Dixie Marshall
Born
Dixie Marshall

March 1963
Occupation(s)Journalist, news presenter, director of communications, advertising
Years active1984–present
SpouseLuke Morfesse
Children2

Dixie Marshall (born March 1963) is a Western Australian former television news presenter and, from 2011 to 2017, was the media relations director, and then strategic communications director, for Colin Barnett, the Premier of Western Australia.[1][2]

Career

Marshall joined the Nine Network in Perth in 1984 as a cadet reporter. She became one of Australia's first female football commentators when she joined the Seven Network in Melbourne in the late 1980s.[3] Returning to Perth in 1993, she left the sports department for general reporting, and progressed to become the Perth Nine News weeknight presenter alongside Peter Holland. In June 2003, Sonia Vinci replaced Holland to form Australia's first permanent all-female weekday evening news presenting team.[4]

In 2011, she resigned from Nine News[5] and, shortly after, joined the Western Australian Premier, Colin Barnett's office as the Director of Government Media.[6] She moved to the role of strategic communications director in January 2015.[1]

Marshall attracted considerable criticism following the spectacular defeat of the Barnett government in the March 2017 WA state election. The Australian reported that "Marshall was a controversial figure in Barnett's office. While not quite achieving Peta Credlin-level controversy, she was accused in parliament of being foul-mouthed and a bully."[7][8]

In April 2017, former WA Police major crime boss, Inspector Jack Lee, while giving evidence in a multimillion-dollar defamation case being brought by barrister Lloyd Rayney, said Marshall had, during his investigation of Corryn Rayney's murder, attempted to pressure him, and threatened to report him to the Corruption and Crime Commission if he did not "pursue" Lloyd Rayney over the death of his wife.[9]

Marshall led Dentsu Aegis Network content agency The Story Lab as its Head of Creative and Partnerships when it launched in Perth in April 2017.[10] In 2018, Marshall joined the marketing firm Marketforce, leading its content creation division, Flare.[11][12] Flare won a Perth Advertising and Design Club Award in 2019.[2] In December 2020, Marshall was appointed Managing Director of Marketforce.[12]

Personal life

Marshall is the daughter of former footballer, tennis player, commentator and Liberal Party of Australia politician Arthur Marshall. She has two children with Luke Morfesse, a former journalist and current general manager of media and communications for the Fremantle Football Club.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Parker, Gareth (13 January 2015). "Govt media chief Dixie Marshall steps aside". The West Australian. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b Taylor, Belle (14 December 2019). "It became such a fantasy about what sort of person I was". The West Australian. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. ^ Young, Emma (26 August 2011). "Levelling the playing field". Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Holland axed on weekday news". The West Australian. 21 June 2003.
  5. ^ a b Caccetta, Wendy (21 May 2011). "Why Dixie Marshall had to quit". The Sunday Times.
  6. ^ Caccetta, Wendy (27 May 2011). "Dixie Marshall heads Colin Barnett's media team".
  7. ^ Glasgow, Will; Lacy, Christine (5 April 2017). "They're whistling Dixie at Seven West Media". The Australian. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ^ Burrell, Andrew (18 March 2017). "How Liberals lost the WA election". The Australian. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. ^ Hampton, Shannon (7 April 2017). "Lee: Journo 'pressured' me to pursue Rayney". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  10. ^ Makin, Stephanie (23 April 2017). "Dixie Marshall To Lead Dentsu's The Story Lab In WA". B&T. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Flare continues to grow". Marketforce. June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b Shaw, Kim (1 December 2020). "Marketforce Perth restructure sees big changes with Dixie Marshall elevated to Managing Director and ECD Paul Coghlan exiting the agency". Campaign Brief. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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