Ilsa Sharp is one of the most colourful and independent-minded journalists whom I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with during my 24 years career as a reporter.
She recently wrote to me to point out that she was born and educated in Britain, and did not start to live in Australia until the late 80s.
A graduate in Chinese Studies from Leeds University, she worked for only one year as a journalist in London before coming to Singapore at the age of 22 years. After strenuous efforts, she managed to get a job in the Straits Times Group on local terms.
She started first as a a reporter for Singapore Business monthly, then as News Editor for Fanfare, an entertainment weekly for youth, before going of to Hong Kong in 1970. From there, she freelanced for ST, Far Eastern Economic Review (chiefly as a China watcher) and many others.
She returned to Singapore in late 1971 to become Editor of Singapore Business magazine and then Managing Editor of the magazines division. In 1978, she was appointed Asst Editor of Business Times under Roy Mackie and then Asst Editor (Features) at Straits Times, before being seconded to the Ministry of Education for a year in 1979 to start a new education magazine for the government, ‘Grow’.
In 1980, she became a Singapore PR and went freelance.
Her webpage is at www.ilsasharp.com
