Acting CEO and President  Eileen Berry

Eileen Berry started in journalism at Leader newspapers in 1984. Five years later she joined The Age, assigned to the lifestyle features desk (day shift), fondly referred to as “cosy corner” (by the night shift). From 1989-2007, Eileen moved between the floors at The Age learning the ropes: editorial to administration (loos and car parking) to classifieds (introduction of colour) and new technology (microwaving images to the new computer-to-plate press site at Tullamarine). Post The Age, Eileen has worked in Queensland (APN), New Zealand (FXJ) and South Melbourne (Metro Media Publishing) as the founding editor of The Weekly Review. Eileen left MMP in October 2014. Her NFP organisation, Parenting Guides Ltd (PG), produces education publications for parents, carers, teachers and educators of teenagers. Last year PG received state government funding for “Jess Chooses Life”, a play about cyberbullying and suicide contagion in high schools (with a positive message); and, federal government funding to produce another parent resource called Respect 101. Other PG resources cover off Drugs, Sex, Social Media and Mental Health.

Vice-President  Ashlynne McGhee

Ashlynne McGhee is an award-winning reporter at the ABC’s flagship television current affairs program 7.30. 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, was named a finalist in the 2014 Young Walkleys and won the Young Journalist of the Year at the 2013 Quill awards. Ashlynne has been on the board of the Melbourne Press Club since 2013 and has been instrumental in setting up the club’s mentoring and training programs for young journalists.

Treasurer  Veronica Scott

Veronica is a senior lawyer specialising in media and privacy. After qualifying in England where she worked at London law firm Mishcon de Reya for five years, Veronica moved to Melbourne in 2000. She was Special Counsel in Minter Ellison’s leading media law practice for over 15 years and led its National Privacy Team. Veronica joined KPMG Law as a Director in 2019. Veronica has represented a wide range of media companies across all mediums, including Fairfax Media, the ABC, BuzzzFeed and Bloomberg as well as authors, insurers, government and high profile individuals. Her work focuses on digital content and covers defamation, FOI laws, court reporting, privacy and data protection, breach of confidence, pre-publication advice and reputation management. Veronica also serves on the Media and Communications Committee of the Law Council of Australia and is on the ANZ Advisory Board of privacy professional association IAPP.

Secretary  Richard Leder OAM

Richard is a partner of the national law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth. He is the Melbourne office Litigation Practice Group Leader and has practiced as a media lawyer for over 25 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 was named 2014 Melbourne entertainment lawyer of the year in the AFR Best Lawyers Peer Review. He also serves on the boards of community and charitable bodies, including the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, Australian Friends of Asha for Slums and the Law Council of Australia Media & Communications Committee. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2019.

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.

Rob Curtain

Rob Curtain is a media and communications consultant. He is former National News Director for the Fairfax Radio Network, and was a radio journalist for more than 35 years. He was News Director for 3AW-Magic 1278 from 1996-2012, prior to which he was News Director and news commentator at Radio 3MP. Rob has worked in commercial radio news and programs in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. He has also worked in corporate affairs and communications with General Motors-Holden’s, and was Communications Manager for V/Line. Rob has lectured in journalism at Deakin and Monash Universities, and has a Bachelor of Arts from RMIT University.

Nicole Denton

Nicole Denton is the Director of Public Affairs at VicRoads. She is former Program Director for top rating news-talk radio station 3AW with more than a decade of experience in producing news and entertainment content for radio and social media. She received an ACRA for her work as Executive Producer for national broadcasts of the final Anzac Day ceremony in Tarin Kowt prior to the removal of Australian troops. In 2013 Nicole was awarded the inaugural Fairfax Media Women of Influence - Young Leader award.

Rachael Dexter

Rachael is an award-winning journalist and a podcast/video producer with The Age. She previously worked as a radio producer for ABC Radio Melbourne. Rachael is convenor of The Edit, the MPC forum that provides training, networking and support for young journalists. She is a passionate advocate for young people in the media industry having been a long-time board member at SYN (Student Youth Network) - the radio station that gave her a leg up into journalism - where she is currently serving as president.

