Journalist David Jones uncovers truths in 'An Accidental Adventure: A Reporter's Story'

Jones, or DJ to his mates, was on the now defunct Sydney Sun for many years before joining Channel 7 as its political reporter, then as NSW Premier Nick Greiner's press secretary before MBF Health, traffic reporter on 2GB then Carnival Australia until he "retired" late last year.

He is working again with Business Sydney.

His story begins in the quadrangle of Birrong Boys' High in the 1960s when a mate turned up one Monday morning with money in his pocket and bought a canteen lunch, including a coveted cream bun, much to the envy of everyone else.

"I grew up in Bankstown and Bankstown boys didn't have money," Jones said.

"Kids are quick to know when their mates are on to something good so I asked him how he had money. He said 'I've got a copyboy job on The Sun on a Saturday'. I asked if he could get me one too and he did."

Jones landed a job as a Saturday copyboy at the age of 14 at what was then John Fairfax and Sons at Broadway.

"It was my first real job," he said. "I'd had some opportunities as a caddy at suburban golf links but didn't last long when it became clear part of the job was to know where the ball landed when the golfer took a shot. Having a lazy right eye and dodgy long-distance vision tended to be a job killer for a caddy.

"There is absolutely no reason for me becoming a journalist. It was never suggested by anyone and we didn't have any journalists in the family. We had nurses and soldiers but no journos.

"Everything that has happened for the last 50 years has been an accident. What a life it has given me. I've seen the world and I've covered some big stories."

Jones ended up in Sun Police Rounds, which was the legendary haunt of the paper's top gun police reporters Noel Bailey and Bill Archibald. Here, a copyboy would sit at a typewriter with radio units tuned to the police, ambulance and fire brigade frequencies to hear incidents which may be breaking news.

If the copyboy was good at this, it was the stepping stone to a cadetship. He said his life began at 18, particularly when he met Anne Heffernan who became his wife in 1975.

They have three children - Lachlan, Gemma and Patrick - who are all involved in media.

"I couldn't be more proud," he said. "So many children of journalists become journos themselves because they know what the job entails and they have a curiosity honed by their parent.

"You have to be naturally curious to do this job and for that, I always thank my mother for encouraging me to be curious and interested in the world."

Jones has self-published a book, An Accidental Adventure: A Reporter's Story.

"I've written it because I want my children and grandchildren Harry and Evie to know what I did," he said.

"Anne was the best thing that ever happened to me. Every good thing that has happened in my life is because of her."

After a stint in the Canberra press gallery then Macquarie Street in Sydney, the Joneses found themselves on their way to New York in 1977 under the guidance of then Sun editor Derryn Hinch.

They found themselves living diagonally opposite the famed Dakota Building where Jones frequently saw one of its most famous residents, John Lennon.

As the Sun's man in New York, David broke many stories but two stand out due to family.

The first came during the tensions in the Middle East when president Jimmy Carter was part of a three-way satellite live cross on CBS Television with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in Cairo and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in Tel Aviv.

"It was a network news brokered breakthrough that would lead to a pact in the 1978 Middle East Peace Treaty," Jones said. "I had the rare privilege of being in the White House grounds when Carter, Sadat and Begin signed the treaty in Washington.

"Years later, our eldest child, Lachlan, came into the lounge room to say he was doing an assignment on the 1978 Middle East Peace Treaty but he couldn't find any information on it.

"Lachlan was surprised when I told him that his father had been there that day and I quickly found the relevant story in my Sun scrapbooks. He even acknowledged me for it."

The other story was the death and funeral of Elvis Presley when the Joneses travelled to Memphis with Anne wearing pink.

The next day, a photo of the front page of the Memphis newspaper showed the funeral courtege leaving Graceland and there is Anne in pink standing next to her husband.

Even when away from the media, Jones retains his news sense, constantly finding a great yarn, particularly during his 13 years at Carnival. But it also proved sad when COVID-19 shut down the cruise industry.

"The first ship back into Sydney was the Pacific Explorer and I was on deck to let the world know.

"My accidental adventure has been wonderful and who knows what might have happened if I wasn't lucky enough to land my job as a copyboy in order to have some money to spend in the school canteen."

Only limited copies of An Accidental Adventure: A Reporter's Story were printed but an electronic version will be available via email. He is happy to field inquiries at djcommunicationaus@gmail.com