Standing outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC in June 2022, Curtin journalism graduate Jade Macmillan is watching history unfolding.

As the ABC’s Washington bureau chief and North American correspondent, Macmillan is among the crowds gathered to hear whether the court will quash the 1973 Roe v Wade case which recognised the constitutional right to abortion.

After covering the biggest stories out of the United States in recent years, the experience of reporting the overturning of Roe v Wade still stands out to Macmillan.

“I think a moment I will always remember was being outside the Supreme Court when Roe v Wade fell and seeing the intense emotions on both sides,” she recalls. “People who were crying because they had fought for this decades and people who were crying because they had fought against this, and they felt their rights had been taken away from under them.

“Then straight after that we headed out to one of the states that already had quite strict abortion laws in place and was going to go further, and meeting people on the ground. A nurse who worked in one of these clinics, a local politician who had been fighting to try to get abortion laws tightened, speaking to teenage girls that we met in a park about how they were feeling about what was going on.

“You are not just reporting on what has happened. You are trying to find out what it means for people going forward. It was really interesting, and I think it put a human side on both sides of that debate.”

For Macmillan, the appointment to the sought-after North American correspondent role in February 2022 was the realisation of a career goal she had worked towards since graduating from Curtin’s journalism program in 2009.

The job comes with an intense and varied workload but she’s relishing the experience.

“No two days are the same,” she says. “You might be covering daily news, breaking news from Washington. Or you might be flying to another part of the country for something that is unfolding that minute. You might be doing a longer form piece for broadcast or for digital. Sometimes you don’t know where you might be sleeping that night but that is the most exciting part of the job.”

Before moving to Washington, Macmillan had worked in ABC roles around Australia, starting with a short-term job in Albany she was offered while doing her Curtin industry placement unit, followed by stints in Kalgoorlie, Perth, Sydney and Canberra.

She’s reported on state and federal politics but has also worked as a producer and chief of staff. She believes the combination of the skills and experiences she’s acquired has set her up for her current demanding role, which involves leading the ABC’s Washington bureau.

“All the different jobs I have had up to this time have helped me to prepare for this job,” she says. “Sometimes working here reminds me a little of working in a regional bureau in the sense that it’s a small team, you’re far away from headquarters, you’re working very independently. Sometimes it reminds me of being on the chief-of-staff desk in Sydney or Perth where some huge story is breaking and it’s all hands-on-deck. Everyone just pitching in to get it done for all platforms. Sometimes it reminds me of being at Parliament House in Canberra where you are working on a really complex story and you’re trying to figure the best way to break that down and make sense to the audience.”

Since Macmillan started in journalism the industry has changed enormously, as has the way we tell stories. She believes adaptability and a willingness to learn are essential traits for reporters.

“Every day you are having to learn about a new issue, a new event, a new person and make sense of that to the audience but you are also in this changing environment, having to learn new skills, new platforms,” she says. “I had never filed a vertical video a few years ago. Now it’s often part of my filing plan.”

Being “genuinely curious” about how the world works and why people think and feel the way they do is also crucial.

Learning how to deal with stress is part of the job, she says. But it does get easier with experience.

“I think you learn how to work under pressure because there is daily pressure. And when a big story breaks you’ve just got to get on with and you’ve got to deliver that to the audience,” she says.  You definitely feel better over time. It doesn’t mean you don’t get nervous every single time that something massive happens, but you learn how to cope with that and try to make it work in your favour.”

Macmillan grew up in the Pilbara and was delighted to return to the regions in her first two roles at the ABC. She says regional jobs bring a range of opportunities for new journalists.

“You learn so much,” she says. “You learn how to work independently and as part of a small team. It can be challenging and you are learning so much and you still feel brand new and you still feel like you are finding your feet. But make the most of it. 

“Try as hard as you can to become part of the community. Soak up all the experiences, take all the opportunities you are given. Some of the friends I made in Kalgoorlie are some of my closest friends now.”

She recommends inexperienced journalists look for mentors to help them navigate some of the challenges that can come with being new to the job. Macmillan says she still goes to ABC Perth news director Andrew O’Connor for advice. She also grateful to long-time Curtin tutor Russell Bishop and former tutor Les Welsh for the help and direction they provided when she was a student and new reporter.

She says making mistakes is part of the job but if you’re willing to learn from them you can build up your resilience and adaptability. “You are going to keep making mistakes but it’s how you learn from those and pick yourself up from that,” she says. “Even in this job now, I am constantly drawing on experiences that I remember how that played out. It’s building up that resilience as well of learning how to adapt when things go wrong.

“And when you’re on the road things will go wrong, like equipment will fail or interviews will fall through. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over my career it’s how you respond to that in the moment and work with your colleagues, because it’s always a team effort, to still make it work. That is what defines success in the end because some things are always going to be outside of your control.”

Macmillan recognises journalism requires hard work, but she would not hesitate to recommend it to those who share her enthusiasm.

“I think my main piece of advice would be, ‘if you’re passionate about news and you’re curious and you’re willing to work hard and commit to lifelong learning, then give it a go. Back yourself’.”