still can’t believe that. I just think there’s some things you just never thought or saw coming. And that, I think, really knocked a lot of Australians around to think that Warne had gone at such a young age.
“There are certainly stories that have had a huge impact. The Bali Bombing was a massive story.”
Michael still has plenty of enthusiasm for his role and says he would like to continue for a couple more years.
“I’m still keen, if Nine will keep me. I still really enjoy the job; I get a lot out of it. I still want to work; I’m not ready to retire.
“And I love seeing the new generation come through – the new reporters. It’s a very exciting time to be in the industry.”
