Within weeks of landing in Sydney, I found myself sitting across the table from a celebrity. Specifically, as Ross Gittins puts it, the rock star of high school economics.
One hour stretched into four as Ross got to know his newest mentee: an overenthusiastic sandgroper who hadn’t read his columns throughout high school, but who came with a budding passion for the economy.
Like Ross, who moved from accounting to journalism, I had decided writing about money would be more fun than making it, so pivoted careers. Soaring house prices aside, I’m happy to report this is the best job in the world.
For the past two years, Ross has shared his wisdom, advice and feedback with me over our weekly Friday lunches (with Ross doing much of the talking, and me doing most of the eating) and helped me settle into the big smoke.
In our earlier days, Ross would come wielding a pencil and an annotated stack of my latest stories, pointing out how I could write more simply or sharply: what he called “the easy read”. The focus was always on serving the reader.
When my copy improved, Gittins’ focus turned to bolstering my knowledge beyond textbook economics. It’s a work in progress, but there are few people who can sit with Ross over a meal and sparkling water without learning something new. If ever there was a walking advertisement for sparkling water, Ross would be it.
Shortly after completing my traineeship with the Herald, and landing myself in its business pages, one of my colleagues generously put my name forward to write an opinion piece. I felt an incredible amount of imposter syndrome. But Ross was steadfast in his belief that I could do what he himself had set out to do for the first time almost 50 years ago.
I spent a sleepless night drafting two pieces, hoping at least one of them would suffice. No sooner had the drafts hit Ross’s inbox at 6am did he respond with encouragement and a piece of advice: “An all-nighter won’t hurt a youngster like you, but do catch up on your sleep soon. Makes for better writing.”
Everything I’ve learnt from Ross Gittins (the rock star)
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06.02.2024
Within weeks of landing in Sydney, I found myself sitting across the table from a celebrity. Specifically, as Ross Gittins puts it, the rock star of high school economics.
One hour stretched into four as Ross got to know his newest mentee: an overenthusiastic sandgroper who hadn’t read his columns throughout high school, but who came with a budding passion for the economy.
Like Ross, who moved from accounting to journalism, I had decided writing about money would be more fun than making it, so pivoted........
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