The Slight Increase Drowning Deaths in Australian Waterways

As I progress through the final weeks of my University life before heading into the real world of full-time work, in hopefully the radio industry (I'll take what I can get at this stage), one thing i am intrinsically motivated by is the audio package I am preparing as my major assessment task.

Royal Life Saving's National Drowning Report
Source: www.royallifesaving.com.au

I decided to focus on last week's topic of 'Digging the Data' and rummage through the stats and figures showcased in Royal Life Saving's National Drowning Report for 2017. The information was striking to say the least and introduced me to numerous interpretative skills in thinking of ways to present this data in a verbal and engaging way that will interest the minds of listeners.

I first had to decide who would be a suitable interviewee and how many I needed to fulfil my goal of making an engaging story. I decided that due to time restrictions, three interviewees would be a sufficient number and that I would definitely need to speak with at least one expert in the area, possibly a spokesperson for Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) . Luckily, there is a regional RLSA office in Broadmeadow and the manager was happy and kind enough to agree to an interview.

Following the organisation of the initial interview with a RLSA spokesperson, I decided to interview Ross Foster due to his expertise and experience in Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and RLSA's Swim and Survival Program, which partners with the Department of Education to teach school-aged children swimming and survival skills. For over 25 years, Ross has dedicated his time to SLSA whether is be running the Surf Club's Nippers every Sunday during the season, while also advocating for school student to learn a fundamental life skill; swimming.

Figures from the RSLA Drowning Report
Source: www.royallifesaving.com.au

I travelled to my hometown of Crescent Head and conducted this interview with Ross. Something that really struck me was the number of near-drownings that occur. Simplistically and retrospectively lacking the tenacity of critically thinking, I assumed that because these individuals survived a near-drowning, they were a-okay. However, a large number of these people have/had a long battle ahead of them and many will face neurological difficulties, in which some will succumb to. This was the case of then 2 year-old Samuel Morris, who survived a near-drownings in 2006 but subsequently faced years of care and treatment due to lack of oxygen that caused injury to his brain. He eventually passed away peacefully in February 2014 at Westmead Children's Hospital's Bear Cottage, after losing his fight with his hypoxic brain injury. It doesn't get much more innocent than cases like this and this is why RSLA are pushing for all children to have access to swimming lessons and to make these more affordable. I thought this could be another factor I could mention in my audio package because not only does near-drownings devastate families, the social and economic burden that occurs when hypoxic brain injuries are a result exceeds a millions dollars. This is all preventable however, which makes it even more devastating and highlights a number of issues of which I will address in my package.

Although this would add an emotional aspect to my audio package, I decided to put some feelers out there and see if anyone would be comfortable talking about a drowning they had witnessed. I asked around and a girl I went to high school with agreed to bravely speak to me about her sister who drowned at a public pool in 2005. It is pretty heartbreaking to hear and it does tug on a few heart strings because drownings is something we always hear about and if this hasn't directly affected you, you can still somewhat imagine how you'd feel if it did just by hearing the account.

As for now, I need to record my narration of the story. I've had a bit of trouble deciding what information to include in my package but after transcribing my interviews, I have a rough idea of what I'll be saying. I've left myself plenty of time to edit and switch things up and the content doesn't flow the way it should. So, fingers crossed it's all smooth sailing from here.

 I've thoroughly enjoyed this task though. I thought it would be easier due to the fact it doesn't need to be University of Newcastle related but that just makes deciding a little more difficult! It's kind of relevant to what we have been learning in another course this semester where although structures do limit opportunities, they also enable us to thrive within these structures to produce a work of art. T.S. Elliot puts it:

“When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom, the work is likely to sprawl.”