The Zephyr Exchange: The Tumultuous World of Broadcast and the Power of Community with Bronte Gildea, Nine Gold Coast News

Encased in a coffin, tracking unruly bush turkeys through suburbia or questioning MPs on the latest policy reforms - there’s no telling what a day in the office has in store for Bronte Gildea. 

At just 25 years old, the 9 NEWS Gold Coast Reporter and Presenter has amassed a back catalogue of stories that range from the hair-raising to the brow-raising. 

“You just end up in some of the craziest situations. You’ll just be standing there sometimes and you'll think: how did I get here?,” Bronte says. 

It’s a far cry from the typical desk job. Each day’s trajectory is as fast paced as it is unpredictable. But Bronte says the dynamic energy had her hooked from the moment she first set foot in the newsroom.    

She was approaching the end of her Journalism and Arts studies at the University of Queensland and working at Nova, when a placement opportunity came up with 9 NEWS Brisbane. 

“I thought I wanted to do radio, but as soon as I got to be in the TV environment, in a newsroom where there's so much happening - I just got addicted to it straightaway,” Bronte says. 

“I was so lucky that when I was interning there, basically the only graduate role in a newsroom opened up for an Assistant Chief of Staff.”

Bronte stepped into the role during her final year of studies, before eventually transferring down south for a reporter role with Lismore NBN - a move she reflects on with equal parts fondness and relief. 

“Regional news is on a whole new level,” she says.

“It's hard. It's really hard. You're away from your family, you're away from what you know. It's sort of baptism by fire but it’s a huge growth experience. And it just cemented that this is what I wanted to do.”

After six months in the role, Bronte received a call from the 9 NEWS Gold Coast team with the offer of an Assistant Producer role. Eager to return to the diversity and opportunity of a more metro market, Bronte embraced the Gold Coast move. 

She spent the next three and a half years working her way through the ranks of 9 NEWS, progressing from Assistant Producer to full-time Reporter and, more recently, Sports Presenter. 

“Presenting was definitely always the goal, and sport is something I've always loved. So when the opportunity arose, it was just a matter of getting across all of the Gold Coast teams rather than the Brisbane teams that I'd grown up around,” she says.

The duality of her roles means the days are spent in a state of near-constant hustle. Even amidst the chaos of her role, Bronte admits she often catches herself in “pinch yourself moments”.

“You just get the whole range of humanity in this job. And I'm so grateful for that, because talking to people is what I love to do,” she says. 

She's reported from the scene of crime, the guts of a haunted house, the back of a motorbike and the heart of a community movement. Throughout it all, there is one enduring theme that manages to leave the journalist awestruck.  

“I tend not to get very starstruck with high-profile people I interview,” she says.

“To be honest, I'm more starstruck by the incredible day-to-day people that you meet. The ones that are doing something for free, just to bring a smile to other people's faces. Those are the people who I walk away thinking, ‘I'm so lucky to have this job’.”

She recounts 9 NEWS Gold Coast’s coverage of Mateoh Eggleton, a six-year old Queensland boy battling a rare genetic disorder. The instantaneous community outpouring that followed Mateoh’s story was unlike anything Bronte had witnessed before. Suddenly she found herself at the centre of a wide scale operation to connect the Eggleton family with the flood of experiences, support, and gifts donated by generous members of the public. 

“People are so giving here. I've never experienced a community like the one on the Gold Coast. People just rally,” she said. 

“That’s definitely one of the highlights of the job - seeing it all come together. Because you do it every day, you sometimes forget that your stories do have an impact. You know, it was just one day for me. But it was a huge thing for them. And that's really special.”

In the relentless churn of the news cycle, a story that elicits a smile can often feel like a rare gem, but their impact on even the reporters who deliver them is undeniable. For Bronte, there is a story that stands out as a favourite, even years on. It involves an unlikely intersection between an oblivious bush turkey and a Mission Impossible soundtrack, and takes shape in what Bronte describes as a “classic Gold Coast” piece of journalism.

“We got told to do a story on a scrub turkey in Robina that kept making nests in the middle of the park around where a lot of elderly people live,” she says. 

“We were thinking: ‘how are we even going to find this turkey’. And that became the whole story. We filmed this whole sequence of Mission Impossible-style shots looking for the scrub turkey. It was so funny and the story actually turned out so well.” 

Despite the lighthearted nature of the piece, Bronte expresses sincere gratitude to Channel Nine for providing her with a refreshing dose of freedom and creativity throughout all her work. 

“I know that I'm afforded a lot of creative freedom and a lot of autonomy in my role, and that's why I have always loved working for Channel 9,” she said. 

She may be a Brisbanite at her roots, but Bronte says she's always felt an affinity for the Gold Coast lifestyle. When she’s not at the news desk, she can often be found among the Currumbin Alley surf breaks. It’s an innate affection for the coastal way of life that took root at a young age. 

“I grew up visiting my grandma at Biggera Waters - she had a house on the canal - and from the age of maybe six, I said: ‘I'm going to live here one day’,” she says. 

A lot has changed since then. The Gold Coast population has almost doubled. The city’s infrastructure is clambering to keep up and COVID cemented the city as a lifestyle beacon to Melburnians and Sydney-siders. It’s a change that Bronte admits often instils a sense of longing for the humble coastal retreat she experienced as a child. But she remains optimistic that the city's essence of community and connection can still be found amidst the rapid growth.

“I think you'll always be able to find those little pockets of community among the hustle and bustle, even as the Gold Coast grows,” she says. 

“It's about being connected and making an effort to be connected to the people around you - to your neighbours, to your local coffee shop, to your local surf break. I think as long as people do that, the Gold Coast can get as big as it wants, but it will always maintain that special community vibe that I know it has always had since I was here at six years old.”