Career summary

Georgia has taken her passions for writing and storytelling and moulded them into a successful career in the media. Having worked extensively for FOX SPORTS in various roles, Georgia has also spent the last three years co-hosting and writing for 'She’s on the Money', an award-winning podcast focused on financial education for women. Georgia recently completed her Master of Journalism at Monash University.

Career pathway

2020 – Master of Journalism, Monash University
2019 – 2022 Freelance Host and Copywriter, She's on the Money
2018 – Present Social Media Producer and Production Coordinator, FOX SPORTS Australia
2018 – Production Assistant, FOX SPORTS Australia
2017 – PR and Communications Coordinator, The Burbank Group
2016 – Contributing Writer, Crowd Media
2016 – Marketing and PR Intern, The Australian Ballet
2015 – Newsreading and Writing Intern, RPP FM
2013 – Contributing Writer, The Australia Times Sports Magazine
2013 – Professional Communication, RMIT University

Have you always wanted to study journalism?

No! When I was in high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study or the career path I wanted to take, all I knew was that I loved writing, performing and making people laugh. I was hugely jealous of the kids who knew exactly what they wanted after school, as I craved a neat, linear path. Eventually I found something that fit my passions, and landed myself in a broad comms degree, which had a journalism element but it definitely wasn’t the focus. After I finished my undergraduate degree, I felt there was so much more I wanted to learn in the journalism space – and a few years later, I fortunately found Monash’s Master of Journalism.

Why did you decide to further your studies with the Master of Journalism at Monash?

Going back to study was always something that was on my radar. I knew I wanted to spend more time focusing on journalism alone rather than communications in a broader sense, but with a busy work schedule it was really just a matter of finding the time. Thanks to a certain global pandemic, in 2020 I found plenty of that time! I was still working on the ‘She’s on the Money’ podcast then, but my work at Fox had really slowed down. As someone who loves to make the most of every moment, I figured this was the ideal moment to start my Master. This ended up being one of the best decisions I made. With such a targeted focus on journalism compared to my undergraduate degree, completing my Master was exactly what I needed.

What is it about journalism that excites and motivates you?

There are just so many different avenues that you can take within the media sphere. Whether it’s as a traditional journalist, as a producer, a podcaster, a scriptwriter or something else entirely – there are so many different avenues you can go down, and while people insist journalism is a dying industry, it’s really just evolving, which should be seen as exciting rather than scary.

With my Master of Journalism from Monash, I feel so much more confident about my ability to do what I love in this industry and I’m really grateful for that.

How did furthering your studies with the Master of Journalism at Monash help you in your professional career?

It gave me much more confidence in my writing and communication skills. As someone who struggles a lot with self-doubt, the assurance that I could excel within my degree really gave me the confidence boost that I needed within the professional setting.

You were the co-host and copywriter of the ‘She's on the Money’ podcast. How did this come about, and what did your day-to-day as a podcaster look like?

My day-to-day in the podcast studio included everything from script writing and recording, to brainstorming content ideas, writing blog posts, and putting together newsletters. It was quite varied and a lot of fun, but it could also be hard work!

Working on a podcast as big as ‘She’s on the Money’, you do tend to receive a lot of feedback, both positive and negative. That was a big learning curve - reading negative reviews can really make that self-doubt creep back in but having my master’s degree from Monash has definitely helped me to back myself, feel more confident in my skills and reassured me that I was the right person for the job.

You're also a social media producer at FOX SPORTS – what does that role involve?

I’ve got a very fun role with Fox! Basically, I get paid to watch footy and create content from it – which is amazing!

On the weekends when there are games on, I’ll be clipping live vision, creating highlights of each game and building graphics to use online. We work closely with the journalists and the editorial team to support the work that they do in a visual sense and make their stories more accessible for our viewers.

With Fox having such a huge audience, a large part of my role also involves finding more effective ways to communicate with those audiences as well – something that my master’s degree has really helped me with.

Your media roles have been quite different. How do you find your skills overlapping in your work?

The thing that overlaps the most is copywriting – coming up with creative ways to convey dry or dull messages. It’s all about finding more compelling ways to communicate with our audience. The ethical side of working in the media is also really present in both of my roles. You definitely need a healthy dose of journalistic integrity to make sure you’re not letting bias creep into your reporting or script writing process.

How have your past experiences in the journalism industry shaped your career in the media now?

My early career experiences have definitely helped me to build a thicker skin! When you’re fresh out of high school, you think you’re going to be the next best thing, but then reality hits and you realise that you’re not so special after all (a grim discovery). There can be a lot of rejection, especially when you’re straight out of university and have a narrative in your head that you’ll just breeze through because you have been in that education bubble for so long. Once you realise it’s not going to be easy, you lower your expectations, put yourself to work and let that do that talking. That’s what I did and I do think it’s helped me become a much more patient and hard-working person and employee.

What advice would you give students hoping to enter the journalism profession?

Get your hands dirty! It’s about really putting yourself out there and working hard – don’t think any job is beneath you and give it a red-hot crack even if you’re not 100% confident in what you’re doing. Ask questions, soak it all up.

Another tip would be not to underestimate the importance of relationship building. While talent and hard work is essential, at the end of the day, we all want to work with people we enjoy being with and in an industry as competitive as the media, it’s hugely helpful to have a network of people who are in your corner.

I’d also say that you need to brace yourself for some hard work, but it will be so worth it in the end. It's such a fun industry to work in, and no two days are the same. If you’re having doubts, try to take the pressure off and trust that if you’re doing the work and treating people well, you’ll eventually end up where you’re meant to be.

Also, study! Go and get your journalism degree, and if you really want to level up your career, get a Master of Journalism at Monash as well.

I’m forever grateful that I went down this path, and you will be too.

Written by Arts intern, Lily McCure, 2022