WHO WE ARE
Meet the team
Truepenny Media was established in 2006 as a specialist content creation business with a strong commitment to ethics. Initial specialist areas were consumer affairs and consumer financial services. Early clients included the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia, along with major household news titles – AFR Smart Investor Magazine, BRW and SMH.
We now provide strategy, content and engagement for an array of clients, with a focus on environmental issues, social justice, democracy and human rights, along with ethical financial services.
In 2020 we launched The Point ESG News Site, and its development was assisted in 2021-22 by Walkley Foundation Public Interest Journalism funding.
The Point has a free weekly digital newsletter with a consistently growing readership, impressive click through and open rates and amazingly low unsubscribe rates.
One of our latest ventures is the Truepenny Books imprint, launched in late 2023, with exciting projects lining up for 2024 and beyond.
Our new daily news service for the NSW Central Coast, the Central Coast Daily.News will empower local businesses to take advantage of our affordable advertising and sponsorship rates to build their brand across a local population of 350,000+ people.
The Truepenny Media team is lean (but expandable), nimble and committed. Our combined experience in publishing, news, marketing, advertising, and design adds up to more than 130 years. We know our stuff and love putting that knowledge and experience into action.
Jacquelene Pearson, Director
Jackie is a passionate storyteller now in her 38thyear of working as a journalist, ghost writer, editor, campaigner and independent publisher.
Jacquelene spent over 12 years at CHOICE Magazine as a senior journalist, deputy editor and editor of CHOICE Money and Rights. She was a finalist in the 2003 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism for her investigations of financial planners. Those investigations led to federal law reform to improve the professional standard of financial advice.
In 2005 she was retained as a contributor for AFR Smart Investor Magazine where she remained until 2015, applying her unique style of comparative financial product investigations to everything from private health insurance to CFDs and online brokers. Her work has been published in many other major mastheads and digital publications including Sun Herald, BRW, the Australian Financial Review, Your Money Magazine and The Senior, to name a few.
Pearson has been an independent board member at the Australian Consumers Association and the National Information Centre for Retiree Investments (NICRI).
Truepenny Media was set up in 2006 to provide ethical editorial services including research and reporting, ghost writing, editing, public relations, media strategies and media training to small businesses, not-for-profits, government agencies and corporations.
Truepenny commenced publishing the independent ESG News Site, The Point, in 2020 and was awarded Walkley Foundation Public Interest Journalism funding in 2021 to develop the site. In 2022 she became a foundation member of the Local Independent News Association (LINA). Her first volume of poetry, Mother’s Song, was published in 2022 and Truepenny Books was launched in late 2023.
She believes in global change through local action, working in her own community as a campaigner, communicator, and community advocate.
Stephen Pearson, Marketing
When he was in his mid-40s, Stephen decided to re-engineer his career. A consultant told him his personality was best suited to either sales or acting. He was already doing both and probably had been since birth. No re-engineering required.
Stephen is a master of understanding human behaviour and translating that understanding into powerful marketing strategies. Prior to joining Truepenny, he spent 15 years as national sales manager for The Senior newspaper. He has worked in senior marketing and sales positions across an array of national publications although his original career was as a roadie, tour manager and agent under the big top of Australian rock n roll.
Stephen loves solving problems for businesses and not-for-profits. There’s no challenge too big or small. He enjoys working with clients to identify their goals, tailor a marketing campaign and deliver their desired outcomes.
He also loves music, fine art, amateur theatre, his family, pet dogs and the ocean.
Tracey Hawkins, Senior Contributor
As a portfolio careerist, Tracey has 26 years’ experience in communications, services marketing, business administration and program management in both Government and non-Government roles.
Her strong intercultural communication skills have been honed through working in 27 countries within Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, Germany, and Russia.
Tracey has worked with small business and not for profits to increase brand awareness through PR, marketing campaigns, fundraising, events, and collaborations. She holds a Bachelor degree in Applied Communication Studies and two postgraduate Diplomas - one in Secondary Education and the other in Archaeological Heritage.
Justin Stanley, Designer
Justin is our design guru and has over 25 years’ experience as a senior graphic designer and production manager.
His IT skills are extensive, and he can master any CMS or app within seconds, but his greatest talent is his ongoing mastery of the whole Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Photoshop and Premiere Pro.
If there’s a tech trend that Justin doesn’t know about, it’s probably not worth knowing. For over 20 years, Justin single-handedly designed a newspaper every three days, always with a smile on his face and a willingness to go above and beyond for the client and the reader.
When Justin is not designing, he is enjoying his latest big boy toys or working out at the gym.
Contributors and Collaborators
The Truepenny team is lean but expandable. We have a band of willing and expert contributors and collaborators that we can call on to boost our fire power. If you’re interested in being one of our contributors or collaborators, send your CV, list of your specialisations and a brief email to jackietruepenny@outlook.com
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