Longford native Anne-Marie Tomchak is one of the most powerful and inspirational women in digital media. The UK editor of Mashable is blazing a trail and empowering countless women along the way.
When she was a little girl in Longford, Anne-Marie Tomchak (nee McNerney) could never have thought she'd be the editor of one of the UK's biggest websites. She couldn't have. Back in 1990s rural Ireland, it was difficult for any young woman to contemplate such a position, and not only because digital media is such a recent force. Until recently, the biggest media jobs were almost exclusively held by men. Anne-Marie Tomchak has helped change the media landscape for good.
Anne-Marie started her media career in Dublin as a student. While doing her MA in journalism in Dublin City University she interned in RTE radio with Samatha Barry, the current editor-inchief of Glamour who remains a close friend. Their friendship is understandable; they represent a new wave of female media pioneers who are prepared to get their hands dirty and put their tenacity and skills to play at every possible opportunity.
Anne-Marie's determination led a career reporting for various news sources culminating with her editorship at Mashable, but she advises the next generation not to try to run before they can walk - and don't be afraid when you don't succeed immediately.
Sometimes you have your best ideas and your most productivity after periods of quietness.
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Anne-Marie spent over ten years reporting for a multitude of world-class broadcasters including RTE and NPR. In 2010, she made the decision to go to London without full-time work. Relying on freelance, casual work at first was a gamble, but, it turned out, the only way was up.
The risk paid off, and she really cemented her reputation as a (very stylish) ideas person who gets things done in 2013 when she developed and launched BBC Trending. She became the face of the channel which examined online news trends, which has played a part in changing the way we think about news and news reporting. Soon after, Mashable came a-knocking and Anne-Marie was established as one of the leading voices in digital media.
At that point, when you're just at the edge, and you just have to survive? You kick into survival mode and you really surprise yourself at how resilient you are.
Although she maintains that her decision to leave Ireland was the best she ever made, she is becoming more recognisable on Irish screens, too. You may have seen her feature-length documentaries for RTE including Will A Robot Steal My Job? which aired in November 2017. She also contributes to Cutting Edge on RTE One; her most recent appearance was last week.
Anne-Marie knew that without a large mount of moxy, she couldn't make it in the digital media world. But she had it in spades - and still has a lot more leftover, so watch this digital leader turn into a household name.
