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

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

Australia, and

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

. 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 TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

. She also founded Adoni Media, a media, PR and digital agency. In 1994, Goddard married and while married was publicly known as Leisa Goddard-Roles.

Early life

Goddard grew up in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is an urban centre within the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer River, it is approximately 40 km (25 mi) west of the Brisbane central business district. Ipswich is ...

, and completed Year 12 at Ipswich State High School. 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 The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, Goddard earned a cadetship at the '' Sunshine Coast Daily''.

Career

Goddard is best known for her years on prime-time Australian television news and current affairs programs. In 2003, she worked as

'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 powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

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 killer, spree shooting that occurred on Monday, April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksbu ...

, 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, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

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 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

and

the Grammys ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

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 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'' was 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 be ...

''. In 2014, Goddard joined '' A Current Affair'', 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 The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

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 20th-century births Living people Australian women television journalists People from Ipswich, Queensland People educated at Ipswich School Year of birth missing (living people)