Jude Donnelly

Jude Donnelly is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Community at the Australian Football League. She has a background as a senior policy adviser and media adviser to federal government and was also General Manager of Media and Communications at the Richmond Football Club for 3 years.

Heather Loomes

Heather Loomes has been Executive Producer at Network Ten News Melbourne since August 2018. A journalist with more than three decades experience in television news and current affairs, she began as a reporter at GMV-6 Shepparton in 1981. She later moved to Adelaide reporting and producing for State Affair at the Seven Network before becoming bureau chief for the Hinch program. In 1989, Heather transferred to Hinch in Melbourne before going on to become Senior Line-up Producer for Seven News. After 13 years at Seven, Heather joined Network Ten in 2001, working in Melbourne and Brisbane as Senior News Producer, National Environment Producer and Supervising Producer at the London Olympics. She has also has freelanced as a producer/reporter for The Project.

Kate McGrath

As the senior chief of staff for the highest rating television news service in Victoria, Kate is passionate about telling stories, breaking news, and the people and pastimes of this great city of Melbourne. With 20 years’ experience in broadcast news, Kate is a multi-award winning journalist and has been the news chief at both Nine and Ten’s Melbourne newsrooms. Through memberships on the boards of the St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation (2011-current) and the Unicorn Foundation (retired, now ambassador) Kate has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for much needed healthcare & medical research.

Shaun Menegola

Shaun Menegola is the Director of News at Seven Melbourne. He’s worked in the news media for close to four decades, starting out as a cadet reporter at the age of 17. His career began in newspapers, including The West Australian, before making the switch to television. Shaun has spent 25 years in newsroom management roles, including previous news directorships at both Nine and Seven in Perth.

Heidi Murphy

Heidi Murphy is executive producer of Neil Mitchell’s top-rating morning radio program on 3AW and a part-time Channel Nine reporter. She is a former news presenter, editor and award-winning journalist at 3AW, where she spent eight years covering Victorian state politics. In her spare time, Heidi is a mother of two young children.

Patrick O'Beirne

Pat is a Director of leading strategic communication firm, Six O'Clock Advisory. Over a 20-year career, Pat has held senior corporate affairs and executive positions in-house and in-agency, including at Telstra, Cricket Australia and the Dentsu Aegis Network. Pat joined the Board of the Melbourne Press Club in 2011, and has been a member and sponsor of the club since 2003.

Justin Quill

Justin is one of Australia's most experienced media law practitioners. Justin was a Partner with Corrs Chambers Westgarth and has practised in media law and general commercial litigation for more than 10 years. Justin has been the principal person responsible for providing legal services to The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd for many years. In addition, Justin has provided legal services to Channels Nine and Seven, Radio 3AW, Nationwide News, Leader Community Newspapers, the Geelong Advertiser, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and a number of smaller or rural media clients. Justin is Deputy Chair of the Media and Communications Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

Tom Salom

Tom Salom is Editorial Business Manager at News Corp, providing a strategic and commercial link between editorial management an other parts of the News Corp business in Victoria. He has worked in the news media for over 25 years beginning at the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper on the WA Goldfields. Following journalism roles in Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Tom was appointed to a management position with the Herald Sun. He also manages News Corp's national sporting sporting partnerships with organisations such as the AFL, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia and V8 SuperCars.

Margaret Simons

Margaret Simons is an associate professor in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University. From 2012 to 2017 she was director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne. The author of 13 books, Simons is also an active freelance investigative journalist and feature writer. Her long-form journalism has been published in The Monthly, Inside Story and The Age. With photojournalist Dave Tacon, she won the 2015 Walkley Award for Social Equity Journalism for her essay Fallen Angels, published in The Monthly. This article also won the 2015 Quill Award for best feature. Her 2016 essay Duterte’s Dirty War, also published in The Monthly, won the 2016 Quill Award for Feature Writing. Her book Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs won both the Book of the Year and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards in 2011. She is currently writing a biography of Penny Wong and a history of the ABC's past fifteen years.