How Kochie helped to shape my career

David Koch was my very first boss out of University in 2002 as a 21 year old.

I had just graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with numerous years of experience as a regional broadcast news reporter when I saw a three line advertisement in the newspaper classifieds section seeking a finance reporter with a well known television personality.

I trekked up from my hometown of Wollongong for the interview in Sydney, to find out it was for the My Money Group (which later rebranded as Palamedia) working for David Koch.

At the time, Kochie was the finance guy at Channel 7, fronting finance news hits across the network, among many other things.

My job was to help produce his material across television, radio, print and eventually online.

It was a ‘cross platform’ role, which was a term used even before major news organisations adopted it.

It was demanding, but possibly one of the most rewarding jobs of my career, especially at such a young and impressionable age.

Based across his Chatswood ‘Finance Centre’ head office, along with the Channel 7 newsroom in Epping and Sky News office in Frenchs Forest, I did everything from contribute to his finance news crosses, report as a video journalist for his subscription television business news program, produce television content across the Asia Pacific region, voice radio reports and write newspaper columns… sometimes, all on the same day.

Hours often started at 4am in the morning and finished late in the day, and typically involved physically demanding work, lugging camera and lighting equipment as a sole operator by train, from the Chatswood office to the Sydney CBD to interview business leaders and market commentators.

But it was matched by the tenacity and commitment I saw from my boss, and his right hand person, Kylie Merritt who led much of the television content at the time.

Both worked incredibly long hours, were visible in the office and had the ability to successfully multitask. It was something I saw and replicated as a result.

Kochie was a demanding boss, but very fair.

I remember helping the team to write a newspaper column as a fresh faced journalist, using technical finance terminology I probably should not have. When I sent him my script to check, he called me on the telephone and asked me to read back what I wrote and explain some of those terms. I couldn’t. He yelled on the phone, may have shouted a couple of swear words, and told me never to write anything I didn’t fully understand again.

I never did… and obviously still don’t.

His passion for finance and delivering content in an easy to understand way was obvious, and something which I tried to copy in my own way.

At the same time though, he rewarded those that worked hard and showed the job the respect that it deserved. He sometimes invited his employees into his inner- circle and family events, proving that the family man that you see on television, is true in real life.

This was all just as Kochie’s profile started to rise as the co-host of Channel 7’s Sunrise, a job he today confirmed he would give up after 21 years.

As he steps out of the role which has really made him a household name, I’d like to send him my congratulations and thank him for his role in also shaping my career.