News cowboys – it was the nickname the reporters and camerapeople at Seven Network’s Los Angeles bureau jokingly gave themselves as they headed off on assignments, not knowing what to expect and often unprepared for what they found. It was a way of coping, of not taking too seriously what was often deadly serious, as they witnessed some of the worst moments in recent world history.

For 18 years Mike Amor was one of those journalists. He was on the ground during 9/11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He reported on mass shootings from Port Arthur to Sandy Hook, covered the earthquake in Haiti and the astonishing rescue of a little girl named Winnie, investigated Mexican drug cartels, came under fire in Gaza – and much more. There were good times, too – following the Olympics or Chloë McCardel’s record-breaking Cuban swim.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Mike Amor about his pathway to a career in journalism and as a foreign correspondent, the sometimes grim reality of covering some of the biggest news stories in the world, and the mental and physical toll it has taken on him, on his wife and on his son.