MediaDiet: Tess O'Brien

May 28, 2025

This week’s COMMPRESS: MediaDiet comes courtesy of SKMG’s newest Group Account Director, Tess O’Brien, a property and built environment expert whose client roster reads like the architectural digest of your dreams.

Tess has spent the past decade-plus telling stories about the built world from New York to London and is now back home to hit some high-profile projects that make zoning regs look sexy.

This media consumption confessional contains multitudes, as Tess’ media habits are a joyful contradiction. She reads NYT’s Modern Love to recover from the AFR, suspiciously won’t talk about her screen-time, and toggles between parenting podcasts and horrific true crime with the emotional range of a method actor.

If you too have Googled “What is Hand, Foot and Mouth and do I have it?”, then you’ve found a like-minded individual. Dive in below.

Wake up

The first piece of media I consume each day? Well, that depends: does a 5.00am slap in the face from toddlers count? Once the chaos subsides (or at least quietens), I do what any burnt-out-yet-ambitious mother does to ground herself: I grab my phone and open TikTok to watch 17 strangers label their pantry containers with military precision while I lie motionless, questioning my life choices. This is my wake up.

Morning

I get to work with a strong coffee in hand and a parenting podcast in my ears, but it’s not the educational kind. I go for the ones that comfort you with stories of screen-time overdoses and kids who eat nothing but plain pasta, just to feel seen. One of my favourites is Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdecombe – British comedians who are as chaotic and neurotic as me – and they interview other comedian parents who are, funnily enough, equally as chaotic and neurotic as all of us. But then for when I’m feeling particularly upbeat: a horrific true crime podcast. Some of my faves include Bronwyn, Tom Brown’s Body and Bone Valley. But we’re getting off topic here.

I’d love to say I read a book on the bus on the way to work like a refined human but, unfortunately, reading on public transport makes me feel like I’m about to meet my maker. I’m also a sucker for all things The New York Times, so most mornings I listen to The Daily to keep one foot in the real world (or at least, America). While it’s often deep in Trump-world, every now and then it throws in a gem – like the fact that scientists have discovered that whales have their own alphabet and complex language (!!). But seriously the host (and journalist) Michael Barbaro is incredible and spending 20 minutes with him every day is a form of self-care. But instead of finding inner peace I get breaking news that makes my heart race and my eyebrows twitch. Namaste... I guess?

Afternoon

Now, as someone who “lives and breathes property”, I actually enjoy reading real estate news (yes, willingly). For Aussie insights, it’s AFR, Green Street News and The Urban Developer. It’s PrimeResi for my London fix, and Commercial Observer plus The Real Deal for the New York buzz. For global and residential stories, I turn to the FT’s House & Home, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal’s luxury homes section, and of course, realestate.com.au. But for those afternoons that I want property porn? It’s Robb Report and Mansion Global.

But for when I need a break from “price per sqm”, I dive into the Modern Love column in The New York Times, because property people have feelings, too.

Evening

I’ve been (very slowly) making my way through Murder in Cairo: The Killing of David Holden by Emanuele Midolo and Peter Gillman. Emanuele, a brilliant property reporter for the Times/Sunday Times whom I worked with often in the UK, co-wrote this gripping account of the mysterious murder of David Holden, then The Sunday Times’ chief foreign correspondent. Holden had just arrived in Cairo to cover high-stakes peace talks between Egypt and Israel. By dawn, his body was found on a dusty roadside, shot clean through the heart.

That keeps me occupied well enough until the kids are asleep (or temporarily hypnotised by their tablets), and so I retreat into my true happy place: binge-watching an embarrassing amount of TV. My taste? Completely chaotic. I’m equally invested in the emotional arc of 90 Day Fiancé as I am in the dystopian trauma of The Handmaid’s Tale. I love it all. I love a moody Harlan Coben thriller and I rewatch Homeland at least once a year like it’s a longstanding tradition. I burn through shows at an elite level. If Netflix had a top score leaderboard, I’d be top 10, easy. My partner is mildly alarmed that I can fall asleep to the grimmest true crime documentaries, but hey, we all have our lullabies.

Tess’ Picks & Recs

SCREEN TIME: I legit didnt have this turned on. I’ll let you know next time!

SUBSCRIBED TO: Apple Music, Netflix, Stan, Disney, The New York Times.

SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO READ: The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees by Matthieu Aikins.

AN UNEXPECTED GOOGLE SEARCH: The first signs of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease…

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW: @pregnant_then_screwed. It’s UK-based but it’s a wonderful charity dedicated to ending the motherhood penalty, supporting tens of thousands of women each year, and successfully campaigning for change.