The Board

President Ashlynne McGhee

Ashlynne McGhee is an award-winning reporter at the ABC’s flagship television current affairs program7.30. Over the past decade she’s been a Federal Political Reporter in the Canberra press gallery, travelled the country as a video journalist and broken major stories from Australia and abroad. Ashlynne was awarded the 2015 Holly Whisenhunt Stephen fellowship by the US-based Investigative Reporters and Editors group as well as the 2013 MPC Young Journalist of the Year award. She has been on the board of the Melbourne Press Club since 2013 and was instrumental in setting up the club’s mentoring and training programs for young journalists.

Tito Ambyo

Vice-President Tito Ambyo

Tito Ambyo is an award-winning journalist, writer and journalism trainer currently teaching at RMIT University. As a journalism educator he has won multiple awards, including the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia's Teaching Innovation Award. He has been actively involved in improving diversity in Australian media as a committee member of Media Diversity Australia. He also co-hosts the Talking Indonesia podcast and is an active researcher currently finishing his anthropology PhD on digital storytelling.

Vice-President Heidi Murphy

Heidi Murphy is beginning a new career in 2022 as a television reporter at Channel Nine. The move follows 20 years of radio work in Melbourne, most recently as the long time executive producer of Neil Mitchell’s top-rating morning radio program on 3AW. She's had stints as a news presenter, editor and award-winning state political reporter in the 3aw newsroom. In her spare time, Heidi mothers two children and an outrageously cute spoodle.

CEO Nick Richardson

Nick has reported and written for a range of mastheads, includingThe Bulletinmagazine,The Australianand theHerald Sun. He was Group News Editor at Leader Community Newspapers and later, News Corp Editorial training manager. He has taught journalism at three universities - RMIT, Monash and LaTrobe, where he is currently Adjunct Professor of Journalism. Nick has a PhD in history from the University of Melbourne and has edited and written several books.

Treasurer Veronica Scott

Veronica is a Partner in global law firm Pinsent Masons and co-leads the Australian TMT practice. She has over 20 years experience practicing as a litigator and regulatory lawyer specialising in media, privacy, cyber and digital regulation. Veronica qualified and practiced in England where she worked at London law firm Mishcon de Reya before moving to Melbourne. Veronica has represented a wide range of media companies across all mediums covering digital content, defamation, FOI laws, court reporting, pre-publication advice and reputation management. More recently Veronica has developed a focus on privacy and data protection, cyber security and data governance. She also serves on the Media and Communications and Privacy Committees of the Law Council of Australia and is former Vice President of the International Association of Privacy Professionals ANZ.

Secretary Richard Leder OAM

Richard is a partner and head of Commercial Litigation at the law firm Wotton + Kearney.  He has practiced as a media lawyer and litigator for 35 years.  He is the principal legal advisor to Channel Seven Melbourne. Other media law clients include The Conversation Media Group, The Big Issue and the Elliott Newspaper Group. He represented Rebel Wilson and Grant Denyer.  His expertise, particularly in media law, has been recognised by a number of leading legal directories including Chambers Asia Pacific and the Best Lawyers peer review. He also serves on the boards of community and charitable bodies, including as Chair of the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the Boards of Australian Friends of Asha for Slums, the Conversation Media Group, Mt Buller Race Club and Mt Buller Ratepayers Association.  He was deputy chair of the Mt Buller & Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board for 5 years until September 2022. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2019 for his service to community organisations.

Members
Ashley Argoon

Ashley Argoon

Ashley Argoon is theHerald Sun's education editor and Night Chief of Staff. Argoon started her career as a cadet at Fairfax'sBorder Mailin 2011 and moved to theHerald Sunin 2013. She has covered courts, domestic violence, social issues and crime before moving into her current roles. Previous reporting by Argoon and her colleagues at theBorder Mailexploring the impact of suicide and mental illness in regional areas and led to substantial local change in the Albury-Wodonga areas. Argoon and her colleagues were awarded Walkley awards for the work. Argoon has been on on the board of Albury-Wodonga community network Survivors of Suicide and Friends since its establishment in 2013.

Michael Bachelard

Michael Bachelard is a senior writer and former deputy editor and investigations editor of The Age. He has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Jakarta, has written two books and won multiple awards for journalism, including the Gold Walkley.

Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj

Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj is a bilingual journalist with over two decades of experience in TV, radio and digital journalism in India, Japan and Australia. He is currently Managing Editor of The Australia Today. A graduate of the University of South Australia, Jai has worked as a cultural adviser in the public relations and communications industry. He has been a finalist in the Amnesty International Australia Media Awards and NSW Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards for his political and investigative reporting.

Patrick Considine

Patrick is a senior lawyer with Minter Ellison specialising in media law and commercial litigation. He has worked in media law since being admitted in December 2010, and joined Minter Ellison’s media law practice as a Senior Associate in 2015. Minter Ellison has one of the longest-established media law practices in the country. Patrick has represented a number of media organisations in a broad range of matters, including Fairfax Media, Channel Nine, The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, Domain Group, as well as a number of authors, actors, government departments and insurers.

