Indigenous Impact Weekly
Celebrating Leaders and Changemakers
In the second edition of our series, we’re thrilled to feature Aleisha Preedy, a distinguished journalist who has broadened her expertise into the digital production space.
In this week’s interview conducted by Georgia King, Digital Content Coordinator at Garlett Group, we dive into the challenges and triumphs that have shaped Aleisha’s career, offering valuable insights for aspiring journalists and media professionals.
Aleisha Preedy, originally from Perth, WA, is a dedicated and accomplished senior journalist who has demonstrated exceptional perseverance and adaptability throughout her career. Her determination and leadership have led to a successful management role at The West Australian. Aleisha’s career serves as a testament to her commitment to excellence in the media industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in this field?
“I went to University completing a Journalism and Marketing degree, which led me to do some work experience at a country newspaper company. I really enjoyed the reporting side and stuck with that. I worked for community newspapers, The Sunday Times, The West Australian, Australian Associated Press and ended up working for Channel 7 on the Today Tonight program as a producer – Not long after that I was offered the role of Chief of Staff. I worked alongside some incredible people, sharing valuable and interesting stories for several years. I ended up back at The West Australian in 2019 when they were expanding their digital content and website, and my role was to help increase the number of products available for subscribers. I now work alongside The West’s digital production team, creating videos and digital content for the websites and our social media.”
How do you manage setbacks, and what motivates you to keep going during tough times?
“Working in a fast paced and competitive newsroom in both print, digital and television really set me up for many challenges and working to meet deadlines.”
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?
” Be across all types of media. The industry is continually evolving and there aren’t too many roles for someone who just wants to be a print journalist or just does television – I think you must be across it all. You need to be multiskilled and versatile. I’d encourage them to learn how to tell stories in written form, visually and learn how to promote the stories accordingly. The key to working in this industry is doing it, if you know what I mean, the more you do it, the more you can see and develop better ways of doing things or better ways of reaching people. Diving into the deep will upskill you quicker and help reach all capabilities.”
How do you envision the future of your field or industry, and how are you preparing for it?
“The evolution of the industry will likely include more digital content. Our audiences are spread across so many platforms, social media, websites, and there is still a big audience of people who read newspapers and watch free to air television. But I think we’re going to be more evolved across all platforms. I’m currently doing a course with the Digital News Academy, which is brilliant. I’m learning news ways of digital storytelling and skills to reach people across different platforms.”
Left to right: Aleisha Preedy, Tremane Baxter-Edwards and Emma Garlett, Director Garlett Group after a Paint it Blak interview at Seven West Media.