October 26, 2025 • 17 mins
It's no surprise that our the experiences of our early lives form us: from our work ethic, to our worldview, even our approach to raising children. But what can be surprising, on reflection, is just how much our environment and shape those experiences themselves - as was the case for Sylvia Jeffreys when she first started her career in Brisbane.
Search for Sylvia in the Better Than Yesterday feed for the full chat.
Check out Sylvia's podcast 'The Pay Off'
For tickets to Story Club, and for Osher's latest book So What, Now What? head here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Can I welcome to the show. This is better than yesterday.
Useful tools and useful conversations to help make your day
to day better than yesterday. Every episode since twenty thirteen,
twice a week since twenty thirteen. My name' Josha Ginsberg.
I'm very, very glad you're here. Last week's episode was
Shelley Craft. And for the first time in well over
twelve hundred episodes, I finally finally played the Brisbane game.
(00:22):
And the Brisbane game for anybody know from Brisbane is
the oh Brisbane? Who was cool to go to? This
is the first question? Where'd you go? North? South side,
west side, east side? And I played that with Shelley Craft,
and it was delightful to reflect upon another person who's
had a career in the industry that I work in, television, radio,
(00:45):
et cetera, who came from Brisbane. Because when I lived
in America, people who often ask, oh, ah zieh sitting
here in Marlboro, and I have to say, I appreciate
that you know Ron, But what if I told you
there was a whole other part of Australia humongous even
it's as big as both of those places, And there
(01:06):
are a whole little life happens there as well. There
was something about it coming from Brisbane, and I really
appreciated listening to in Shelley Kraft and I remember that
I actually also heard that when we spoke with Sylvia
Jeffries the first time around. She's been on the show twice.
We recently caught up about her brand new financial literacy podcast,
which is brilliant. I'll put the link in the show notes.
But the first time that Sylvia came on the show,
(01:28):
we talked about her journey from growing up in Brisbane
to becoming quite a very familiar figure on it Australian
television screenches on TV every day nationally, and I just
really wanted to kind of sit with a little bit
about what Brisbane did for making her who she is,
because so often we think about, you know, we've got
the kids and like, oh, good, they're fed, they've slept,
(01:50):
they're not sunburned or on fire, they're safe in the
house tonight. Great, my job done today. But we might
not think about how much the place we would bring
them up in will influence and shape the entire career
that they have. Because listening to this thing with Sylvia
putting this together today, I was like, oh, criky, I
really got to keep my head on the shoulders because
this is the moment right now that is shaping Wolfe's life,
(02:12):
who's only six. So in this conversation, we're just going
to take a little bit of there's a couple of
those bits, but there's something in it for all of us,
you know. As talking about growing up in Brisbane, she
had a very politically engaged family. How her early exposure
to that political engagement, it's an interest in news and
politics sparked the interest in journalism, and how her dad's
(02:33):
role in local councils and her mother's very contrasting political
views to her father, which I loved, really influenced her
understanding of the world and the career she eventually chose.
We fascinated with broadcast. We grew up in Brisbane. It's
less so in Sydney, I guess. But in Brisbane, the
(02:56):
highest point that anyone can see you can stand on
Morton Island, highest point that anyone can see to the horizon,
is these four towers on top of this hill and
there they are. They are like standing over you, like
in Christmas time. One of them lines up like a
Christmas four hundred.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I believe it, like they're summoning you into their orbits
and constantly.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
As a kid there was For me, it was just
this magic. Where I grew up. They were behind our house,
so we'd see them on the way home. But you
over and you're on the south side. You're in Cooper, right,
so you could see them every week everywhere you look.
When did you kind of get an idea about the
kind of sparkliness about television growing up?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I I grew up in a very politically engaged family,
I would say. So I watched a lot of news
growing up as a kid.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Were your parents of the gig? Were they in the game?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Or my dad was on local council? Was on Britain
city council.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Whoa, which is what the biggest city council in the
stuf in the.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Country in maybe the southern Hemispo.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
It's the largest, huge council, was the biggest in the world.
