Students from ECU's Master of News and Entertainment Media and Bachelor of Journalism and Broadcast Media have produced a new program for the Seven Network - Rough Cut: Summer of Cricket.
Cricket fans who can't wait for the next Test at the Gabba will have another chance to enjoy the sport this weekend, thanks to a collaboration between Edith Cowan University (ECU) and the Seven Network.
To coincide with The Ashes, Broadcast and Journalism students were challenged to create a TV special celebrating Australia's cricket culture. The result is a vibrant program that captures the excitement of one of the nation's most beloved sporting traditions, titled "Rough Cut: Summer of Cricket".
Introduced by 7NEWS Presenter Susannah Carr, the half-hour programme was filmed, edited, written, and presented by students from ECU's Master of News and Entertainment Media and Bachelor of Journalism and Broadcast Media.
"For twenty-one years, Seven has been giving our emerging journalists and broadcasters the chance to create this show that their friends and parents can watch on free-to-air TV," said Andrea Burns, former 7NEWS reporter now Academic Lead of Screen and Media at ECU.
"It's an extraordinary opportunity – and the students know it! Only the best stories are chosen, and they must meet a professional standard."
"It was very different to all the other assignments that I've done," said recent graduate Ava Martin.
"It's probably the first assignment that really felt like a project that I would undertake in the real world, as a proper journalist."
She said she was thrilled when her story on people with disabilities playing cricket was selected.
"My brother has a disability, so I like the idea of being able to show people the side of disabilities that they don't often see," said Ms Martin.
"Knowing that it's going on TV, I was so excited because this gave the people in my story an opportunity to be seen and to be understood."
"Programs like Rough Cut are vital for the future of journalism," says Christien de Garis, 7NEWS Perth Director of News.
"Many current Seven reporters are ECU graduates who contributed to past versions of Rough Cut. These sorts of collaborations give students the chance to learn the craft in a real-world environment, which is exactly what newsrooms need."
Introductions to the stories were the final content created at the television studios at ECU's Mount Lawley Campus. In early 2026, the doors will open on the new City Campus which includes new, world-class facilities for Screen and Media. Rough Cut: Summer of Cricket airs on Channel 7 Perth at 3pm on Saturday 29 November.
If you're interested in following in the footsteps of these budding broadcasters, visit Bachelor of Broadcasting and Journalism or Master of News and Entertainment Media.
