Speakers Profile - Monique Wright










Travels From:
Sydney

Fee Range: E


Vivacious and engaging, Monique is a cornerstone of the Seven network's News/Current Affair and breakfast line up. Monique is best known for her work as features reporter for both Sunrise and Sunday. In particular her human interest stories "Monique's people" for Sunrise, successfully capture the lives of ordinary people across Australia.

After graduating with first class honors from Charles Sturt Univeristy with a Bachelor of Arts (Communications), Monique Wright joined the Seven Network in 1996. She has worked as a reporter and presenter on the national and NSW programs: Sunrise, the Nightly News, Sydney Weekender and 11AM.

Monique has an enviable record as a top Sydney journalist, covering a wide range of stories in her career. She has also worked on major broadcast events for Seven, such as The Sydney Olympic Games, The Sydney Olympic Torch Relay, Manchester Commonwealth Games, Athens Olympic Games, Torino Winter Olympic Games, The Melbourne Cup Racing Carnival and the Rugby World Cup Final in Sydney.

Monique has been on the scene, reporting on some of the biggest stories in Australia of the past decade. She has covered emergencies, natural disasters, crime, politics and human interest events.

Monique was one of the first reporters to bring Australian and international audiences the news of the tragic death of wildlife warrior Steve Irwin. Monique was also in Singapore last year for the IOC announcement that London would be the host city for the 2012 Olympics. She covered the elation of the bid team and some of England's most famous faces and then the disbelief hours later as they learnt about the first of London's terrorist bombings. Monique was with the Mayor of London as he spoke publicly for the first time.

Her journalistic prowess has extended to her numerous interviews with some of the biggest names in the entertainment world. People like Pavarotti, Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon have all opened up to her. But Monique always likes to do more than the standard interview. She went swimming in the English Channel with Sir Richard Branson and spent several days exclusively "embedded" with millionaire socialites Paris and Nikki Hilton, gaining a revealing insight into their lives.

But it's generally not the celebrities Monique remembers best. One of the most popular segments on Sunrise, has been Monique's Everyday People Series. Monique approaches ordinary people on the street and encourages them to talk. It has surprised many people, even Monique, how much these spontaneous conversations reveal. Monique's "everyday people" have included an Auschwitz survivor who lost 60 members of her family, a homeless man who spoke of his daughter and the fact he had not seen her in many years, and even an I.T businessman who used to be a stripper. Monique believes everyone has a story, and she relishes being the person who helps them share it.

Monique is currently the National Feature Reporter for Sunrise, Australia's number one breakfast program. She travels all around Australia and overseas covering a wide range of stories and presenting from locations.

Recently she's travelled Australia and to France, China, America, Russia, Singapore, England, Spain, Wales, Greece and Hawaii.

But she's says television reporting isn't the glamorous life many imagine.

"While nothing equals the adrenaline rush and challenge of reporting live it's easy to find yourself embarrassed in front of thousands of viewers."

During her honors year at university, Monique completed a thesis titled "Public Communication Campaigns - for the Public Good"? which evaluated an Environmental Protection Agency campaign in rural communities. The NSW Government adopted the findings and subsequent recommendations of the research project as guidelines for future campaigns.