Nastasia Campanella
(1988 - )  

Newsreader & ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter

(ACU student Anabel Mifsud helped to compile this page)

Nas in the News Room

Nastasia [Nas] Campanella was a newsreader for Australian radio station Triple J. She was the first blind newsreader to be employed by the ABC.

“Her ability outweighs her disability.”
Daisy Williams.

In May 2020, Nas became the ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter.

Introduction

When Nas was 6 months old a rare abnormality caused her retinas to tear away from her eyes, leaving her able to see shadows and some light, but little else. She was in hospital for two years having numerous operations to try to help her to see.

Nas as a small child

Nas has a younger brother who also suffered from the same abnormality. Fortunately for him, however, doctors were able to use laser-eye surgery to restore the damage.

In primary school, Nas was diagnosed with a disease: Charcot-Marie-Tooth, after years of struggling to read braille. CMT is a genetic disease which causes a lack of sensitivity in the fingertips, meaning she is unable to read braille. After this discovery, Nas started to learn through listening, using computer programs which translated words on a computer into audio.

A lover of music, radio, and writing, Nas decided to pursue a career in journalism at a young age.

Education

Nas was sent to St Lucy's School for the Blind Wahroonga, Sydney, but the teachers there encourage her parents to send her to a mainstream school, Sacred Heart.

When Nas was 10 she was diagnosed with CMT. This made a big difference in her life as she wasn't then regarded as lazy when she couldn't read braille. 

Nas was introduced to a software program, JAWS [Job Access With Speech] and could then send and receive emails. Her assistant teacher also introduced her to audio books and this open up a whole new world for Nas.

In Year 7, Nas started at St Agnes Catholic High School Rooty Hill. Here she had to overcome more barriers - cooking, woodwork and art classes, but with the help of teachers and her fierce independence she was able to participate in these classes.

In Year 9, St Agnes allowed her to volunteer for 2 hours a week for 9 months at the local community radio station. With her friend they hosted their own radio program. She loved this opportunity!

Nas went to Loyola Senior High School, Mount Druitt for Years 11 & 12. Teachers at the school offered extra help on Saturdays and Nas achieved Dux of Loyola with an ATAR of 95.75 which allowed her to go to university to study journalism.  

She attended the University of Technology in Sydney with an average of a Distinction. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism.

While at university, Nas has to learn to use a cane for the first time. She also had a full time study load and worked at a full time paid job to pay for the university. She also volunteered for unpaid internships to  develop an extensive portfolio.

Work Experience:

Campanella insists she would still be the same driven personality if she had her sight but admits her impairment has pushed her to be that bit stronger.

'To a certain extent I think fundamentally I'm a pretty determined, enthusiastic, pushy person anyway so I don't think that has really changed because of my vision impairment, she said.

'But I've obviously had a lot more to prove than other people had when they approached employers for a job.'

When Campanella first started looking for work while still at university she was met with a lot of negativity from potential employers. Her tactic was she wouldn't mention in her application that she was visually impaired but would explain her situation if she received a call back.

'The fact that I have a vision impairment is nothing to me - there's no reason why I shouldn't be looked at but it's something that other people have found a bit confronting so it's nice to be able to get people come around to the idea,' she said.

Nas experienced many barriers whilst job-seeking due to her visual impairment, however due to her perseverance she was offered a cadetship with the ABC in 2011. She spent her first year doing regional reporting, and news reading in Bega.

Campanella did a 12-month post in in Bombala, in rural NSW, before landing a cadetship at the ABC.
 (Source: Daily Mail UK)

“I guess not a lot of people have met people with disabilities, and not a lot of people are open-minded about what they’re capable of. So I think they were quite taken aback when someone with no sight walking into their office and said ‘I want a job, this is what I can do.’” Nas Campanella.

In 2013 Nas joined the Triple J team full-time. Nas produces, writes, sources, and reads the news several times a day.

In May 2020, Nas became the ABC's National Disability Affairs reporter.

In May 2020, Nas became the ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter
(Source: ABC News 30 November 2020)

Experiences & Opportunities

“I became a journalist because it’s what I love to do but it’s also nice to know I can help break that mould and hopefully get other people with disabilities employed as well” Nas Campanella.

During a three minute news bulletin, Nas has four streams of audio simultaneously feeding through her headphones:

• The JAWS speech program, which translates the news story into audio for Nas to repeat

• Her own voice reading out the news

• A clock telling her exactly when to start and finish- as news segments are required to be exactly 3 minutes

• And audio snippets that have been packaged before going on air to be included in a story
  

One of the hardest parts of her job is dealing with incorrect translations delivered by the electronic voice: “you can opt for a male or female voice, faster or slower but it’s hard because the pronunciation is often dodgy. He often says stuff wrong- such as ‘Wag-a Wag-a’ for Wagga Wagga, or ‘Coe-Barney’ for Cobain. I often stumble on cricketers’ and sportspeople’s names.” 