It's it's this entire city.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah. So he was the council of the Aldermen they
used to call them back then for whites Hill.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So I grew up yeah, in a very serve under
Salienne was Sally Anne Salienne. Yeah, so he's still very
close to Sally so.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
She he was with the team. He was a Sally
Camps with her team. Here's the team. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
He had a core flute that said he cares. And
I remember seeing someone vandalize one of those core flutes
outside my uncle's house once and they wrote who cares
over the top of it. And that was my first
insight into how nasty politics could be. I thought, why
would someone do that to my poor dad? He does care,
you know, so anyway, and then my mum is very
(04:41):
much on the opposite end of the political spectrum to
my dad. So I've been exposed to both sides of
politics throughout my upbringing. So it was always very aware
and engaged with news and politics throughout my childhood, but
was always drawn to journalism. I actually wrote a couple
of newspapers articles for the Courier Male Education section when
(05:02):
I was still in high school. Wow about you know,
the trials and tribulations of being a teenager in Brisbane
in the nineties and early two thousands. How to match
ship oknui's to your deck shoes, you know, all that
kind of stuff. So clearly caught the attention of some
important people back then. But I got a job in
the Channel nine newsroom in my first year of UNI.
(05:25):
So I got a job, entry level job, rolling Auto
Q and running news scripts to Heather Ford and Bruce Page,
who I had grown up watching, you know, as a child.
So and I can honestly say, hand on heart, the
moment I stepped into that newsroom, I knew that's where
I wanted to be. I got the buzz, I got
the adrenaline, I got the energy, the dynamic of a
(05:46):
newsroom on that first day, and I didn't look back.
I didn't want to leave.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
As I said earlier, Sylvia's story is a you know,
it's a perfect example of how upbringing can shape our
passions and our career path. That disposure to politics and
particularly differing views of the same situation and know how
in depth she was engrossed interested a day to day
at a family in what news was happening in Brisbane
(06:13):
really clearly set the stage for her pursuing her career
in journalism. And when she did get to the newsroom,
she was very young. She got a job while she
was studying journalism at first year UNI, and here She
talks about what it was like working in that newsroom,
the things she learned in that newsroom as a first
year Union student. What did you learn about television or
(06:36):
working in this space in that role that you still
use today?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Oh? Everything. Never assume. Ron Krueger, my executive producer. He
was the executive producer at the time at Kitty Q
as we call it chat A nine in Queensland and
he'd been there for a long time when I started,
And one of my jobs was to type out and
time the superbar that go at the bottom of the
(07:01):
screen so it would say back then John Howard, Prime Minister,
and I would have to put the correct timings in
for them. And if I made a spelling mistake on
that superbar, I would get a very stern lecture afterwards
about why you can never make a mistake as seemingly
small as that in the six PM news. And if
(07:23):
I made an assumption on something and it was incorrect,
I would get a lecture on why you never assume
in the news business. And there are all lessons I
needed to learn as a nineteen year old and as
a twenty year old in that newsroom, and it sticks
with me. I can hear Ron's voice. And Ron was
a gentleman, he really was. And I can hear his
(07:44):
voice every time I face an issue like that in
the newsroom still today, or in my job today at
today Extra, I hear his voice in my head saying,
never assume, Never assume. And it's always with me and
it served me throughout my career.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
If you've got a person like that in your career,
if you've got a Ron in your career, you are
very very lucky to have somebody like that. I certainly
have his name as Rex. He said, Mate, you're only
ever speaking to my person at a time. Lessons like
that have never never left me. So you know, if
there's someone in your career that's given you that kind
of advice that you still carry to this day, you're
a very very lucky person. We have to take a
(08:22):
quick break to play some ads. But on the other
side of this, I want to talk a little bit
more with Sylvia about what it was like to be
nineteen and working in television at a time it was
very economically difficult, it was a bit of a recession
happening in Australia, but also a very male dominated environment.
We'll get to that after this. Thanks for listening to
(08:48):
the show. We're just just reflecting on the beaut If
you're Brisbote and yes I do sound different today, it's
because I'm in Queensland. And maybe yes, that does influence
the fact that I want to do a Brisbane podcast today.
