Multimedia journalist and producer at Guardian Australia
B Communication (Journalism) 2021
On any given day at Guardian Australia, Bertin Huynh might be scripting a video explainer, animating graphics, editing a vodcast or writing the perfect social caption. Professional multitasker isn’t so much a jibe but a job description. Huynh’s role is to amplify reporters’ work – and that means mastering whatever tool the story demands.
If you want to have a future in journalism, you need to be onto the freshest forms of storytelling.
Huynh’s path to journalism was paved by a pop culture trifecta: Lee Lin Chin was on TV each weekend anchoring SBS news, HBO released its 2012 Aaron Sorkin media drama The Newsroom, and his parents told him that his preferred vocation – comic book artist – wasn't a real job. At UTS, he discovered a career pathway into media and a simple truth: you learn journalism by doing it.
That lesson has stuck. In a media landscape where storytelling formats shift by the week, Huynh believes journalists need more than reporting chops. “There will always be a place for the bread and butter reporting, speaking to people and doing research, but anybody can do that. Not everyone can take a photo, animate or present a video.”
His advice to students? Treat uni as a long internship: pitch, write, produce, edit – then repeat. And when it comes to landing a job, remember: it’s less about not being “enough” and more about finding the right newsroom at the right time.
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