Leisa Goddard is an Australian television journalist who has worked as a reporter/presenter for each of Australia's three commercial networks –

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

Australia, and

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. She has covered major news events as a nightly news reporter and foreign correspondent. While with Network Ten, Goddard spent three years as the United States Bureau Chief based in Los Angeles and her work while embedded with Australian troops during the Afghanistan war gained a nomination for a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

. She also founded Adoni Media, a media, PR and digital agency.

Early life

Goddard grew up in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is a city in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately west of the Brisbane central business district. The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich pre ...

, and completed Year 12 at

Ipswich State High School Ipswich State High School is a state secondary school in the suburb of Brassall, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, established in 1963, On the site of the original Brassall State High School. Simon Riley is the current principal since 2005. The ...

. As a 16-year-old high school student, Goddard began her journalism career working as an intern at the local Ipswich newspaper, ''

The Queensland Times ''The Queensland Times'' is an online newspaper serving Ipswich and surrounds in Queensland, Australia. The newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia. The circulation of ''The Queensland Times'' is 10,804 Monday to Friday and 14,153 on Saturday ...

''. At 19, while in her second year of studying journalism at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, Goddard earned a cadetship at the ''

Sunshine Coast Daily The Sunshine Coast Daily is an online newspaper specifically serving the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, Australia. It is owned by News Corp Australia. It was originally founded as a print newspaper, however since 2020 the publication ...

''. In 1994, Goddard married and while married was publicly known as Leisa Goddard-Roles.

Career

Goddard is best known for her years on prime-time Australian television news and current affairs programs. In 2003, she worked as Network Ten's United States bureau chief based in Los Angeles, covering global and U.S. news including disasters such as

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

as well as political milestones such as the second Presidential inauguration of George W. Bush, the

Virginia Tech Shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...

, a NASA shuttle launch, and daily political and business news. During her time in America, Goddard interviewed movie stars and covered the red carpet at multiple

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

and

the Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and had exclusives at world movie premieres. In 2010, Goddard spent a month embedded (with her producer and cameraman) in the Afghanistan war zone. They came under Taliban rocket attack at an Australian base in the

Oruzgan Province Uruzgan (Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as th ...

and continued to report. Network Ten and Goddard were nominated for a

in the category of Most Outstanding News Coverage at the 2011 ceremony in recognition of their work. In 2012 she moved to current affairs and investigative reporting, when she re-joined the Seven Network first as a breakfast television and news reporter and then working on ''

Today Tonight ''Today Tonight'' is an Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network. It aired from January 1995 to November 2019 in Adelaide and Perth. Editions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were previously produced befo ...

''. In 2014, Goddard joined ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'', the

's nightly current affairs program. She reported on-air, presenting investigative reports and national current affairs. In 2012 Goddard founded media/PR and digital consultancy, Adoni Media. She also provides media training to CEOs, CFOS, politicians and company executives in Australia.

Awards

Goddard received a United Nations Media Peace award in 2004. She was nominated for a Logie award for work as a war correspondent during the Afghanistan war in 2011. Adoni Media's Your Health Your Choice campaign won the Judges Choice Award at the 18th Annual Complementary Medicines Australia in 2017, and was nominated for Best Government Relations Campaign award at Mumbrella CommsCon Awards in 2018.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Leisa Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian television journalists