At 6.00pm each week night, Sonia Marinelli presents local weather to Western Victoria, Central Victoria, Border North East and Gippsland regions. These bulletins are among 16 rolling out in 2017 as part of one of the biggest expansions of news operations in Australia.
You’re a mum of three, and the weather presenter of Nine’s new regional division, presenting four dedicated regional weather reports across Victoria. What is an ‘average’ day like for you?
I have three children; a four year old boy, three year old girl, and a one year old baby boy…so it starts early as the kids wake up and the noise starts to build.
I do the morning shift and my husband the afternoon. I start by making their breakfast, packing lunches and dropping them off to childcare, before heading to work myself.
Like many working mums, it feels like I’ve done a full day’s work before even logging onto my computer.
But that’s why I enjoy my job – it provides variation to my day, and gives me a chance to work my brain in different ways to when I am at home with the kids.
Once I am at work, I delve into the fascinating world of weather. Analysing the data that comes in from various sources and preparing my graphics for the night’s bulletin.
I write, present and produce four weather bulletins a day which are unique to each region so it requires quite a bit of prep work and research. Then after an update from the weather bureau, I am off to hair and make-up, which is the most pleasant and relaxing part of my day. Then back to my desk where I finish off my scripts and race down to the studio to record the nightly bulletins.
Then it’s off with the makeup and glamorous outfits and back into mum mode – preparing dinner and feeding kids, before baths, books and bed. Phew, it’s exhausting just thinking about it! Then after all the day’s work is done, it’s time to relax with my husband spending precious moments catching up with each other. Before we press the reset button, and do it all again the next day.
Do you have any tips on juggling the work/family/life balance?
People often call me a super mum because I work full time with three kids, four and under. But all mums are super. We just do what needs to be done. And push on.
As a family, we try to keep to our limits and not cram in too much. Our most enjoyable family time is when we just spend the day at home, pottering around the house, the garden and playing games with the kids. I’ve also learnt that with three so young, I can’t rush around like I used to, ticking off multiple tasks one after the other. I just have to take my time, and allow for unscheduled hiccups. Like a toddler tantrum, or a toileting accident. Just removing the time pressure helps me stay in the right frame of mind needed to get through the challenging bits of being a mum to three so young.
Was it hard to break into such a competitive industry? What advice do you have for those wanting to forge a similar path?
It was hard and I worked for a very long time to get where I am. There is also a certain amount of luck that comes with a career path like this. But you need to work hard to be ready for the opportunity when it arises. Otherwise you’ll be overlooked.
I’m a Channel Nine girl through and through. I started my career here almost a decade ago as a budding journalist. I spent many years on the road reporting on various stories, before moving into my new passion of weather presenting. It involved years of working weekends and special holidays like Christmas and Easter. But for me it’s been worth it when I consider how far I’ve come.
My advice is there’s no such thing as pure luck. You need to be prepared and position yourself as the best person for the job, for whenever that golden opportunity presents itself. And that’s when the magic happens.
What have been some of your career highlights so far?
The moment I delivered my first news report on the 6pm bulletin was – from a career perspective – the most exciting night of my life. It’s been a roller-coaster since then, full of highs and lows. But this job has given me so many wonderful opportunities to meet extraordinary people, and go behind the scenes to some of the biggest events. I feel incredibly privileged. But it’s this particular role as the weather presenter for Nine Local News that has me absolutely pinching myself.
I caught the weather presenting bug several years ago when I filled in for Livinia Nixon and I have had this job in my sights ever since. I’ve worked incredibly hard to hone my skills and immerse myself in the field of weather. So to now be rewarded with a full time role where I get to do this job every single day is mind-blowing.
Where are your favourite places in Australia to travel to, eat/drink at, and enjoy?
Earlier I mentioned that surviving is all about knowing our limits. And that’s definitely the case when it comes to travelling. So for us personally, an overseas flight with three kids under five is definitely not on our radar. We head to the warm humid air of Noosa twice a year to refresh and recharge our family’s batteries.
What’s not to love there; the local produce, the beach, the national park. For us it just ticks all the right boxes. We are very lucky to have so many diverse destinations to travel to here in Victoria. When heading local, we love spending time in Lorne. In fact, my husband and I enjoyed our first holiday together there many moons ago, so it’s always nice to take the kids there and reminisce.
But of course, there are so many awesome destinations around the state.
And now that I spend so much time looking at and talking about the weather in all four corners, we’ve made it our mission to head on as many day trips over the year as possible – Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton. They’ve all been on our list, plus many more. It’s nice to get out and about and experience our wonderful state and its very diverse weather first hand.
