Samantha Lane - MCs & Hosts - Award winning journalist and trailblazer reporter& ...

Travels From Victoria

Speaker Topics

A “MOVEMENT BIGGER THAN SPORT” – GAME CHANGING ON AND OFF FIELD

Sam’s first book, ROAR (2018, Penguin Random House), is the definitive account of the birth of the AFL women’s league. Sam shares inside stories from the unforgettable 2017 launch of AFLW, to the sexism and homophobia that tried to keep it down; Sam discusses the global rise of women in sport on field – leadership, pay and other equality battles, including sexism, homophobia and other systemic discrimination.

Read less

DAUGHTERS, DADS AND MUMS

Sam shares the life-changing story of losing her Mum when she was 10, and moving in with her Dad – sport broadcaster Tim Lane; How a sole child, single parent and three cat family muddled through, with Sam eventually catching the sports journalism bug and making her own mark in Australian sports broadcasting and journalism.

Read less

TRAILBLAZING AND “ONE-OUT” WOMEN

A pioneer on TV, radio and in print in Australian sport, Sam discusses the pros and cons of being a “one-out woman” in a workplace, the value of allies, and overcoming roadblocks. Highlights from a multi-media career including reporting from: three Summer Olympic Games, three editions of the men’s Tour de France, the landmark 2022 women’s Tour deFrance, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and countless AFL men’s and women’s grand finals and seasons. The thrills and (occasional) spills.

Read less

Samantha Lane

Award winning journalist and trailblazer reporter

Sam Lane is a pioneering broadcast journalist and author. Her award-winning work spans print,
television, podcast and radio.

Sam’s first book ROAR is the definitive account of the birth of the Australian Football League’s elite
competition for women, published in 2018 and formally endorsed by Australia’s first woman Prime
Minister Julia Gillard. ROAR became part of the global movement for gender equity, diversity and
inclusion, with the AFLW catalysing profound change on and off-field. Sam delivers keynote
presentations on the topic, in Australia and abroad, including one at the Australian Embassy in Paris.
Sam is currently writing the story of Australian sporting luminary, Erin Phillips, due for publication
in 2024.

A trailblazer on television, Sam covered men’s AFL on Channels Seven and Ten for more than 15
years. In 2013, she joined Channel Seven’s prime time Saturday night footy coverage and was part of
Seven’s record-breaking broadcast of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Sam was a panellist on
Channel Ten’s Before the Game for 10 years, and also featured in the ABC’s Agony Aunts series.
She has covered every season of AFL women’s since its inception in 2017 and currently hosts a
weekly ABC podcast The W - with Sharni and Sam.

Her journalism awards include two Melbourne Press Club Quills, a Walkley, two VicHealth awards,
the AFL Players’ Association and AFL Coaches’ Association media prizes, three VicSport awards
and an Australian Sports Commission media award.

As a keynote speaker, panel moderator, event MC and conference host, Sam’s clients include QBE,
Virgin Australia, National Australia Bank, Open Universities Australia, the National Gallery of
Victoria, CGU, and the Sydney, Richmond and Geelong AFL football clubs.

She has hosted the three-day National Sport Convention conference annually since 2020 (conference
MC, panel moderator and function compere), and multi-day conferences for Sport Australia and the
Australian Institute of Sport, and Mercedes Benz Australia.

She co-hosted the Australian national speaking tour of basketball legend Luc Longley in sold-out
shows through 2022, and moderated live events with Australian of the Year Adam Goodes in 2019.
Sam sits on the Australian Institute of Sport’s Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Advisory
Committee, chaired by Olympic icon Ian Thorpe, and is a member of the Board of Directors of The
Chappell Foundation, raising funds for homeless youth. She sits on Sydney’s AFLW steering
committee and is an ambassador for Flourish Australia.

In her distinguished journalism career, Sam wrote for Melbourne’s The Age and Sunday
Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers for 13 years, reporting from Beijing, London, Rio
and Delhi at Olympic and Commonwealth Games. She has reported from the men’s Tour de France
three times, and the landmark first women’s Tour de France in 2022 on ABC television, radio and
podcast. Sam wrote and produced two series of number one-rating The Originals podcast for AFL
club, Richmond, in 2020-21.

Sam speaks French, studying at the Université Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux to complete a
Diploma of Modern Languages (French), and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of
Melbourne.

Testimonial

“Sam is a social entrepreneur who has turned her formidable intellect and powers of persuasion to using women’s sport as a vehicle for social change. Well informed, articulate and hugely engaging, Sam sees advancing women’s sport as leverage for improving social equity, particularly for women, throughout the community.”

Colin Carter, Boston Consulting Group, AFL Commissioner 1993-2008, Geelong Football Club President 2

“Sam Lane is intuitive, smart, quick, highly professional, and a major journalistic talent. “Her moderating skills across a variety of panel subjects were outstanding. She applied a journalist’s forensic focus and innate curiosity to her research, and her natural warmth and energy made each of her events inclusive, safe and exciting. Audiences love her. Panel members love her. Festival volunteers love her.”

Corrie Perkin

“Sam is a rare talent. Anything she has to say is worth listening to. ROAR is one of the most important and insightful representations of the emergence of women’s football going around.”

North Melbourne Football Club

“Sam is our first-choice host of the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention. She brings out the very best of our global keynote speakers, whether online or in-person. Everyone feels that Sam wants them to be their best.”

Australian National Sports & Physical Activity Convention

“The involvement of Sam Lane in a public event – sporting or otherwise – lifts it to another level. Her research is impeccable, which is always a joy for the interviewee. Her sense of humour and poise add that extra ingredient ... she’s a wonderful asset to any organisation or event.”

Bruce McAvaney OAM,

“Sam combines attention to detail with a deeply intelligent and humble approach to interviewing; knowing that her job is to find the story, not to big-note herself. She is always prepared, always listening, always a class act.”

Annabel Crabb

“The ultimate professional.”

Dave Hughes

“Sam is one of the very best in the business. Combining intelligence and insight with humour and hard work, she is the complete package, whether as a host, reporter, interviewer or MC. A genuine interest in her subjects is the magic ingredient that so many other reporters and interviewers are missing. Subjects reveal their true selves to Sam - often on national television! And it’s never about Sam, which is something all-too rare in our industry.”

JAMTV Australia

“Sam possesses a unique balance of knowledge and preparation with spontaneous wit and perceptive responses.”

Richmond Football Club

“An award-winning journo who’s cracked all media: TV, radio and print. Sam is part-magician, part-counsellor. She draws out some never heard stories ... her subjects confide in her, laugh and cry with her.”

Natasha Stott Despoja AO, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Wome

“I’ve chosen Sam to write my book because I trust her. She’s genuine, smart, caring and passionate - in her life and in her profession.”

Erin Phillips OAM, Olympic medallist

“Sam is able to draw out the best in us all. Her humility and graciousness shine through in any forum.”

Craig Foster AO

“I would highly recommend Sam for anyone needing a top-tier MC for their event.”

Sport South Australia

“Sam is the consummate professional at everything she does, from sports journalism to public speaking, and advocating for the causes she believes in.”

Susan Alberti AC

“Sam was so authentic and told her story in a way that really connected with us as an organisation.”

Open Universities Australia

“Best on ground to Samantha Lane for this inspiring account of the resilience and determination it took to get the League to a national level, and showcasing the depth of talent amongst its players.”

Julia Gillard