Another young and upcoming journalist has joined New Matilda’s small but growing stable of gun reporters.
Thom Mitchell formally commenced work at NM on Monday, although he’s been filing for us for the past few months, breaking major stories on Whitehaven Coal, and environmental issues more generally.
Thom was born and bred at ‘The Risk’, a community (yes, it’s actually a community called ‘The Risk’) just outside Kyogle, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
Thom started his schooling at The Risk Primary, a tiny school with around 30 students. He moved to Trinity Catholic College in Lismore, and completed high school in Wollongong, where he was named Dux of his year and won a scholarship to the University of New South Wales for law and journalism.
In addition to this New Matilda work, Thom is also completing a degree in Media (Communications) and Journalism at the University of NSW.
Thom has a strong and established interest in environmental reporting, and last year broke several major stories for New Matilda, including this cracking yarn which revealed details of a ‘phantom environmentalist’ serving on a community consultation committee established by Whitehaven Coal.
Thom’s specific rounds at New Matilda are environment, industrial relations (workers' rights) and freedom of information.
If you have any news tips or story ideas, you can reach Thom at our Redfern offices on 02 8399 0171, or contact him through enquiries(at)newmatilda.com
Thom joins senior reporter Amy McQuire (Aboriginal Affairs, Politics & General News, and West Papua) and reporter Max Chalmers (Asylum Seekers, Higher Education, Welfare and Politics), along with editor Chris Graham and photographer/accounts/advertising/sales guru Angela Nicholson as the full-time contingent at New Matilda.
Thom will also work alongside Contributing Editor Wendy Bacon, political columnist Ben Eltham, and columnists Michael Brull, Chris Munro, Liz Conor and Ian McAuley, along with our regular cartoonists Fiona Katauskas, Lindsay Foyle and Costa Avgoustinos. He'll also take guidance from the most important man on the team – our in-house legal counsel, Geoff Holland (Geoff is the one that tries to keep us out of legal trouble, admittedly with mixed success!).
You can help support Thom’s work here, by subscribing to New Matilda – one of Australia’s leading independent news publications.