regional communities. I covered
bushfires, floods, the controversial
greyhound racing ban and a federal
election to name a few.
“I grew up in Sydney’s upper north
shore, before moving with my family
to the Hawkesbury region where I
was lucky enough to live on a 25-acre
property with horses, cats, dogs and
chickens.
After finishing my HSC, I worked a
few customer service jobs to save
up enough money to travel. Through
friends, I was also introduced to a
handsome musician named Tyrone,
who went to the same high school as
me but was a couple of years older.
My travelling dream was realised
at 21 when Tyrone and I moved to
London with his rock band.
Living in the UK and travelling around
Europe over the next two years was
an incredible experience – but also
very tough, as I was never able to
acclimatise to the chilly weather!
It was during my overseas stint I
decided to pursue journalism, and
enrolled in the London School of
Journalism’s travel writing course.
At the same time I was working as
a game show presenter on Sky TV;
spinning the roulette wheel, dealing
cards and announcing winners to a
live audience.
But as they say, all good things
must come to an end, so before
long our two-year visas were up
and we returned to Sydney. In 2013,
I began a diploma of journalism at
Macleay College, graduating the
following year with a mountain of
internship experience and plenty of
determination to forge a successful
career in the media industry.
Within six months I landed my first
full-time job as a cadet journalist for
News Local, writing for community
newspapers and filing digital stories
for The Daily Telegraph.
After two years with the company, I
left the city for a dream opportunity
as a reporter at Prime7 News in
Tamworth, country NSW. I quickly
learned nothing could compete
with being out on the road, working
alongside a cameraman to produce
and tell incredible stories across
Then in May, Tyrone and I got married
in Fiji! We always knew we didn’t want
a big, expensive wedding so instead
we had a nice engagement party with
all our family and friends, and told
them we’d be eloping overseas.
FAST FORWARD TO
NOW, AND I CAN
CONFIRM MOVING TO
CAIRNS HAS BEEN
EVERYTHING I HOPED
FOR AND MORE
We stayed at Musket Cove Resort and
celebrated the most magical week of
our lives together, enjoying a private
ceremony on the beach.
Even though I loved my role at
Prime7, when I heard Nine News was
launching new regional newsrooms in
Queensland, I decided to apply. Mike
Dalton, Network Director of Regional
News, called me and offered me a job
– even giving me a choice of which
bureau to join! Despite never having
been to Cairns, I knew enough about
Far North QLD to imagine myself
sipping coconuts, snorkeling the reef
and lapping up the warm weather…
much like in Fiji!
Fast forward to now, and I can confirm
moving to Cairns has been everything
I hoped for and more. Nine Local
News is kicking goals, and every
day we are working hard to bring
stories to air that matter to Far North
Queenslanders. From crocodiles to
crime, farming to football, there’s
always something important to
report on.
It’s hard to know how long I’ll stay in
Cairns, but if I’m waiting to tick off
my list of adventures then it could
be a very long time! It’s what I love
most about the region; the fact
there’s so much natural beauty and
so many attractions to explore in
every direction. I’m planning to take
my husband to swim at Cardwell’s
stunning spa pools next.”
Tagline: Catch Cassandra Bain and
the Nine News Far North Queensland
team from 6pm each weeknight for all
your local, national and international
news.
Issue 21 |
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