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Corrie Perkin was the first woman journalist to cover AFL and the first female editor of Football Record. Beyond football she has been an editor of Good Weekend magazine, contributing editor and columnist, writer at The Australian and Melbourne editor of Harper’s Bazaar. There have been complimentary roles in the arts, for instance with the National Gallery of Victoria. Focusing on her topic for the day, i.e. AFL football, Corrie noted how the Aussie Rules industry has embraced women. She went back to her first assignment as a VFL reporter in the 1970's where she was excluded from a post match review in the club room because she was a woman. Now there is a women's game, women umpires and women in senior roles in the clubs and governing body. With such an extensive career in the media, especially the print medium, and a fascinating backlog of stories and gossip gained in her role as a trail blazer in the Aussie Rules game and an open style, Corrie's address was never going to be dull. She gave us an insight into some of the more controversial moments of media interplay and the evolving acceptance of women's rights in that. Her observations of that issue as exemplified in the sports game paralleled much of what has occurred in other areas of Australian society. Corrie is also a successful local businesswoman. As an avid supporter of the impact and power of the "written word' it is not surprising that her current business concerns the "My Bookshop" brand with two retail stores, in Hawksburn and Toorak. There is clearly a genuine underlying purpose, namely to support the book printing industry with its authors, and sellers. Much of the time at these stores is devoted to open forums for book lovers and writers. Finally a question from the audience sought her view on the pressures facing the newspaper media and its journalists. She noted that nowadays time pressure to release a story or article was a major problem. This acted to limit editorial review and thorough research of a topic, and the resultant degradation of authenticity and even integrity were predictable. |
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