12 year old Sydney-based Maya Saathi has been selected as ABC3’s 'Behind the News’ (BTN) Rookie Reporter.
She will join seasoned ABC journalists and do on-the-spot political covering of the 2016 Australian Federal Election.
She also starred in Indian-Australian film director Anupam Sharma's 'UnIndian' (2015) as daughter of a beautiful divorcee and single mother Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee).
"I am so happy that Maya has won this position at ABC. We are proud to have discovered her raw talent which whole Australia saw in unindian. She has a bright future on screen and most importantly she will write another golden chapter in diversity on screens in Australian Media," says Anupma Sharma.
Maya with Brett Lee and Anupam Sharma Source: Anupam Sharma
WATCH VIDEO: UNINDIAN TRAILER
Maya will deliver her first news story during ABC3’s BTN Newsbreak at 6:50pm on 13 June 2016 (Monday).
She will follow Australian politicians as they navigate the campaign trail.
She will also deliver a daily news story to the nightly BTN bulletin on ABC3.
In addition, a daily video diary of her experience which will be available on ABC iview.
Maya's first assignment as a Rookie Reporter is to attend a Bootcamp with experienced ABC election mentors, including Sarah Ferguson, Leigh Sales and Jeremy Fernandez.
Here, she will learn "how to interrogate a politician, how to hunt down ground-breaking stories and how to wade through the polls and statistics to work out trends and make predictions," says ABC website.
Once prepared for life on the road, Maya will be shadowed by BTN journalist and mentor Emma Davisand together they will immerse themselves in the press pack.
On the eve of the election, the documentary Rookie Reporter Election will air at 7pm.
This documentary will be filmed through Maya’s eyes.
It will capture her journey as she is submerged in the challenging, fast paced environment of political journalism.
WATCH VIDEO: ROOKIE REPORTER REVEAL
