From an arts degree to co-founder of The Daily Aus
News producer, political advisor, government officer, and now start-up co-founder.
This is Zara Seidler of The Daily Aus, one the fastest growing news source for young Australians raised on a digital diet of breaking news. Driven by a philosophy of news done right, not first, she ensures The Daily Aus makes the biggest news of the day quick and easy to digest to almost 400,000 eyeballs on social media.
Armed with a government and international relations major in her Bachelor of Arts, Zara and best mate turned business partner, Sam Koslowski, identified a gap in the market of traditional news outlets.
With peers and personal networks often coming to the pair to help make sense of the day’s headlines, they began creating bite-sized posts on social media, sharing facts and context in plain English – a task that became a full-time job in February 2021 after a year of the relentless newsfeed.
I am arming the next generation of voters with the tools they need to make the world a better and more informed place.
Making news make sense
With a hunger for news made accessible, Zara is an emerging leader in the often cut-throat world of news media. Through her studies at university and a keen interest for government and politics, Zara has honed a clear skillset on how to communicate – and communicate well.
“The transition from high school to university was challenging in that exams at school favoured long, superfluous descriptions over clear, concise communication,” she remembers. “Though it was initially a shock when I received my first round of marks at university, it taught me an invaluable lesson in speaking in plain, accessible English.”
Daily life at The Daily Aus
Zara’s past life as crossbench political advisor to independent federal crossbencher Dr Kerryn Phelps, combined with stints at Sky News, Research Australia, Georgetown University, has set her up for the most challenging role of her life – with the long hours to match.
“We start our days pretty early to get on top of the news cycle,” she says. “Our podcast is released daily at 6am and our newsletter at 7am. Once those two products are out for the day, we turn our minds to the editorial output on Instagram. Like any media company, we have a pitch meeting in the morning where our journalists pitch their stories for the day.”
My studies equally provided me with a deep sense of curiosity and a critical eye - two things I take into every morning pitch meeting.
The rest of the day is spent speaking to external stakeholders and taking part in valuable meetings, Zara explains, “but we try to dedicate as much time as possible to growing our platform.”
How an arts degree makes an impact
With childhood dreams of becoming a teacher, Zara’s carved a new unlikely path, realising that goal in a way befitting of the next generation of media consumers.
“I think that in a roundabout kind of way, The Daily Aus allows me to fulfil my childhood ambitions of teaching and explaining concepts – in this case news – to young audiences.”
My degree allowed me to explore my passions all at once. Studying subjects like sexuality and race at the same time as geopolitics, provided me with the range and breadth of knowledge needed to approach issues and ideas with conviction and curiosity.