Madeleine De Gabriele

Writer - Editor - comms

I am a Walkley-nominiated journalist and communications specialist based just outside Melbourne. Since 2015, I've been covering tricky topics including - but not limited to - climate change, sustainability, technology and the latest scientific research. Plus, the one about a bikie who was accidentally set on fire.My work has been published in The Conversation, the Age, the Herald Sun, the Australia, the Financial Times, the Washington Post, ABC and BBC online; aired on the ABC's 7.30 program, ABC and SBS news, the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten; and broadcast on ABC, commercial and community radio stations Australia-wide.I specialise in writing accurately (and vividly) about dense, technical topics, and effectively reaching my audience with the right information. My track-record of print, digital, audio and video production proves I'll always find the right medium for a message - including cartoon.My experience ranges across print and online media outlets, not-for-profit organisations, state government, and the academic sector.Check my portfolio to see examples of my feature writing, multimedia and audio production, and political coverage (and, yes, the bikie-on-fire story).

Feature writing

Better Than Beef2022 magazine feature on lab-grown meat (and why it might be the future of food).

Helping the Helmeted Honeyeater
Zoo News feature on Healesville Sanctuary’s breed-and-release program for one of Australia’s rarest bird, the Helmeted Honeyeater

Old House, New Place: the lowdown on relocated homes
Sanctuary feature exploring house relocation around Australia, ranging from typical Queenslanders to brick Victorian homes, including case studies

Audio production

Trust Me, I’m An Expert: Cyclone season approacheth, but this year there’s a twist
Executive producer of the episode; produced a 10 minute segment on Australia’s history of climate extremes.

Trust Me, I’m an Expert: Competition
Produced a 10 minute segment on the early Olympic Games, which featured penny-farthing races, poetry and a town planning competition.

Multimedia

Interactive: Everything you need to know about Adani
Walkley-nominated interactive infographic exploring Adani’s proposed Charmichael mine, from cost, to environmental impact, to jobs. Originally created for the Queensland 2017 election, substantially updated in 2019 for the federal election.

Comic explainer: Forest giants house thousands of animals
A long-form comic explaining why big ol’ trees (that’s the scientific term) are essentially bush skyscrapers. Full disclosure: I cannot actually draw.

Electoral FactCheck - 2018 South Australian election

I worked with Lucinda Beaman to commission and edit these pieces. They are substantially more edited than typical articles, to ensure the highest standard of accuracy.

• Does South Australia have the ‘highest energy prices’ in the nation and ‘the least reliable grid’?

• Is South Australia’s youth population rising or falling?

• Would pokies reform in South Australia wipe out ‘many’ of 26,000 jobs?

My favourite story I've ever written

No ifs, no butts
My first ever front page, about a bikie who was set on fire by a lit cigarette butt flicked out of a car window. Don't litter!

Contact me for writing and editing, communications strategy and media training.