A look back at the 60-year history of the Rural Press Club of Victoria

By Alex Sinnott

Long before social media, mobile phones and even fax machines – one of the most effective ways of sourcing a headline was getting newsmakers and news breakers in the one room.

While fierce rivals in print, journalists and management from the Stock and Land and The Weekly Times decided to pool their resources in the common cause of a good story and (an even better lunch!) and form the Farm Writers and Broadcasters Society of Victoria.

Monthly lunches, often at the Victoria Hotel ballroom in the heart of Melbourne, were the main focus of the club in its early days. Fortunately for the club, the leaders of the state and country in the late 1960s happened to be a Kerang grazier and a Meredith farmer – John Gorton and Henry Bolte- so the newly-formed association was guaranteed to host some influential guests.

Brian Clancy served as president of the Farm Writers and Broadcasters Society during two stints over the 1970s and 80s. He said after a decade of operations, the club decided to rebrand as the Rural Press Club of Victoria.

“The big stumbling block was the business of Rural Press, which operated the Stock and Land at the time, and the potential confusion. But the name change to Rural Press Club of Victoria made sense as it covered more of the existing and potential membership,” Mr Clancy said.

Anne Burgi served as secretary of the club in the 1980s and 90s. She remembers technology and social norms of early years of the club being unrecognisable today.

“Sometimes you’d get an MC or a speaker making a lame joke about ‘welcome gentlemen and lady’ because there’d only be one or two women at the lunch. That changed over time as more and more talented women entered journalism,” Ms Burgi said.

Ed Gannon served as president of the Rural Press Club for six years in the late 2000s and early 2010s- a time of great change in journalism when social media made its presence felt.

“We had monthly breakfasts and luncheons where we would secure agenda-setting speakers,” Mr Gannon said.

“Not just politicians – although we had Premiers and Opposition Leaders, state and federal ministers – but agribusiness figures, captains of industry and other leaders across regional Australia.

“We’d have the heads of MLA, Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia, those people the audience couldn’t usually get to. The functions had not only journalists but anyone who wanted to pay the $30 or $40 to get the opportunity to question movers and shakers that weren’t normally used to being put under the microscope.

The annual journalism and photography awards have long been a key evening on the RPCV calendar. Starting off with a purely rural focus, the RPCV awards expanded over time to include recognition of broader regional reporting with Journalist of the Year, Photographer of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year awards added to the line-up.

Anne Burgi recalls the analogue days of sorting out photocopied articles sent via the post. Judges would sit in a Melbourne office for a full day – sorting through the mail and marking up awards with a pen and paper.

“People forget but the judges had to get up in front of the room and explain why they judged the way they did. It’s pretty hard telling your peers and friends that you thought one article was better than another. Fortunately, there was a move to make judges anonymous and then the digital application of awards made life easier.”

Award nights were often held at the old RACV club or the Hilton on the Park on a Friday in late winter, with the premier of the day often on hand to present the top awards.

“I remember one year we had Jeff Kennett present the awards. We had a run sheet and Jeff threw it away because he wanted to run the show!” Mr Clancy said.

In the post-COVID years, the RPCV has taken its annual awards to the regions. Starting off in Ballarat in 2022, the club has held its night of nights in Geelong, Bendigo and most recently, in Warragul.

RPCV president Kellie Lazzaro said the club entered its sixth decade ready to take on the challenges of a radically altered media environment.

“The evolution of rural press in the past 60 years has got us to this point. It’s mind-boggling, especially with the infiltration of AI, to imagine what lies ahead for our industry,

“As someone who has worked in regional news for most of my 25-year career, I truly believe that providing strong and trusted local news for our communities is more important than ever.

Ms Lazzaro said the RPCV committee was proud to have launched an inaugural mentor program in 2026 – with Ned Coleman benefitting from regular mentorship by the ABC’s Ben Knight and Bonnie Collings of the Warragul and Drouin Gazette working with Landline’s Kath Sullivan.

“Further to this, Gippsland journalist and long-time RPCV member Bec Symons is about to head to the US to attend the IRE conference in Washington DC after being awarded the RPCV’s inaugural Journalism Scholarship valued at $6000,” Ms Lazzaro said.

Ms Lazzaro paid tribute to the club’s valued sponsors PowerCor, Worksafe, Nutrien Ag, TAC, Agriculture Victoria, 89 Degrees east, Stock and Land, The Weekly Times and Marcus Oldham.

“As the current caretakers of this great institution, we are proud to be creating new programs for our growing membership base to help expand the skills of the next generation of journalists and photographers.”