The Mamamia Nepotism Debate Masks A Deeper Problem At The Company
It’s the appointment that launched a thousand takes this week. Mia Freedman’s son, Luca Lavigne will be the new CEO of her avowedly feminist digital media company.
Was it nepotism? Was it actually misogynist to call it nepotism (as Leigh Sales suggested), when News Corp, Nine and the old Fairfax all passed from father to son with virtually no comment?
It all slightly misses the real question: What does Lavigne’s appointment actually mean for the future of Mamamia’s considerable media empire?
Once the so-called ‘mummy blog’ of magazine veteran Mia Freedman, Mamamia now has genuine sway in the Australian media market – over audiences, advertisers and the career pathways of young people trying to make a name for themselves in the media industry.
It has the number one podcast in the country, with its flagship podcast Out Loud being downloaded 2.2 million times last month (that is just one of about 28 active podcast properties Mamamia holds). It also has somewhere in the region of 120 staff.
But beneath that public vision of success, the truth is that Lavigne is being plopped into the CEO chair at an uncertain time for the company. He is replacing Nat Harvey, who was only appointed CEO back in May of 2024 and has now already left. Freedman herself took a sabbatical from the company for a long stretch last year.
