Ezequiel
My
parents were not football fanatics so I still don’t know how I got the bug that
still makes me wake up at ungodly hours to follow the game. It was not a surprise to my parents when I
announced at the age of 18, fresh from High School, that in parallel with my
law studies that I would join the Argentine School of Sport Journalism.
This may sound rather strange in Australia, but in Argentina most sport journalists must graduate as such in order to be considered for a job, let alone secure one. Some of my former colleagues at Sport Journalism School now have senior posts in the major Buenos Aires media organizations.
I did not work as a sport journalist in my native Argentina other than small freelancing projects because I migrated quite young (in my twenties) and later on my legal career took precedent in subsequent years over football.
Once in Australia, after I was established as a lawyer, I went back to my first love. My first football break in Australia was when the late Johnny Warren appointed me as his lawyer and representative circa 2001. By then, and now for more than 10 years, I was news editor and broadcaster of Radio Austral (the only Spanish 24/7 free to air radio in Australia). I have a daily radio show on news and current affairs including a fixed football segment, and two weekly one hour shows on all things football. I also write freelance stories for Australian magazines, do work for Latin American networks from Australia and worked as a regular contributor to the now sadly defunct Talking Football show amongst other media interests in the game.
As a football fan, my highlight was to be at the stadium when Argentina won the World Cup in 1978. Professionally, I was thrilled in recent times to have covered the Euro 2008, a superbly organised competition where the standard of football was arguably higher than the last few World Cups. I enjoy following the big football world events. In 2011, I attended the Asian Cup in Qatar, Copa America in Argentina and the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
When the FMA was about to be established, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to join the board in order to contribute in a dual professional role. I see FMA as a body which should strive for preserving the independence, dignity and integrity of football journalists in an era where commercial interests may often conspire against those values.
My aim is to enhance football journalism in Australia in an environment which I still perceive as hostile to the world game. Perhaps the role of football journalists is to slowly work towards reversing that tide by ensuring the majority of Australians continue to be exposed to quality reporting on the beautiful game.
Follow Ezequiel on Twitter: @ezequieltrumper
This may sound rather strange in Australia, but in Argentina most sport journalists must graduate as such in order to be considered for a job, let alone secure one. Some of my former colleagues at Sport Journalism School now have senior posts in the major Buenos Aires media organizations.
I did not work as a sport journalist in my native Argentina other than small freelancing projects because I migrated quite young (in my twenties) and later on my legal career took precedent in subsequent years over football.
Once in Australia, after I was established as a lawyer, I went back to my first love. My first football break in Australia was when the late Johnny Warren appointed me as his lawyer and representative circa 2001. By then, and now for more than 10 years, I was news editor and broadcaster of Radio Austral (the only Spanish 24/7 free to air radio in Australia). I have a daily radio show on news and current affairs including a fixed football segment, and two weekly one hour shows on all things football. I also write freelance stories for Australian magazines, do work for Latin American networks from Australia and worked as a regular contributor to the now sadly defunct Talking Football show amongst other media interests in the game.
As a football fan, my highlight was to be at the stadium when Argentina won the World Cup in 1978. Professionally, I was thrilled in recent times to have covered the Euro 2008, a superbly organised competition where the standard of football was arguably higher than the last few World Cups. I enjoy following the big football world events. In 2011, I attended the Asian Cup in Qatar, Copa America in Argentina and the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
When the FMA was about to be established, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to join the board in order to contribute in a dual professional role. I see FMA as a body which should strive for preserving the independence, dignity and integrity of football journalists in an era where commercial interests may often conspire against those values.
My aim is to enhance football journalism in Australia in an environment which I still perceive as hostile to the world game. Perhaps the role of football journalists is to slowly work towards reversing that tide by ensuring the majority of Australians continue to be exposed to quality reporting on the beautiful game.
Follow Ezequiel on Twitter: @ezequieltrumper
