Georgie Abay is just about one of the most intelligent, hard working, kind and humble editors you’ll find at the helm of a glossy mag - and she’s back for interview number 2 on Hack Your Own PR - after her first interview several years ago, in her role as the editor and founder of Grace Tales.   In September last year, Georgie took on the prestigious role leading the vision and team as editor of Marie Claire. As you’ll hear in this episode, she’s keen to use her platform to campaign for better outcomes around gendered violence, neuro inclusivity and inspire the next generation of change m ..read more

Imagine a world where Business Class and Economy Class costs about the same. Naturally, everyone would choose Business Class.    Today we're joined by Steve Hui, also known as "The Points Whisperer" and founder of iflyflat.com.au. Over 12 years ago, Steve cracked the code to unlock how to fly business and first class on the cheap.    I invited Steve to the podcast because I have seen his name everywhere. From ARF, news.com.au, Sky News, The Project, you name it - he’s been featured there. With over 40k followers on Linkedin, and a hungry audience of travellers looking to st ..read more

 I think you’re going to enjoy this episode if you’re a beauty or lifestyle brand.   Today we're joined by beauty industry veterans Sarah Tarca and Sherine Youssef, founders of the popular newsletter gloss etc.   With over 30 years of combined experience in journalism and media, Sarah and Sherrine have seen it all when it comes to PR pitches.    Sarah Tarca is a former magazine editor (Marie Claire, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan), beauty journalist and Sherine Youssef is a beauty editor, who has worked across Madison, Stellar, marie claire, Gritty Pretty and Badlands Journa ..read more

Today I'm joined by Euan Black, the Work and Careers Reporter at The Australian Financial Review.    Euan began his career in journalism accidentally after finishing an internship in Cambodia. He landed his first journalism job at Southeast Asia Globe before moving to Australia where he now very happily writing for The Financial Review.   In this episode, Euan shared how he generates story ideas through one-on-one conversations with industry sources, the challenges of balancing idea generation with writing and insights into how much weight he applies to performance data and how ..read more

Polly Taylor is the Contributor and Page editor at Mamamia. Polly previously worked in the UK in the women’s lifestyle media space, when she visited Australia on a ‘quick working holiday’ and found the perfect job at Mamamia, she’s never left!    Polly walks us through the contrasting stories you’ll find on the home page of Mamamia, from the latest Kate Midleton theory to hard-hitting, gritty contributor pieces from survivors of domestic violence - there isn’t anything like Mamamia in the Australian media landscape.    We hear about what it means for content to “walk in her ..read more

Wendy Tuohy is a senior writer focusing on social issues impacting women and girls at The Age.    With over 40 years of experience writing about social affairs, Wendy is one of the true advocates, who in particular, has chosen to use her position of privilege to amplify and influence the mainstream media narrative about issues that truly matter.   In a time when mainstream media is copping heat left right and centre for its misrepresentation and downright misbehaviour, Wendy occupies a corner of the media where she has the time to thoroughly and thoughtfully interrogate heartbre ..read more

Sam Hussey is the head of news and lifestyle at Forbes Australia, having previously been the Channel Seven editor in chief for the 7news.com.au publishing a cheeky 120 news pieces daily.   The change of pace to business, entrepreneurism and luxury lifestyle is a welcome one, as Sam discusses, as he’s tackling a slower, deeper style of journalism, that allows him and the team to interrogate issues in the business ecosystem with more time - and perhaps a little more finesse.   With new content series coming out on video, a new membership for women, and a deeper focus on the female-led ..read more

This week on the Hack Your Own Podcast, join me in conversation with Tarla Lambert, co-founder of Agenda Media and editor-in-chief of Women’s Agenda.   Alongside her business partner, Angela Priestley, Tarla has cultivated a wholly independent, women-owned, and operated media empire that engages over a million Australian women each month.    Tarla shares insights into Women’s Agenda’s demographic and focus, catering to professional women aged 25 to 45, including 30% small business owners, with a recent emphasis on entrepreneurship and leadership stories.    Tarla speak ..read more

Meet Nicole Maycroft, the PR & Communications Manager at Kic.     Nicole walks us through what media efforts have successfully converted for Kic, how she gets Steph and Laura involved with timely trends and expert commentary, and how to create leverageable collaborations and events.     We get to hear the behind-the-scenes strategy for Kic’s latest ‘feel good’ January campaign which saw a 100% increase in year-on-year sales, and how the Kic team was able to rise above the ‘new year, new me’ toxic messaging that the health and wellness industry communicates.&nb ..read more

This week on the Big Ideas Miniseries I chatted with Sophie Walker, founder and host of popular podcast Australian Birth Stories.   Sophie is the mum of 3 who used to record her podcast from the back of her Nissan X Trail during covid. She has amassed 16 million podcast listeners informing and empowering women and their birth support teams and has grown to become a million-dollar birth and pregnancy educational ecosystem.   In late 2022, I had the pleasure of working closely with Sophie to build her presence leveraging the ecosystem of influence to build visibility, a potent network ..read more