Our girl in Rio

RIO-BOUND: Award-winning Gisborne photo-journalist Diana Dobson is press attaché for the Rio Olympics. Picture by Paul Rickard

Diana Dobson’s arms are covered in small bruises . . . all self-inflicted. The award-winning Gisborne photo-journalist has been pinching herself daily since receiving the news six months ago of her selection as press attaché for the Rio Olympics in August.

“To be going to the Olympics is exciting beyond words,” says Diana who is ecstatic to be part of the media and communications contingent of the New Zealand Olympic team. “I’m having to pinch myself regularly to make sure it’s real. I didn’t believe it at first and thought it might have been a joke or a dream.

“It’s the absolute pinnacle of my 30 years as a journalist,” says Diana whose career began at the age of 18 years with a cadetship at The Gisborne Herald.

Diana has been named as press attaché for the equestrian and kayaking teams.

“Our client is the world’s media and our official brief is ‘to help inspire New Zealanders and share our athletes’ stories’. Everyone is on a deadline and the competitors have limited time so we have to ensure the media get their interviews, live crosses and access but at same time not allow undue pressure on the athletes. We also arrange pre- and post-event press interviews. I’m pretty stoked to be on the New Zealand team,” she says.

Diana applied for the job in June last year, along with around 100 other hopefuls.

“I had worked with the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) for the London Olympics, so they already knew me.”

As high performance media liaison for Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ), she deals with media across all platforms who want to interview top Kiwi riders, including Sir Mark Todd, Jock Paget and others. She also covers a lot of the world’s top events from Gisborne.

“That means interviewing and filing stories at crazy hours of the night to media all over the world,” she says. “So when I applied for the NZOC role, the media and communications team already knew me because they follow our riders and their progress very closely.”

However, being notified she actually had the job still came as a delicious surprise.

“Before Christmas last year, I went to Auckland to talk to the NZOC comms team in my ESNZ capacity. In the lead-up to the Olympics, there’s high demand for interviews so I thought it was just another chat about that. “But this time they were saying, ‘Diana, in Rio you need to be doing this and that and backing up X and Y . . .’ So I asked them ‘Does that mean I’m going to Rio?” and they said ‘Yes, absolutely’. That’s when the pinching began. The comms team are a fantastic trio to work with, a very smooth operation.”

Diana will be one of seven NZOC press attachés at Rio, with people assigned to various sports. When briefed about the long hours and hard work the role would entail, Diana was not at all fazed.

“They told me I’d need to work 18-hour days and I thought, ‘Woohoo, that’s a breeze . . . I often work much longer hours than that.’ With no other responsibilities and domestic chores to do, that’s easy."

It’s clear the excitement has already begun for Diana.

“One of the most amazing things is attending the pre-Olympic forums of coaches, media attachés and support teams where we hear from the NZOC. Listening to chef de mission Rob Waddell almost makes me want to put my hand on my heart and sing the national anthem. It’s like being inside a bubble, in another world. I’ve interviewed many top athletes in the past but now I’m actually part of the team. And I get the full Olympic uniform too which is really exciting.”

Prior to Rio, Diana is attending the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany later this month.

“The festival is one of the biggest equestrian events on the calendar outside the World Champs and Olympics. It will be a good chance for the team to run through protocols and processes before we get to Rio. It’s a massive annual festival held in a huge stadium, covering many disciplines with a real championship feel. It will be fantastic to be there.”

Looking forward to RioDiana then flies from London to Rio with the equestrian eventing team. The horses fly out a few days before the riders. Diana is staying in two different media villages which are separate from where the athletes live. One is at Deodoro, where equestrian events are held, and the other is at Barra where the kayaking is held.

“These are both good locations, close to the action,” she says.

So what are you looking forward to most?

“Everything,” enthuses Diana. “Just living and breathing the Olympics will be absolutely amazing. This is the biggest contingent of athletes New Zealand has ever sent to an Olympic Games.”

And leaping way ahead, Diana is also looking forward to flying back to New Zealand with the full Olympic team.