Nas’s studio is equipped with strategically placed Velcro patches-allowing her to operate her own panel.

“I loved listening to it (radio) so I always, kind of, wanted to be on it eventually one day.” Nas Campanella.

Nas is a keen traveller, and says her dream job would be to work as a travel writer. In the past Nas has travelled to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where she went elephant riding, trekking in the jungle, and swimming in natural waterfalls.

“Using vision as a form of travel is a narrow way of looking at things. You can describe the food you ate, the kindness of the people, the smells around you, and the feeling of the sand on your feet.” Nas Campanella.

Nas is now an Advisor to the Travel Industry and has written several articles about her trips.

She also works a a speaker in the education system.

Nas married ABC Radio Presenter Tom Oriti on 5 May 2018
(Source: ABC News 30 November 2020)

(Source: Zest)

YouTube Videos

YouTube: Nas Campanella - System Leadership Day 2016
https://youtu.be/1AcBr78xnFo

YouTube: Nastasia Campanella speech
https://youtu.be/g4QEs8WOIro

YouTube: Interview with Triple J Newsreader Nas Campanella
https://youtu.be/k2AJkRg_iMY

YouTube: @Triple J Blind Cadet
https://youtu.be/vwVSNDtlCzg

AI Overview

Nas Campanella is an Australian journalist, newsreader, and disability advocate best known as the ABC's National Disability Affairs Reporter. Her attributes and professional skills have made her a ground-breaking figure in media, particularly as the first blind newsreader in the world to operate a radio studio live on air independently.

Core Personal Attributes

• Resilience & Determination: Frequently described as resilient and driven, she overcame significant childhood challenges with literacy due to her disabilities.

• Self-Advocacy: She is a strong proponent of self-advocacy, believing in the power of speaking up for one's needs to achieve equality and overcome societal barriers.

• Resourcefulness: Because she cannot read Braille, she developed innovative ways to navigate her profession, such as using screen-reading software and auditory cues.

• Compassion & Empathy: In her reporting, she prioritises humanity and care, taking extra steps to ensure her interview subjects feel safe and comfortable.

Health & Physical Attributes

• Vision Loss: Nas has been totally blind since infancy after blood vessels in her eyes burst, causing her retinas to detach.

• Neurological Condition: She has Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, which causes a lack of sensitivity in her fingertips. This prevents her from being able to read Braille.

Professional Expertise

• Journalism & Broadcasting: She holds a Communications degree from UTS and has a career spanning over a decade at the ABC, including seven years at Triple J.

• Technical Proficiency: She operates complex studio equipment using JAWS screen-reading software and tactile markers.

• Public Speaking & Mentorship: Beyond reporting, she is an MC, motivational speaker, and mentor focusing on inclusive education, adaptive technology, and career empowerment for women and people with disabilities.

Advocacy & Public Life

• Inclusion Advocate: She works with organisations like the United Nations and the tourism industry to improve accessibility and awareness.

• Public Perception: She actively works to change public perceptions of disability, encouraging respectful curiosity rather than patronising attitudes

Links

ABC News Stories from Nas Campanella
Conversations with Richard Fidler (53mins) 17 July 2024 The power and determination of Nas Campanella
Interview with Richard Glover 23 June 2022	ABC News 30 November 2020
ABC News 3 December 2019	Other interviews by Nas ADCET Human Rights Commission Vision Australia

Travel and the senses

Primary

1. In an interview, Nas stated that she loves to travel, and that visuals only play a small role in the entire travel experience.

Choose an experience you are familiar with, for example a trip to your favourite beach, and write a descriptive piece detailing what your senses (excluding sight) are experiencing.

• What can you hear?
• What can you smell?
• What can you feel?
• What can you taste?

2. Share your piece with a partner. Would they go to this location based on your description?

A 3 Minute News Bulletin  (developed by ACU student Anabel Mifsud)

 Primary Middle Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Cooperative Learning Activity

 

1. Go to one of the following sites and select several news stories to be scripted into a 3 minute news bulletin.

ABC - BTN - select any stories that might interest you	ABC Rural News - select any stories that might interest you
ABC Landline - select any stories that might interest you	ABC Sport  - select any stories that might interest you

2. With a partner, create a news bulletin script for exactly 3 minutes.

Rehearse and record your news segment and present it to your class. Don't forget to time your script to exactly 3 minutes. Easy?

3.

Consider the following questions:

• Why did you select the stories you did? Was it based off personal interest or deemed importance?

• Was 3 minutes enough time to read your entire script? How did you shorten it to exactly 3 minutes

• Compare your experience to that of Nas. Do you think it would have been the same if you had a program like JAWS reading to you as opposed to a script?

4. Try reading your script with your partner reading it to you. What did that feel like?