Yes it does, it does. We'd Chelli Craft on the
show last week talking about how she came up through
Brisbane and I wanted to listen to and have you
listened to a similar story was Sylvia Jeffries, who's on
(09:08):
Telly every Day with Today Extra. When she was nineteen though,
she was working in a predominantly male environment, and I
wanted to know about the support that she received from mentors,
people older than her in the same industry that helped
to build resilience and help to build confidence.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
My time in the newsroom early on as a nineteen
year old, I would I mean, there were some challenges
for me, there were some moments, there's some moments that
were maybe uncomfortable, and I would say I felt probably
conscious of how I felt in that dynamic, being a
(09:48):
young girl at that stage, nineteen years old in a room,
in a newsroom that was predominantly male, I would say
though I had, I actually had a lot of support.
The news director at the time, Lee was very supportive
of me. He had daughters a similar age to me,
(10:10):
and so I felt really nurtured by him in many ways.
I mentioned Ron as well. Paul Reid, who was the
chief of staff, also very caring towards me, and so
I actually had a really positive experience at that early
stage in my career. You always feel probably small, I think,
(10:34):
as a young woman stepping into that world in many ways,
and it can take a long time to build up
your confidence in that kind of space, a very robust environment.
But I had a lot of support early on, and
I think I don't know how that's informed me as
a mother, but it's definitely I was modeled some really
(10:56):
good behavior. I think in those early days. It hasn't
always been perfect, you know. I think, like any industry,
like any newsroom, it hasn't always been perfect. And I
have felt reduced by people at times in my career,
and I have felt undermined by people. But I've also
I started at a time as well when there were
(11:19):
a lot of women coming up through the ranks, so
I had a safe harbor wherever I've been in my career,
I've had a safe harbor of support and friendship and
people looking after me, and so that has helped me
immensely throughout my life.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
It's so important to have someone mentor you when you're
in the early stages of your career, and then when
you're in the latest stages of your career, to mentor somebody.
It's very, very, very important because it helps both people,
especially in environments that can feel intimidating or environments as
you know, going through your career's starting to speed up
and maybe getting away from you. You're able to really
really help people who are coming up, and that's wonderful.
(12:00):
You also love the way that Sylvia had a way
to find safe harbors and people that could help her
build confidence in a very male dominated feel It's a
great example of being resilient and being determined, like this
is what I'm going to do with my life. One
find a little bit from Sylvia and then we'll get
out of here. Growing up in Brisbane and working in
(12:20):
journalism not only did that give her a fantastic career,
but this stuff's this part. I really love this part.
The way she talks about this because it also gave
her You'd imagine, when you've seen the kind of things
you've seen as a journalist, you might have a bit
of a view on humanity. All right. It may kind
of cloud your the way you look at someone in
(12:40):
a car park, but have listened to the way that
Sylvia's journalists a career, and the career that she's had
and the way she grew up in Brisbane has shaped
her as the mother of two young boys. When you
realized wabby boys with that ground was there, you know,
(13:02):
did you have an outlook of like, right, these guys
are moving into a world of you know, how do
you have an idea of how you wanted these boys
to be?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
If I'm entirely honest, my first thought was, no one's
going to call me when they get old and move on,
you know, because I'm having boys see girls of the Rock.
But once I got past that very selfish thought.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Called my mum all the time, what are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
I don't know, I just worry. Well maybe it's because
I call my mother in law more than my husband does,
so that's what sets the scene. But there is definitely
an element of being hyper aware and sometimes too aware,
and maybe I'm too conscious of the worst case scenario
(13:46):
at times, and so I worry too much. I definitely
worry about my boys because I have seen, you know,
the worst of humanity.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Early two thousands. That's like all the king hits in
the Valley and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Well, it was also a time when there was a
serial sex predator on the loose in Brisbane, attacking women
out for runs on their own down along the river banks.
And so that was a time when women couldn't run alone.
