Leon Stoljar
Journalism, 2023
I’m Leon and I’m an aspiring journalist. I am about to graduate from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media (Journalism) and I am very excited to start my career. During my time at UC, I was able to do an internship at the Canberra Times where I worked on multiple projects, including both assigned tasks and original ideas. I have skills in writing engaging articles, news writing and audio media production which I honed at uni, but I’m still always looking to improve.
I am particularly passionate about feature writing! Over the last three years, I have met and written about some of the most interesting people out there. From competitive eaters to Holocaust survivors. I love finding and telling the stories that are important, unique and compelling. I believe that finding stories and generating ideas is the area that I have shown the most improvement in since my first year.
Selected Portfolio
The Owl: Finding the best chips in Canberra
This is a short-hand story I did for The Owl during Newsfeed. I love this story as it was a step out of my comfort zone at the time. I went to a few food locations and ranked and reviewed their chips. I had never done any reviewing before this, it was interesting to share my opinion on a subject I think about all the time. Read here: https://theowluc.com/story/finding-the-best-chips-in-canberra/
The Owl: Embracing bad weather: enjoying a rainy walk around Lake Ginninderra
This is an example of a story that I had no idea what it was going to be about when I first sent it to the editors for Newsfeed. It was originally going to be covering a simple walk around the lake. I had a loose idea going into the walk, but then I woke up to the grossest early morning weather you could picture for this story. It was wet, cold and windy. I didn't want to go but I pushed ahead and walked around the whole lake. When I returned and sat down to write my story, I felt like Jon Krakauer after he was stranded on top of a mountain. I managed to turn my harrowing experience into a story that I am really proud of. Read Here: https://theowluc.com/story/embracing-bad-weather-enjoying-a-rainy-walk-around-lake-ginninderra/
Feature Writing: There’s Nothing Fake About Slam Pro Wrestling’s Success in Canberra
I’m fond of this story for a few reasons. The first is it feels like the first piece of journalistic work in which “I trusted the process”. I didn’t try to force any angles from prior assumptions of pro wrestling that weren’t there or ideas I had before research and interviews. The other big step I made during this assignment was my interviewing skills improved noticeably after I had completed it. I sent this story as a pitch to the Canberra Times and it was the first time an editor had replied to me. He told me that he liked the story but it wasn’t right for them right now, but I should apply for an internship. A few weeks ago, with the help of another Journalist at the Canberra Times, I managed to get an updated version of my wrestling published. Read Here: https://leonakira95.wixsite.com/website/post/there-s-nothing-fake-about-slam-pro-wrestling-s-success-in-canberra
Feature Writing: Ashkan’s post-covid family reunion finds him in the middle of Iranian protests and pepper spray.
Read Here: https://leonakira95.wixsite.com/website/post/ashkan-s-post-covid-family-reunion-finds-him-in-the-middle-of-iranian-protests-and-pepper-spray