“Imagine being on a whole plane full of athletes . . . and medals . . . across all the sports. It will be incredible.”

Looking even further ahead, she’d like to think the Olympic experience might lead to more diversity in her work.

And what worries you the most?

“Missing my son, partner, parents and dog. The job itself doesn’t freak me out at all — I’m used to it, having handled two World Champs. I’m accustomed to juggling priorities and pressure — I thrive on it. I couldn’t live without deadlines to keep me stimulated. It’s completely addictive. I need to be constantly in motion, ticking things off and then moving to the next priority on a never-ending list. I’m never finished . . . but I like it that way.”

ChallengesOne of the potential challenges she foresees is assisting non-rightsholder media.

“Sky TV is the rightsholder so we have to be smart to ensure the non-rightsholders like TVNZ and TV3 get everything they need inside a tight time frame. They are allowed very limited coverage of the actual events but can do pre- or post- interviews and background stories. It’s part of my job to organise that.

“The pressure on athletes is huge and if someone doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s a major. But we still have to make sure there’s an interview at the end of an event. We are the first familiar face the athletes see after competing. We are in the press attaché pit and our role is to help, facilitate and guide them through the press process. The flipside to this is that the athletes are there to win medals and the media need to understand and respect that balance.”

A major drama for Diana is that she can’t take all her camera gear because she’s not there as a photographer.

Horse-mad as a childBorn and raised in Gisborne, Diana’s interest in photography began when she shot her first roll of film at the age of five years.

“I took photos of my cat lounging on the grass. I’ve still got them. Mum kept the roll of 12 shots.”

As a child, she was horse-mad.

“I had my first pony when I was three years — he was a grey called Spooks. My grandfather bought him for me. He lived in the Wairarapa and I used to ride him in the holidays. My parents were hugely supportive of my horse-riding passion — my mother took me to Miss Winnie Lysnar’s riding school every holiday, and when it closed down, I was given two ponies.”

So what’s so cool about horses?

“I love the smell, the feel, the complete amazingness of horses,” she says with a dreamy look on her face.

First published in the Gisborne HeraldAt school, Diana loved reading and writing and excelled in English, but failed dismally at maths. She attended Nga Tawa Diocesan School in Marton for the last two years of her secondary schooling and joined The Gisborne Herald as a cadet at 18.

“I vividly remember the first thing I ever had published. On my first day at the Herald, I went out with photographer Gray Clapham and reported on a car accident. I was so stoked to actually be in print.”

Diana worked at the Herald for 18 months and then went to several Northland community newspapers. At 20, she sailed to California as crew on a yacht. She had many adventures on the high seas, crewing on a salvage boat, hostessing on super-yachts in the Mediterranean and having fun in the Caribbean.

“I met some great people. We are having a crew reunion in London when I’m there later this month which will be cool.”

She also worked as a nanny and photographer in the United States and ran a restaurant in the Bahamas. Diana came home in the early 1990s and worked for Eastland Sun, Radio 89FM and 2ZG news, ran the Cider Barn before another stint at The Gisborne Herald as a journalist. In 2002, son Hamish was born and she continued a career as a freelance writer and photographer.

“Life changes as a mother and your child becomes the centre of your universe. I try to lead a more normal life these days and not write until the wee hours,” she says.

Apart from her work for ESNZ, Diana also works for Hospice Tairawhiti, The Gisborne Herald, a number of commercial clients and horse-related magazines. She also manages the media for the biggest horse shows and events in New Zealand such as Horse of the Year and Kihikihi International Horse Trial.

“All these experiences are linked through the passion of the people I’m involved with. They’ve done so much to get to the elite level and I just love writing about their achievements.”

Writing is 'all I've ever wanted to do'Can you imagine life without writing?

“Hell no,” she says. “I’m constantly writing in my head and thinking about intros and pitching stories. If I’m not doing that, I’m thinking about the pictures I want to take. Being a journalist is the best job in the world — to be paid to interview amazing people, go to fascinating places and learn cool new things every day. What other job can give you that?

“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do . . . and now the Olympics. Rio here I come!” she says . . . pinching herself again.