And again we're talking, we're having that same discussion this
year off the back of the Samantha Murphy case. I
(14:22):
would I would say there's I mean, there's an element
of my work life having an impact on me with
my boys in that way. But there's also just my upbringing,
I think, with a very matriarchal family influence. My mother's
a very strong woman, a very independent woman, and so
(14:45):
that that female independence is very strong in my family.
Family's DNA, And so I'd say it it's a little
column A, it's a little column B. But you know,
as much as my work has exposed me to the
worst of humanity, it's absolutely exposed me to the best
of it as well. You know, a lot of the
stories we do feel good celebrations of people who have
(15:10):
given so much of themselves for the sake of others,
or people who've defied the odds and beaten the odds
and succeeded and achieved and recovered and all of that.
And so we do at times get caught up in
the negative. But there is so much positive in the
job that I do that I think that helps me
to keep a little balanced as well.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Sylvia Jeffries is an absolute delight. It was so wonderful
to go back and listen to that again and put
this episode together for you. And yes, because I do
love my Brisbane, and Brisbane often gets overlooked. But you can't.
You can't count anyone out who's come out of brizil,
all right, because the velocity, the speed they have to
get just to get out of Brisbane. By the time
(15:53):
they hit the ground in Sidney and Melbourne, they're gone
real fast. They might even go be going so fast
they yet up in Lake or London or New York
or Dubai, wherever it is you go, because you've got
to get moving to get out of there. But I
don't know how it is now, but certainly in my
time it was like that. She's an absolute delight. The
episode that you just listen to, there's heaps, more goes
(16:13):
forever and now it's great. The episode is called The
Juggle and the Guilt with Sylvia Jeffreys, which I loved.
And we also did a whole other episode about her
financial literacy work, which is great. You can find the
links to both of those in the show notes, where
you can also find links to story Club. Our show
this the ninth of November Sunday Night, Mark humphrees Beck, Melrose,
(16:35):
Nina Oyama, and Harley breen A joining us, also a
special guest yet to be announced. Special guest tickets through
in the show notes. That is selling very very well.
This might be the last time we're going to do
for the year, so get on it quick sticks. Also
the book So What Now? What is out Now? Thank
you Adam Bunch for cutting up this one magnificent episode
(16:56):
late at night because I recorded on my phone because
I forgot my microphone. Thanks Bunch, Thanks a bunch bunch.
That was lying, But I'm gonna leave it. You say
you Winstay
Can I welcome to the show. This is better than yesterday.
Useful tools and useful conversations to help make your day
to day better than yesterday. Every episode since twenty thirteen,
twice a week since twenty thirteen. My name' Josha Ginsberg.
I'm very, very glad you're here. Last week's episode was
Shelley Craft. And for the first time in well over
twelve hundred episodes, I finally finally played the Brisbane game.
(00:22):
And the Brisbane game for anybody know from Brisbane is
the oh Brisbane? Who was cool to go to? This
is the first question? Where'd you go? North? South side,
west side, east side? And I played that with Shelley Craft,
and it was delightful to reflect upon another person who's
had a career in the industry that I work in, television, radio,
(00:45):
et cetera, who came from Brisbane. Because when I lived
in America, people who often ask, oh, ah zieh sitting
here in Marlboro, and I have to say, I appreciate
that you know Ron, But what if I told you
there was a whole other part of Australia humongous even
it's as big as both of those places, And there
(01:06):
are a whole little life happens there as well. There
was something about it coming from Brisbane, and I really
appreciated listening to in Shelley Kraft and I remember that
I actually also heard that when we spoke with Sylvia
Jeffries the first time around. She's been on the show twice.
We recently caught up about her brand new financial literacy podcast,
which is brilliant. I'll put the link in the show notes.
