Edition 40 | 2021
In[ter]view The Broadcast Metamorphosis
Ayla Liebenberg with
Artwork Ayla Liebenberg Interviewer Nahum Gale
The airwaves are home to an evolving spectrum of storytelling through diverse voices that are slowly, but surely, demanding our attention. Amidst this, identity is soaking into the media landscape, arising inclusivity for the voices of those acquainted justly to the terms of gender and sexuality. One of those voices is co-host of UniCast’s Zestful show, Ayla Liebenberg, a student studying a Bachelor of Journalism and Professional Writing with a Bachelor of Arts for Creative Writing and Literature. Ayla is a South African born writer, presenter and feminist, identifying as a gender fluid bisexual. From tales of their teenage years in Port Lincoln to their young adulthood in Adelaide, Ayla sat down with Verse to discuss their early life, struggles with gender and sexuality, representation, the media landscape and, of course, the big question: is journalism really dead? And how does this preconceived notion find its place within a patriarchal system? The young journalist was happy to jump in head first and lend their voice to queer communities in media. The metamorphosis kicks in as Ayla chronicles the identity of journalism and its history of evolution against their more personal and insightful evolution of self.
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