Publishing a newspaper each week is my dream job and, to also be able to serve the community that I love, makes it pretty heavenly being editor of the Whitsunday News newspaper. The job is very diverse but one thing that ties it all together is people. Our readers, our advertisers, our distributors. And the ‘general public’, who always have an opinion! People make the world go around and they certainly make a local, community newspaper go around. We hope we bring you the stories that you want to read. And if we don’t, we hope you will let us know. You can reach out to us in many different ways, via email, phone, this website, or our many social channels.

I have been a Whitsunday local for over forty years, having brought up my two children here in the region. Originally working in the tourism industry, I have been involved with advertising and marketing for more than a decade. I started working for the Whitsunday News newspaper at the beginning of 2021 as a sales consultant and, after about six months, I moved up to advertising sales manager. I love working with people. I see my role very much as listening to the needs and wants of my clients when it comes to communicating with their customers and potential customers. I have developed a real understanding of local newspapers and their vital role in the community. I strive to always go the extra mile for my clients.

I moved to the Whitsundays from Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, at 23 years old to begin my career as a journalist, and I have not looked back! I studied a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in Journalism, at Deakin University in Geelong, Victoria. I have worked in an array of industries throughout my studies including hospitality, social media marketing and even (briefly) as a dental assistant. But nothing has suited me like being a journalist does. My role as a journalist at the Whitsunday News Newspaper is to remain objective and keep the people of the Whitsunday region well informed and well represented. I want to write stories for the paper that will help readers start their day off right, give new and old businesses a chance to shine, shed light on community endeavours, and keep residents in the know about what’s happening in their town.

I have been a Whitsundays local for many years and am currently completing a Bachelor of Business. I started with the Whitsunday News team, in March 2022, and I very quickly grew to love my job. My main role with the newspaper is creating content for our social media channels and website. I am, of course, guided by Deb, as editor, but she also gives me creative freedom when posting content, which I enjoy. Every day is something new and it is wonderful to see the newspaper - as well as our team - growing and thriving.

Hey everybody! It’s Katherine from KB Design, Airlie Beach. You would know me from many different graphic design jobs over the past two decades in the Whitsundays. One of the most notable was designing the aquatic scene for the outer cover of the box housing the giant movie screen, on the Airlie Foreshore. I love working with the team from Whitsunday News. I started mid-2021 and the whole experience has been genuinely fun! I mostly do the layouts for the entertainment section, so I love catching up with what’s on around the region as I’m doing that. I look forward to working on many more papers with the team, and I’m really glad the Whitsunday News is available for our community.

Having lived in the Whitsundays for 35 years, I am very passionate about the region and the local community. I have always worked as a graphic designer – including 15 years at the Whitsundays Rotary Phone Book - and I really enjoy what I do. I love working on the Whitsunday News newspaper and seeing all the local faces doing what they do, and I also enjoy the variety of designing both the pages for the newspaper and also the adverts for clients. Having worked with Deb in the past, in the newspaper industry, it makes us a good combination.

Jodie Barr works in accounts and administration for the Whitsunday News. Jodie has lived in the Whitsundays for more than 30 years and has a long record of working in administration for a number of well known Whitsunday businesses. Jodie looks after the accounts for the Whitsunday News newspaper, a job that extends into customer relations and other areas, such as looking after the distributors who sell the paper. Married with two sons, she enjoys the outdoor life including camping and four-wheel driving. Her passion is her horses and the other animals that roam the family’s rural property.

Laurie is mainly retired but enjoys writing for the Whitsunday News newspaper on a casual part-time basis. “I spent most of my working life as a journalist, primarily in rural newspapers, as I don't like living in big cities,” he said. “I began as a copyholder in the reading room at the Geelong Advertiser before graduating to the reporters' room, where I learnt the profession from established journalists.” As his career progressed, Laurie covered ‘all manner of stories’ from sport to courts, local, State and Federal Governments, social events and daily news, with the occasional major, national story as well. He moved to Queensland in his 40s and later worked as a relieving editor for North Queensland Newspapers, moving from city to city to fill editors’ positions when they took their holidays. He also has a passion for photography and loves travelling.

Jannine Zukowski is the Whitsunday News proofreader. She lives on the outskirts of Melbourne and has three grown-up children in their twenties. She loves reading, watching movies, playing Scrabble, and doing Wordle on a daily basis! Originally from England, she was born near Oxford but spent most of her childhood in a city called Worcester. She lived in Bahrain for seven years during her 20s, before arriving in Australia at age 29. Jannine proofreads the newspaper every Tuesday prior to publication on Wednesday. “It’s lovely to hear all the news from the Whitsundays and it makes me feel closer to my sister‘s life in Airlie Beach,” she said. Full disclosure – Jannine is the editor’s sister!

I am a biologist, writer and artist. I worked as a researcher for 10 years in Norway and in Townsville. When I moved to the Whitsundays, in 2019, I decided to pursue a path in environmental-science communication because it was something I had always been passionate about. I have published more than 10 scientific papers and three children's books. I joined the WN team in 2022 and enjoy writing stories about the community, their connection with the land, and our beautiful Whitsundays. And with every story I write, I feel so proud to be part of such an amazing community.