But the first time that Sylvia came on the show,
(01:28):
we talked about her journey from growing up in Brisbane
to becoming quite a very familiar figure on it Australian
television screenches on TV every day nationally, and I just
really wanted to kind of sit with a little bit
about what Brisbane did for making her who she is,
because so often we think about, you know, we've got
the kids and like, oh, good, they're fed, they've slept,
(01:50):
they're not sunburned or on fire, they're safe in the
house tonight. Great, my job done today. But we might
not think about how much the place we would bring
them up in will influence and shape the entire career
that they have. Because listening to this thing with Sylvia
putting this together today, I was like, oh, criky, I
really got to keep my head on the shoulders because
this is the moment right now that is shaping Wolfe's life,
(02:12):
who's only six. So in this conversation, we're just going
to take a little bit of there's a couple of
those bits, but there's something in it for all of us,
you know. As talking about growing up in Brisbane, she
had a very politically engaged family. How her early exposure
to that political engagement, it's an interest in news and
politics sparked the interest in journalism, and how her dad's
(02:33):
role in local councils and her mother's very contrasting political
views to her father, which I loved, really influenced her
understanding of the world and the career she eventually chose.
We fascinated with broadcast. We grew up in Brisbane. It's
less so in Sydney, I guess. But in Brisbane, the
(02:56):
highest point that anyone can see you can stand on
Morton Island, highest point that anyone can see to the horizon,
is these four towers on top of this hill and
there they are. They are like standing over you, like
in Christmas time. One of them lines up like a
Christmas four hundred.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I believe it, like they're summoning you into their orbits
and constantly.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
As a kid there was For me, it was just
this magic. Where I grew up. They were behind our house,
so we'd see them on the way home. But you
over and you're on the south side. You're in Cooper, right,
so you could see them every week everywhere you look.
When did you kind of get an idea about the
kind of sparkliness about television growing up?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I I grew up in a very politically engaged family,
I would say. So I watched a lot of news
growing up as a kid.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Were your parents of the gig? Were they in the game?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Or my dad was on local council? Was on Britain
city council.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Whoa, which is what the biggest city council in the
stuf in the.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Country in maybe the southern Hemispo.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
It's the largest, huge council, was the biggest in the world.
It's it's this entire city.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah. So he was the council of the Aldermen they
used to call them back then for whites Hill.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So I grew up yeah, in a very serve under
Salienne was Sally Anne Salienne. Yeah, so he's still very
close to Sally so.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
She he was with the team. He was a Sally
Camps with her team. Here's the team. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
He had a core flute that said he cares. And
I remember seeing someone vandalize one of those core flutes
outside my uncle's house once and they wrote who cares
over the top of it. And that was my first
insight into how nasty politics could be. I thought, why
would someone do that to my poor dad? He does care,
you know, so anyway, and then my mum is very
(04:41):
much on the opposite end of the political spectrum to
my dad. So I've been exposed to both sides of
politics throughout my upbringing. So it was always very aware
and engaged with news and politics throughout my childhood, but
was always drawn to journalism. I actually wrote a couple
of newspapers articles for the Courier Male Education section when
(05:02):
I was still in high school. Wow about you know,
the trials and tribulations of being a teenager in Brisbane
in the nineties and early two thousands. How to match
ship oknui's to your deck shoes, you know, all that
kind of stuff. So clearly caught the attention of some
important people back then. But I got a job in
the Channel nine newsroom in my first year of UNI.
(05:25):
So I got a job, entry level job, rolling Auto
Q and running news scripts to Heather Ford and Bruce Page,
who I had grown up watching, you know, as a child.
So and I can honestly say, hand on heart, the
moment I stepped into that newsroom, I knew that's where
I wanted to be. I got the buzz, I got
the adrenaline, I got the energy, the dynamic of a
(05:46):
newsroom on that first day, and I didn't look back.
