General News
18 December, 2020
Meet the Cairns Local News Team
MANY people on our social platforms have been asking who the team are working behind the scenes at CLN, so without further ado allow us to introduce ourselves!
Joining editor Peter McCullagh in the newsroom is journalist Tanya Murphy.
Tanya studied journalism at Curtin University in Perth and was editor of a rural community newspaper in Western Australia before moving to Cairns nine years ago to pursue her passion for scuba diving. Since then she’s been working as a diving instructor at the Great Barrier Reef. In her spare time, she volunteers in marine conservation, and also moonlights as a professional singer and musician.
“I’m really excited at the opportunity to return to community news with the opening of CLN this year. I absolutely love getting out in the community to find out what’s happening and help raise the profile of some of the amazing people and events in town,” she said.
Nicole Gibson, a Cairns local of 24 years, has joined the team as a freelance journalist. She previously worked for community radio station FM891 and SeaFM and is now studying a bachelor of Professional Communications. She is a self-confessed chocolate and dog lover of the northern beaches.
Kath MacLean, a Cairns local of 16 years, joins the team as business marketing manager. She has decades of experience as a business account manager, and was manager of the ‘Cairns Sun’ for five years. She and her husband also own a florist, Edmonton Flowers.
“I was very disappointed when the Sun closed. It’s imperative that people have the opportunity to read about their own local news and know what’s going on in the community,” said Kath.
“I’m excited to be on board with CLN because it’s a paper that’s driven by what it can do for the community, rather than what the community can do for it.”
CLN’s other marketing managers are Denis Olsson and Steve Andrews. Originally from London, Steve has been in Cairns 14 years and worked as a builder before a near-death experience and life-saving treatment by Cairns hospital staff enabled him a second chance at life, and he joined CLN.
Denis is from Albury, New South Wales where he worked in advertising for the Fairfax-owned Border Mail for 20 years before moving to Palm Cove in 2015 to start the Deli Adrift café. He sold it in 2019 and when he’s not working at CLN he can be found playing squash at Sportsworld, and being a social butterfly in Palm Cove.
Michele Jules, our Graphic Designer and Prepress Professional, is no stranger to the Cairns region and publishing. Joining the Cairns Post in the 1980’s gave her a solid background in publishing before working her own business in Graphic Design/Publishing for 10 years. She moved to Brisbane with her partner where she continued working within the publishing industry before returning to Far North Queensland and joining us at Cairns Local News.
Lisa Harris joins CLN as administration officer. She grew up in Innisfail and has lived in Cairns for 16 years. Originally an artist, she has brought her creative talents to the newspaper after working in employment services for many years.
