Page 16 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep 2021

16 DEFENCE BUSINESS RETROSPECTIVE
SEPTEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
15 YEARS WITH ADM – A REFLECTION
KATHERINE ZIESING | CANBERRA
When I started with ADM, my pile of unknown unknowns was larger than it had a right to be. It’s been a learning journey at every step, one I’ve loved for the most part.
WHEN I began with the magazine at the end of 2006, I had no idea what I was in for. I had been hired by then Yaffa Pub- lications to work as a staff writer for the Defence group un- der ADM publisher and founder Judy Hinz. Anything that needed doing on the national security, commercial aviation and Defence mags, Kath can do it.
Working in the Brisbane office, I was mentored and sup- ported by a team where there were no stupid questions. My goodness did I test that in the early days. With a back- ground in economics and business writing, getting my head around the content and ALL THE ACRONYMS was a challenge. Gregor Ferguson was the editor at the time and was endlessly patient at explaining that ‘ruggedised’ was not a made-up word and there was a big difference between Rafale and Rafael. Advertising guru Mike Kerr was kind enough to take the time to explain the history of projects that had been running since before I was born. He even gave me reading lists, which I devoured.
Judy Hinz and Peter Masters educated me on the busi- ness and production perspective of running a magazine: why magazines are printed in multiples of eight and 16, why this advertiser cannot be placed near this advertiser in the Te- tris game of magazine layout, how to deal with ministerial offices and se- nior leadership in industry and the department. Judy took a chance on a young woman in her early 20s and I
am forever in her debt.
The stable of writers at ADM (cur-
rently Nigel Pittaway, Julian Kerr, Ewen Levick and Roya Ghodsi) has been exactly that for most of my time; stable. There have been a few writers come and go, but it’s always been a tight knit group.
This group of talented people sees years of experience in play; Julian has been reporting on Defence around the world for over three decades, Nigel is a licensed aero mechanical engineer with 20 plus years at Qantas who ran a team of almost 200 people, Ewen is an ex-army reservist with years of study in international relations and has written a book about his motorbike trip from Mongolia through Russia.
“WHEN I BEGAN WITH THE MAGAZINE AT THE END OF 2006, I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS IN FOR”
ADM’s newest editorial staff member Roya Ghodsi is at the beginning of her journalism career and is kicking goals as the resident multimedia specialist. We’re working with avia- tion die-hard Grant McHerron of Southern Skies Media for our podcast series. The ADM ship is in good hands.
THE WHY
The approach at ADM has always been about context and analysis behind the technology, capability and policy. How does it work? Why are we buying this? What are the options? And above all, why should I care? ADM has always been that communications bridge between Defence and Industry, something that Judy Hinz drilled into me from day one.
During my time at ADM, I have written over 2 million published words, according to my back of the envelope cal- culations. There have been seven Prime Ministers and 11