I didn't want to leave.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
As I said earlier, Sylvia's story is a you know,
it's a perfect example of how upbringing can shape our
passions and our career path. That disposure to politics and
particularly differing views of the same situation and know how
in depth she was engrossed interested a day to day
at a family in what news was happening in Brisbane
(06:13):
really clearly set the stage for her pursuing her career
in journalism. And when she did get to the newsroom,
she was very young. She got a job while she
was studying journalism at first year UNI, and here She
talks about what it was like working in that newsroom,
the things she learned in that newsroom as a first
year Union student. What did you learn about television or
(06:36):
working in this space in that role that you still
use today?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Oh? Everything. Never assume. Ron Krueger, my executive producer. He
was the executive producer at the time at Kitty Q
as we call it chat A nine in Queensland and
he'd been there for a long time when I started,
And one of my jobs was to type out and
time the superbar that go at the bottom of the
(07:01):
screen so it would say back then John Howard, Prime Minister,
and I would have to put the correct timings in
for them. And if I made a spelling mistake on
that superbar, I would get a very stern lecture afterwards
about why you can never make a mistake as seemingly
small as that in the six PM news. And if
(07:23):
I made an assumption on something and it was incorrect,
I would get a lecture on why you never assume
in the news business. And there are all lessons I
needed to learn as a nineteen year old and as
a twenty year old in that newsroom, and it sticks
with me. I can hear Ron's voice. And Ron was
a gentleman, he really was. And I can hear his
(07:44):
voice every time I face an issue like that in
the newsroom still today, or in my job today at
today Extra, I hear his voice in my head saying,
never assume, Never assume. And it's always with me and
it served me throughout my career.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
If you've got a person like that in your career,
if you've got a Ron in your career, you are
very very lucky to have somebody like that. I certainly
have his name as Rex. He said, Mate, you're only
ever speaking to my person at a time. Lessons like
that have never never left me. So you know, if
there's someone in your career that's given you that kind
of advice that you still carry to this day, you're
a very very lucky person. We have to take a
(08:22):
quick break to play some ads. But on the other
side of this, I want to talk a little bit
more with Sylvia about what it was like to be
nineteen and working in television at a time it was
very economically difficult, it was a bit of a recession
happening in Australia, but also a very male dominated environment.
We'll get to that after this. Thanks for listening to
(08:48):
the show. We're just just reflecting on the beaut If
you're Brisbote and yes I do sound different today, it's
because I'm in Queensland. And maybe yes, that does influence
the fact that I want to do a Brisbane podcast today.
Yes it does, it does. We'd Chelli Craft on the
show last week talking about how she came up through
Brisbane and I wanted to listen to and have you
listened to a similar story was Sylvia Jeffries, who's on
(09:08):
Telly every Day with Today Extra. When she was nineteen though,
she was working in a predominantly male environment, and I
wanted to know about the support that she received from mentors,
people older than her in the same industry that helped
to build resilience and help to build confidence.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
My time in the newsroom early on as a nineteen
year old, I would I mean, there were some challenges
for me, there were some moments, there's some moments that
were maybe uncomfortable, and I would say I felt probably
conscious of how I felt in that dynamic, being a
(09:48):
young girl at that stage, nineteen years old in a room,
in a newsroom that was predominantly male, I would say
though I had, I actually had a lot of support.
The news director at the time, Lee was very supportive
of me. He had daughters a similar age to me,
(10:10):
and so I felt really nurtured by him in many ways.
I mentioned Ron as well. Paul Reid, who was the
chief of staff, also very caring towards me, and so
I actually had a really positive experience at that early
stage in my career. You always feel probably small, I think,
(10:34):
as a young woman stepping into that world in many ways,
and it can take a long time to build up
your confidence in that kind of space, a very robust environment.
But I had a lot of support early on, and
I think I don't know how that's informed me as
a mother, but it's definitely I was modeled some really
(10:56):
good behavior. I think in those early days. It hasn't
always been perfect, you know. I think, like any industry,
like any newsroom, it hasn't always been perfect. And I
have felt reduced by people at times in my career,
and I have felt undermined by people. But I've also
I started at a time as well when there were
(11:19):
a lot of women coming up through the ranks, so
I had a safe harbor wherever I've been in my career,
I've had a safe harbor of support and friendship and
people looking after me, and so that has helped me
immensely throughout my life.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
It's so important to have someone mentor you when you're
in the early stages of your career, and then when
you're in the latest stages of your career, to mentor somebody.
It's very, very, very important because it helps both people,
especially in environments that can feel intimidating or environments as
you know, going through your career's starting to speed up
and maybe getting away from you. You're able to really
really help people who are coming up, and that's wonderful.
