Describing financial journalist Madison Reidy as “a mile a minute” might be a bit of an understatement. She’s a woman with unshakable drive and a constant smile, and when she’s not working on her online TV series Markets With Madison, you almost need subtitles to keep up with her.
“My friends will tell you that I actually speak quicker,” she grins. “I’m zero to 100!”
Life moves fast for the star presenter, who has made waves with her twice-weekly NZME finance shows – as she says, she’s always been in a hurry, even as a kid when she knew she’d be a journalist.
“Although I didn’t think it would be in finance – I actually failed Year 12 maths,” laughs Madison, 28. “It was kind of a shame that when I was growing up, I didn’t know that business and markets could
be so interesting.
“When I did learn about them, I wanted other people to know how engaging they actually are. It’s like reality TV – there are genuinely that many dramatic stories and trillions of dollars at stake. It doesn’t get better than that!”
Madison and partner Liam Malone.
After stints working in both TV and print, Madison – whose partner is Kiwi Paralympic gold medal sprinter Liam Malone, 29 – left journalism for a few years after feeling burnt out from covering the pandemic.
“I was on Newshub‘s 6pm news at the time with numerous press conferences a day and it kind of felt like a decade of journalism squished into two years,” she recalls. “The stress of that, plus the negative feedback we were getting, made me realise that this is not why I got into journalism. It was ruthless and painful.”
With former PM Bill English.
She worked in investment for a couple of years, but eventually Madison felt the pull back to media. However, realising her dream job didn’t exist, she had to create it.
“As a complete finance nerd, my favourite thing to do is watch stock markets, which I know is a bit weird for a 28-year-old woman. But I thought there was a clear gap for a place where these awesome stories and ideas could go – what if we took those sometimes-complex ideas and made some really cool videos?”
After making content for her then-employer, an investment bank, Madison realised she needed a wider platform for her big ideas, so she came up with Markets With Madison. “And then I realised I needed someone to pay me to do this, so I pitched it to the New Zealand Herald – and here we are!”
The series now has almost 100 episodes and has featured big-business names, including former prime ministers Sir John Key and Sir Bill English. Taking a chance, she says, has massively paid off.
“If I could get any message across, it’s this: don’t wait for your dream job – go and make it. Often opportunities don’t come to you and you have to chase them or, in some cases, make them!”
With Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck.
When she’s not poring over markets and stock prices, Madison attempts a bit of life balance by travelling the world with her partner Liam.
“He’s an enormous supporter of me. I genuinely don’t think this would be possible, especially for someone of my age, without someone telling me all the time that I can absolutely do it. It’s a godsend.”
Madison and Liam have been together for two years but have known each other for far longer, although they have “no idea” how they met in the first place.
“We genuinely can’t recall,” she laughs. “We want some epic meet-cute story to tell people, but we don’t have one. We know it was through a mutual friend and some sort of event, but it would’ve been eight or nine years ago. I mean, your twenties are a whirlwind, right?!”
Kindred spirits Madison and Liam love to travel.
It’s definitely true for Madison, who has relished marching to the beat of her own drum. However, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
“I’m the least traditional person,” she says. “I’ve never tied myself to any societal expectation. The only thing I ever wanted was to be a TV journalist and I’m really proud to have done that. But once I achieved that, I had a huge identity crisis.
It was a huge ‘now what?’ when I decided to leave Newshub – it was all I’d wanted since I was three and suddenly I didn’t want it any more. Who the hell was I?
“But then I realised that I had to build the life I wanted. I never had any set life moments I wanted to hit – I have friends who feel the burden of that more than others. Honestly, I’m hoping my thirties and forties are easier. Bring on 30 – I can’t wait!”
Watch Markets With Madison on YouTube or at nzherald.co.nz.