Shannon Deery

Shannon Deery is the Herald Sun's state political editor. Deery joined the paper in 2007 and spent almost a decade covering courts and legal affairs before moving across to politics at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. He has a keen interest in issues around media law and freedom of the press. He joined the board in 2023.

Sumeyya Ilanbey

Sumeyya Ilanbey is an award-winning journalist at The Age and author published by Allen & Unwin. Shortlisted for multiple prizes during her career, she won the 2020 Quill for Coverage of an Issue or Event and 2020 Walkley for Television/Video: Current Affairs Long (More Than 20 Minutes). She joined the Melbourne Press Club board in June 2023.

Kate Jones

Kate Jones has been involved in television news for more than two decades. She began as a reporter at WIN TV in Albury and Ballarat, from late 2000 until 2005, when she joined 7NEWS in Melbourne. She spent 11 years reporting for Seven, including 8 years covering courts. Since having children, she has moved behind the scenes, working as a producer since 2017. Kate served as a member of the MPC committee, as it was then called, in 2012.

Fotis Kapetopoulos

Fotis Kapetopoulos has 35 years experience in the arts and multicultural media. He works forNeos Kosmos, Australia’s leading Greek Australian media, serving as English edition editor between 2007 and 2011. After a stint as Multicultural Media Advisor to former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu Fotis returned to Neos Kosmos, where in 2020 he led a campaign to have multicultural media invited to state government press conferences. This was during the second pandemic wave in Victoria when over 140 Greek Australian elderly died. Neos Kosmos’ advocacy resulted in the Victorian government allocating $3.5m to the multicultural media sector. Fotis has led the development of the independent national Multicultural Media Association, heads multicultural communications and research consultancy Kape Communications, and has held leadership roles including CEO of Multicultural Arts Victoria. He is a Smithsonian Institution (short-term) Intern and an Asialink Arts Management Residency recipient. Fotis is a PhD Candidate at Deakin University looking at multicultural media and the role of Neos Kosmos.

Matilda Marozzi

Matilda Marozzi is an investigative journalist and radio producer at the ABC in Melbourne. She is also a regular guest on ABCNews Breakfastand ABC RadioOvernights. She was named 2018 Melbourne Press Club Young Journalist of the Year for her investigations of underpayment in the hospitality industry and won a UK Gold aria award for BBC Radio 5 live’s coverage of the London Bridge Terror attack. As well as her work producing and reporting for ABC Radio Melbourne, Matilda has freelanced for Monocle 24, ABC Radio National and the BBC. Marozzi has served as director and vice-president of SYN Media in Melbourne.

Jay Mueller

Jay Mueller is the Managing Editor at AFL Media. He leads a team of journalists, hosts and digital producers who serve the game’s fans through content on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live App. Jay has more than 30 years media experience. He has written for print and digital platforms. He has produced for radio, television and podcasts. He has worked for the FOX television network in the US, 3AW, Triple M, SEN, Seven, JAM TV and Inverleigh Media Holdings. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is the founder and director of Bad Producer Productions, a podcast company based in Kyneton, Victoria.

Paul Paton

Paul Paton is a Gunai and Monaro-Ngarigo man from southeastern Australia who is dedicated towards the preservation, continuation and promotion of Aboriginal cultures. He is presently CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations, and has previously served as Executive Officer at the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages and as a Director on the Board of First Nations Legal & Research Services.

Paul has broad experience in identifying, fostering and maintaining relationships across Aboriginal communities and like-minded organisations around Victoria. As FVTOC CEO, Paul is committed to building on the organisation's success as a key organisation that strengthens the voice of Traditional Owners in Victoria.

Carol Saffer

Carol Saffer is an award-winning, experienced freelance editor and journalist, passionate about creating copy that engages audiences. She relishes considering what will resonate with a target audience and tailoring it for maximum impact. The diverse people she encounters inspire and captivate her with their stories. Carol seeks to share authentic and compelling content the community wants and needs to hear.

Saffer has written for several rural and regional Victorian newspapers and has published stories in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Mamamia, and CutCommon. She is an experienced lifestyle magazine features writer for Provincial Media. Carol was editor at the Advocate.org.au, the first online news service dedicated to promoting the news of charities and not-for-profit organisations, and Inner City News, an independently owned print and online news site for inner Melbourne. She holds postgraduate degrees in Business and Journalism.

Nicole Strahan

Nicole has more than two decades of experience in the media industry.

Nicole began her career in local newspapers as a cadet journalist, working her way up to become a senior reporter. She then spent several years as a reporter at The Australian newspaper. She joined Network 10 as a junior reporter in the Melbourne news room in 2001 and covered stories across Australia and around the world, including the Beaconsfield mine disaster, state elections, bushfires, the Bali bombings and the Christchurch terror attacks.

After leaving the network in 2014, Nicole worked as a journalism lecturer and tutor at Monash and Swinburne universities. She returned to the network in 2015 as a senior producer and reporter.
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Richard Willingham

Richard Willingham is senior state political reporter for ABC News in Melbourne. Willingham has been a journalist in Melbourne for more than 10 years, joiningThe Agein 2010 before moving to the ABC in 2017. He has previously spent time in Canberra as a political reporter. He has won two Quill awards in the news writing and radio categories.

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