(12:00):
You also love the way that Sylvia had a way
to find safe harbors and people that could help her
build confidence in a very male dominated feel It's a
great example of being resilient and being determined, like this
is what I'm going to do with my life. One
find a little bit from Sylvia and then we'll get
out of here. Growing up in Brisbane and working in
(12:20):
journalism not only did that give her a fantastic career,
but this stuff's this part. I really love this part.
The way she talks about this because it also gave
her You'd imagine, when you've seen the kind of things
you've seen as a journalist, you might have a bit
of a view on humanity. All right. It may kind
of cloud your the way you look at someone in
(12:40):
a car park, but have listened to the way that
Sylvia's journalists a career, and the career that she's had
and the way she grew up in Brisbane has shaped
her as the mother of two young boys. When you
realized wabby boys with that ground was there, you know,
(13:02):
did you have an outlook of like, right, these guys
are moving into a world of you know, how do
you have an idea of how you wanted these boys
to be?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
If I'm entirely honest, my first thought was, no one's
going to call me when they get old and move on,
you know, because I'm having boys see girls of the Rock.
But once I got past that very selfish thought.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Called my mum all the time, what are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
I don't know, I just worry. Well maybe it's because
I call my mother in law more than my husband does,
so that's what sets the scene. But there is definitely
an element of being hyper aware and sometimes too aware,
and maybe I'm too conscious of the worst case scenario
(13:46):
at times, and so I worry too much. I definitely
worry about my boys because I have seen, you know,
the worst of humanity.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Early two thousands. That's like all the king hits in
the Valley and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Well, it was also a time when there was a
serial sex predator on the loose in Brisbane, attacking women
out for runs on their own down along the river banks.
And so that was a time when women couldn't run alone.
And again we're talking, we're having that same discussion this
year off the back of the Samantha Murphy case. I
(14:22):
would I would say there's I mean, there's an element
of my work life having an impact on me with
my boys in that way. But there's also just my upbringing,
I think, with a very matriarchal family influence. My mother's
a very strong woman, a very independent woman, and so
(14:45):
that that female independence is very strong in my family.
Family's DNA, And so I'd say it it's a little
column A, it's a little column B. But you know,
as much as my work has exposed me to the
worst of humanity, it's absolutely exposed me to the best
of it as well. You know, a lot of the
stories we do feel good celebrations of people who have
(15:10):
given so much of themselves for the sake of others,
or people who've defied the odds and beaten the odds
and succeeded and achieved and recovered and all of that.
And so we do at times get caught up in
the negative. But there is so much positive in the
job that I do that I think that helps me
to keep a little balanced as well.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Sylvia Jeffries is an absolute delight. It was so wonderful
to go back and listen to that again and put
this episode together for you. And yes, because I do
love my Brisbane, and Brisbane often gets overlooked. But you can't.
You can't count anyone out who's come out of brizil,
all right, because the velocity, the speed they have to
get just to get out of Brisbane. By the time
(15:53):
they hit the ground in Sidney and Melbourne, they're gone
real fast. They might even go be going so fast
they yet up in Lake or London or New York
or Dubai, wherever it is you go, because you've got
to get moving to get out of there. But I
don't know how it is now, but certainly in my
time it was like that. She's an absolute delight. The
episode that you just listen to, there's heaps, more goes
(16:13):
forever and now it's great. The episode is called The
Juggle and the Guilt with Sylvia Jeffreys, which I loved.
And we also did a whole other episode about her
financial literacy work, which is great. You can find the
links to both of those in the show notes, where
you can also find links to story Club. Our show
this the ninth of November Sunday Night, Mark humphrees Beck, Melrose,
(16:35):
Nina Oyama, and Harley breen A joining us, also a
special guest yet to be announced. Special guest tickets through
in the show notes. That is selling very very well.
This might be the last time we're going to do
for the year, so get on it quick sticks. Also
the book So What Now? What is out Now? Thank
you Adam Bunch for cutting up this one magnificent episode
(16:56):
late at night because I recorded on my phone because
I forgot my microphone. Thanks Bunch, Thanks a bunch bunch.
That was lying, But I'm gonna leave it. You say
you Winstay
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