Megan Hustwaite had only just finished her VCE when she landed a cadetship at The Wimmera Mail-Times at the mere age of 17 in 2004.

Now more than a decade on, Hustwaite has gone on becoming a multi-award winning sports journalist and one of Australia's most respected NBL and WNBL reporters.

She spent more than a decade working with 1116 SEN, where she reported on the AFL, as well as working for News Corporation.

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Ms Hustwaite now works as a freelancer and recently had her basketball coverage recognised when she was awarded the Basketball Victoria Media Award for 2020.

Reflecting on her career, Ms Hustwaite was full of praise for her three years at the Mail-Times.

"It was amazing, just the best learning ground and there's just so much sport which is great," Ms Hustwaite said.

"(It is) the best thing I've ever done personally and professionally, getting a cadetship there when I was 17.

"I was very lucky that Rod Case was the editor at the time and Paul Ashenden who was chief of staff I think, saw something in a young and awkward me."

"Having an editor like Rod who was so supportive of me ... and a lot of the older journos and were so amazing to me. They really do shape you and I hate to think what my copy was like, straight out of school I was surprised I could write my name."

Ms Hustwaite started her cadetship writing general news, doing a bit of sport here and there, before she jumped at the opportunity to write full-time sport.

She said that Horsham's strong basketball scene, which has produced numerous NBL and WNBL players, helped develop her love for the sport.

"I've got The Wimmera Mail-Times to thank for my career, but particularly my passion for basketball which I work across 12 months of the year now," she said.

Some of the local players Hustwaite covered for the Mail-Times include South-East Melbourne Phoenix star and proud Horsham boy Mitch Creek.

"I covered some of them (Horsham's basketball stars) there and some of them I've gone onto still cover wherever I've worked, which is cool," she said.

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"Someone like Mitch Creek I remember doing stories on his age group, they would have been under 13s and now to work on the NBL which he's obviously a star in."

Now a "restricted free agent", as she jokingly calls herself, Ms Hustwaite's next goal involves the Women's Basketball World Cup, which is being held in Sydney next year.

"My goal is to be hosting that coverage," she said.

"There's still a lot of basketball, before then, (I'm going to) just keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully I can be part of that broadcast of the world cup next year here in Australia."

Although she has gone onto achieve great things, Ms Hustwaite admits there is still a part of her that misses writing for country newspapers.

"I guess being from Ballarat and having written for The Courier while I was at school, I think it's the best way to immerse yourself in a community," she said.

"I was just reading about WIN news having major cuts and streamlining their bulletin, and it's just so sad for those areas, but that's why places like the Mail-Times are so important to their communities.

"From the front page, the news stories to the bowls results, everything is equally important to its community. Absolutely I miss that and having that intimate sort of connection with the region."

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