Yesterday I arrived at the Queensland Times at 10am. Three hours later, I was witnessing the police bomb squad remove a suspicious item that looked like a silver cylinder with a timing device and wires attached being removed from inside the roof of a unit. About five minutes later, I heard a surprisingly loud explosion as the bomb squad disengaged it. You can read the story on the Queensland Times website. The police said a pest controller found it in the roof on Saturday but I find it odd that the owner didn’t report it to police until Monday. I also find it odd that after the police x-rayed the item, they still thought it was suspicious enough to treat with absolute caution and disengage it. And yet later concluded it was part of a hoax. I wonder what was inside it. That certainly was an explosive start to my second internship.

No bombs went off in Ipswich today. But the newsroom was still full of energy as everyone worked on compiling a 16 page spread in memory of Steve Irwin. I raised my hand during the news conference to do the Vox Pop even though I knew I’d have to fight for it 😉 The way I see it, Vox Pops are just another opportunity to be out and about and away from a desk. A promising story also arose today but I won’t mention it on the world wide web for fear of it being scooped 😉

They say it is people that make a place and I completely agree. The Queensland Times has exceptionally friendly and down-to-earth staff. In my first two days, I’ve realised that being comfortable in the workplace is so incredibly important in order to produce your best work. It makes such a difference.