In a world where negative news headlines are constant and doom scrolling through click bait and 'hot takes' is endless, I am passionate about my local media initiative: The Good News Hunter.

This project will begin as an Instagram-first good news platform, dedicated to sharing uplifting, inspiring, meaningful and joyful stories about the people, places, and projects that make Newcastle and the Hunter region such a great place to live.

My motivation for starting The Good News Hunter came after experiencing my own difficult chapter when I was evacuated from my home following a recent landslip in the May 2025 floods.

It reminded me how important optimism, resilience, and community truly are.

Unlike traditional media, The Good News Hunter will not report on crime or controversy.

Instead, it will spotlight local kindness, innovation, environmental wins, cultural events, curiosities and personal triumphs. I want it to be an Instagram space where people can come to scroll and feel safe, happy and positive about their local area.

Having worked as a journalist for many years across national and local media outlets I know first hand what it is like to report on and share bad news stories.

I have seen how divisive news can be and while I loved to tell people’s stories, I was lost in writing content that was making people feel angry, sad or dissatisfied.

I want The Good News Hunter to be part of the transformative journalism movement and use storytelling for good.

I also want to tap into my local community and platform the people, businesses and initiatives that are doing great work and are not getting their message shared by traditional media.

I believe I can grow this platform to reach thousands of local people and contribute to a healthy, happy community. I also believe The Good News Hunter has the potential to grow beyond Instagram to a community in its own right with a podcast, website and events.