Tracey Spicer

Tracey Spicer
Tracey Spicer
Born	Template:Birth year and age; Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation(s)	Journalist, broadcaster, writer, media trainer
Years active	1980s–present
Known for	News presenter for Network Ten and Sky News Australia; #MeToo advocacy; Walkley Award winner; Member of the Order of Australia
Notable work	The Good Girl Stripped Bare (memoir)

Tracey Leigh Spicer is an acclaimed Australian journalist honored with a Walkley Award and recognized for her commitment to social justice causes. She first rose to public attention as a news presenter for Network Ten during the 1990s and early 2000s, notably co-anchoring Ten Eyewitness News in Brisbane. Between 2007 and 2015, she served as a reporter and presenter at Sky News Australia. In May 2017, Spicer released her memoir, The Good Girl Stripped Bare. Her significant contributions to broadcasting and philanthropy earned her the title of Member of the Order of Australia.

Early life and education

Hailing from Brisbane, Spicer was educated at Soubirous and Frawley Colleges in Scarborough, Queensland. She completed a Bachelor of Business (Communications) with a journalism major at the Queensland Institute of Technology in 1987.

Career

Spicer commenced her career at Macquarie National News, providing reports for Brisbane’s 4BH radio, before advancing to the role of morning news editor at Melbourne's 3AW. Transitioning into television, she gained experience with Southern Cross Television and the Nine Network, subsequently joining Network Ten Melbourne as a local correspondent. In Brisbane, she co-hosted First at Five News alongside Glenn Taylor and Geoff Mullins. Relocating to Sydney in 1995, she presented National Weekend and late-night news until its discontinuation in 2005. She remained with Network Ten until late 2006.

Following maternity leave in 2006, Spicer was dismissed amid organizational restructuring at Network Ten. She raised allegations of discrimination based on motherhood and age, leading to a prominent dispute that was resolved privately. After delivering her final broadcast on New Year's Eve 2006, she joined Sky News Australia four days later, continuing as a presenter until 2015.

For eleven consecutive years (2008–2018), Spicer hosted the Ethnic Business Awards, celebrating achievements by migrant and Indigenous entrepreneurs. As a travel writer, she contributed family-focused content to Traveller Magazine’s Sunday edition and previously wrote for outlets including The Hoopla, Holiday with Kids Magazine, and the Daily Telegraph.

Since August 2015, Spicer has made occasional appearances on ABC TV's The Drum and operates as an independent writer, speaker, media trainer, and broadcaster through her businesses Spicer Communications and Outspoken Women.

She has produced documentaries addressing women's issues for organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and World Vision across Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, and India.

In June 2022, Spicer disclosed that after contracting COVID-19 earlier that year and developing Long COVID symptoms, she had significantly curtailed her working hours to approximately four hours every two weeks.

Advocacy and views

Spicer acts as an ambassador for several organizations including World Vision, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Queensland University of Technology's Learning Potential Fund, and the Penguin Foundation. She holds patronage roles with the NSW Cancer Council, the newborn care unit at the Royal Hospital for Women, Life's Little Treasures Foundation, and the National Premmie Foundation. Additionally, she supports Dying with Dignity and represents the Garvan Institute of Medical Research's pancreatic cancer research program—a cause close to her heart following her mother's passing from the illness.

In 2011, Spicer challenged anti-vaccination advocate Meryl Dorey during an interview on 2UE, disputing debunked assertions linking autism to the MMR vaccine. She is an outspoken proponent of childhood immunization and has expressed frustration over anti-vaccination campaigns in a Daily Telegraph opinion piece. Furthermore, she advocated for legalizing medical marijuana in a 2010 article.

Spicer delivered a TEDx presentation in Brisbane in 2014 and appeared in the documentary Let's Talk About Breasts in 2015. That same year, she became an ambassador for KidsMatter—an initiative promoting mental health awareness in early childhood and primary education—and hosted their Starting School video series. She was also named ambassador for Autism Spectrum Australia.

In May 2017, Spicer spoke at the Sydney Institute on enhancing women's advancement in professional environments, emphasizing that quotas alone do not adequately address gender inequality. She also served as master of ceremonies for Brisbane’s International Women's Day events that year.

Following revelations surrounding the 2017 Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, Spicer initiated investigations into influential Australian media figures accused of misconduct. She became a prominent #MeToo advocate on Twitter by encouraging industry members to share their harassment experiences. This activism led to collaboration with ABC’s investigative team and Fairfax Media on award-winning exposés involving individuals such as Don Burke. Spicer and her colleagues received Walkley Awards in 2018 recognizing their impactful journalism.

On Australia Day 2018, she was honored as a Member of the Order of Australia for her dedication to broadcast media and social welfare advocacy. Reflecting on workplace culture improvements since then, she noted persistent subtle discrimination against pregnant employees despite policy advancements.

Together with Melinda Schneider, Spicer co-founded NOW Australia in March 2018—a support service designed to assist victims of workplace sexual harassment—funded through crowdfunding efforts and endorsed by thirty celebrity ambassadors. Due to vicarious trauma, Spicer departed NOW Australia by 2019; the organization ceased operations in June 2020 amidst criticism over unmet objectives.

Controversy

In 2019, Spicer was criticized for compromising the privacy of #MeToo survivors by failing to conceal their identities during the production of her television series Silent No More. The situation intensified when her legal representative issued defamation notices to individuals who publicly voiced objections.

Writing

On 1 May 2017, Spicer released her memoir and manifesto hybrid titled The Good Girl Stripped Bare, published by ABC Books and Harper Collins.

In 2016, she played a key role in the creation of “Mates over Merit,” a report examining gender inequality within Australian media. Her involvement in developing, analyzing, and advocating for the WiM survey led to recognition from the Walkley Foundation and supported her nomination for the Walkley Women’s Leadership in Media award.

Spicer also contributed chapters to Jane Caro’s Unbreakable and Paul Connolly’s Father Figures. Additionally, she took part in three sessions at the 2017 Brisbane Writers Festival.

Awards

Spicer is a member of the judging panel for the Caroline Jones Women in Media Young Journalists Award.

Her honors include:

2016: QUT Alumni Service Award acknowledging her support for scholarships via the QUT Learning Potential Fund
26 January 2018: Appointment as Member of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to broadcast media and social welfare
October 2018: Recipient of the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence award in the social enterprise and not-for-profit category
2018: Mid-Year Walkley Award nomination for Women’s Leadership in Media recognizing her investigative work on allegations against Don Burke
22 November 2018: Winner of Walkley Awards in both print/text journalism and television/video current affairs short categories for the Don Burke investigation
2019: Named New South Wales Woman of the Year for her impactful contributions to industry and community
2019: Accepted the Sydney Peace Prize on behalf of the #MeToo movement alongside Tarana Burke

Personal life

In January 2022, Spicer contracted COVID-19 and subsequently developed Long COVID, which continued to affect her well-being into mid-2022. She openly addressed the debilitating effects of this condition during a radio interview, emphasizing difficulties faced by those dealing with it in professional environments.

External links

traceyspicer.com.au