Independent Australian digital media outlet Cheek Media has more than doubled its headcount, announcing three new team members to support a “new phase of growth”.
The new hires include partnerships manager, Georgia Gemell, digital content producer, Varsha Yajman and digital journalist, Bernadette Clarke.
Gemell joins from Samsung Ads, where she spent the last year as Agency Lead. She has also worked in media sales at Nine Entertainment, Seven Network, and WIN Television, and served as 2024 co-chair of the Media Federation of Australia’s NGEN Sydney program.
“I am delighted to be joining the growing Cheek team in the first commercially-focused role,” said Gemell.
“I’ll be working to shape Cheek’s strategic partnerships offering and ensure the editorial team can continue doing what they do best, whilst supporting revenue growth in the best way I know how.”
Yajman steps into the role of digital content producer, with a background in law, climate advocacy, and social media. Prior to joining Cheek, Yajman served as a campaigner and coordinator at youth and climate organisations, and spent five years at Equity Generation Lawyers, in addition to various roles with mental health charities such as The Butterfly Foundation.
“I’m so excited to join this incredible team, especially at a time when we need progressive independent media more than ever,” said Yajman.
Meanwhile, Bernadette Clarke has come on board as a digital journalist. Clarke is returning to Australia after two years living abroad, and joins the Cheek team with more than five years of experience across SBS, ABC, and Triple J.
“It’s such a vital time to keep young people not just informed, but engaged with what’s happening across the globe and our own backyard. I really look forward to working towards that goal as a journo with a talented team of young women,” said Clarke.
Yajman and Clarke will report to editor Kalila Welch, who joined as Cheek’s second full-time staff member in August of last year.
“Despite our small size, Cheek has already achieved so much over the past few years. It is hugely exciting to be a part of a growing team in such a challenging media environment, and I can’t wait to see our content evolve as we enter this next phase,” said Welch.
Founder of Cheek Media, Hannah Ferguson, said: “We’ve seen significant redundancies in recent months from multiple Australian mastheads, and it’s been devastating to see that women have seemingly faced the brunt of many of these cuts. In an increasingly concentrated landscape, taking an independent media team from two full-time staff to five in just two weeks is a clear signal that Cheek Media is ready to take a big commercial step and that young women are front and centre.”
She said she’s excited by the “strong voices” entering the team, and is “extremely confident” in all three hires taking Cheek Media to “the next level”.
“This is an exciting time for a business that started as a response to legacy media’s failures; we are proving ourselves to be an even bigger challenge in the market,” Ferguson added.
