Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Two former Port Broughton residents are set to host a prestigious national radio show.

The first is award-winning journalist Sally Sara, who will replace Patricia Karvelas as the host of ABC’s Radio National Breakfast next year.

She will be joined by producer Joe Sullivan, also formerly of Port Broughton, who will work on the show from behind the scenes.

Despite their mutual hometown, Ms Sara said she and Mr Sullivan only met through the ABC.

“We sometimes send messages backwards and forwards about how Broughton-Mundoora is going in the footy,” Ms Sara said.

Ms Sara grew up in Port Broughton, where her parents owned a local shop, and attended Kadina Memorial High School until year 10.

At age 8 she was the first girl to play for Port Broughton Football Club, and she has continued to break boundaries.

Ms Sara was the first woman to hold the roles of Africa correspondent and South Asia correspondent at the ABC.

“It’s important to keep encouraging girls to follow the path that they’ve got their heart set on, not to be put off by those barriers or being the first,” Ms Sara told the YP Country Times.

“And we see among the foreign correspondents with the ABC that a significant number of them are either country kids and/or regional journos.

“So, I think that country upbringing is pretty good for resilience and risk taking and knowing how to talk to people and being very curious.”

Ms Sara said country kids could do anything, and she hoped her career inspired young people growing up on Yorke Peninsula to pursue their aspirations.

“I’m often looking at the YP Country Times, seeing kids that are doing amazing things in all sorts of areas, and how proud I feel to see them chasing their dreams and taking on the risk of disappointment and failure and all of that as well.”

In her new role, Ms Sara said she would aim to bring regional stories to her audience.

“While I’ve worked as a foreign correspondent, a fair slice of my career has also been working as a rural and regional journalist and working for Landline as well,” she said.

“It’s really important that we connect and reconnect with those communities to make sure that we are covering the stories that they’re interested in.”

Ms Sara will present RN Breakfast from 5.30am to 9am each weekday, from January 20.

This article appeared in  Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 5 November 2024.