How Award-Winning Journalist Elfy Scott Switches off From Her Busy Work Days

Welcome to Bedtime Stories, an interview series where we ask inspiring individuals to share their nighttime routines and sleep secrets. For this instalment, Elfy Scott shares the morning and night routines that support her busy life as a journalist and presenter.

Being able to articulate complicated things clearly and in an accessible manner is a skill all journalists strive for. It requires breaking down information into simpler, relatable terms without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Having written and presented content around topics like complex mental health conditions, politics, and climate change, award-winning journalist Elfy Scott has had to master the art. She currently works as an executive editor at Mamamia, creating long-form journalism and helping host their podcasts. “I also present series for various brands, host events, consult with a climate organisation, and step up as an on-camera journalist when needed!”

Elfy completed a science degree before undertaking a masters in journalism. Her career started in a newsroom working as a science reporter at BuzzFeed News. She later worked as a news journalist and landed a job as the senior producer and host of The Junkee Takeaway, a daily online news show. “That job really solidified my love for presenting and taught me a huge amount (I had also worked as a model for a long time, so I was already comfortable and attention-seeking enough in front of cameras),” she shares with Bed Threads Journal.

Since then, Elfy has co-hosted and produced two podcasts: ‘Left Right Out’, an Australian politics podcast on Spotify, and ‘The Green Canary’, a weekly climate and environmental news podcast.

Her first book The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About was published at the beginning of the year and focuses on complex mental health conditions in Australia and why there’s still so much stigma around them. “The press and writing festivals for that work are still keeping me really busy, which is fantastic and I love talking about it.”

The life of a journalist can be reactive, with tight deadlines and busy newsrooms, so self-care and downtime are a necessity. Below, Efly shares how she switches off from work as a journalist and her go-to beauty products.