During her media career, Lisa Wilkinson wrote a few of her own rules and "probably broke plenty".
At just 21, she became Dolly editor, making her the youngest ever editor of a national magazine.
Soon after, late media mogul Kerry Packer headhunted her to edit Cleo, which became the top selling women's lifestyle magazine per capita in the world under her watch. She then switched to television where she has co-hosted The Today Show for more than eight years.
Now the journalist and presenter has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to the print and broadcast media and a range of youth and women's health groups, leaving the mother-of-three "humbled, surprised and shocked".
"I'm really honoured to be counted amongst really an amazing group of Australians who I would dare say deserve this award much more than I do," she told AAP.
Wilkinson credits her success to being in the right place at the right time and having others believe in her. Youthful naivety also played a part.
"Sometimes you can know too much and be formulaic in the way you do things," she said.
"And in a couple of instances being thrust into jobs where I got there so quickly, nobody had actually taught me any of the rules.
"So I wrote a few of my own and probably broke plenty.
"There's nothing quite like youth to allow you the freedom to do that.
"When I look back and think of some of the risks I took, I think, 'woman, what were you thinking?' But I'm glad I didn't know enough to realise how much I didn't yet know."
Wilkinson's backers included Packer, her boss when she edited Cleo who told her she had his "100 per cent blessing" to do what she felt would improve circulation.
"Don't talk to me about it, just do it," he told her.
One of her career joys has been mentoring young women.
"I could never quite work out why I'd been given this amazing opportunity. It only made sense to me if I thereafter worked towards making sure that lots of other young journalists got that same joy of having someone believe in you, support you, mentor you and teach you. Then allow you to jump out of the nest yourself and see if you've got the wings to fly."
Wilkinson has been involved in charities focused on children, youth and women, because "if you're in a position where you can help, you just do it", a notion instilled by her late father.
Share
