ABC offers internships to cast of The Assembly

The ABC today announced cast members from the upcoming series The Assembly will be offered paid internships in the ABC Content and News divisions.

The Assembly is a six-part series produced by Helium Pictures for the ABC that follows a group of autistic student journalists as they prepare and interview six of the nation’s biggest names, including the Prime Minister.

The students are mentored by three-time Walkley Award winning ABC journalist Leigh Sales. At the completion of the series, the fifteen cast members have an opportunity to continue their development through an ABC internship.

‘I’m so happy that the ABC is going beyond the filming of this TV show and taking the full step of offering our autistic media students paid internships,’ Sales said.

‘I’m confident that some of them are going to run with these opportunities and become terrific assets to our workplace and the industry.’

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The Assembly features Sales mentoring the students as they learn their craft and prepare to interview an A-list celebrity. The central premise of the series is that no subject is out of bounds, and no question is off the table. The format is based on a French series Les Rencontres du Papotin and BBC series The Assembly, which have featured interviews with President Emmanuel Macron in France, Antonio Banderas in Spain, and Michael Sheen in England.

‘It’s hard to explain how rewarding participating in this program has been for me,’ Sales continued. ‘I know the Australian public is going love this group of people and become as invested in their progress as I am.’

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With the students all undertaking a specifically designed journalism course delivered by Macquarie University, which is the first of its kind in Australia, The Assembly is being made with full support in place for the student journalists in partnership with: Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) – Australia’s largest service for people on the autism spectrum, and Bus Stop Films – Australia’s leading social enterprise supporting people with disabilities in film-making. 

The Assembly premieres on ABC TV and ABC iview later this year.