Madonna King on the right, with Jill Rowbotham The Australian. News Ltd headquarters, Circa 1998.

This is a rather uncharacteristic picture of a relaxed then Chief of Staff Madonna King, on the right, from memory the first female chief of staff The Australian ever had, with reporter Jill Rowbotham, who took over the position.

I think she's relaxed in this shot because she's in the throes of handing over the baton after a difficult couple of years.

I had come over from The Sydney Morning Herald, where journalists were far more indulged than at News Ltd and for a time I bucked at her strict style. At the peak of it, I hated her and yelled at her, so the entire news floor could hear, you're the worst chief of staff I've ever had, stormed out and took the rest of the week off. It was entirely unfair, and I apologised repeatedly for my behaviour in the years to follow. She went on to have an extremely successful career, as editor of The Daily Telegraph, their offices were upstairs, and then as a perhaps Brisbane's most famous radio personality, on the ABC.

I remember once, when I had disappeared for an hour, Madonna demanding to know what I had been doing.

"Walking around the block thinking," I replied.

She just stared at me in disbelief.

You weren't paid for that sort of thing at News Ltd.

She ran a tight ship, but was always frantically busy.

Chiefs of Staff are caught between the ceaseless demands of the Editor and the Editor in Chief and the journalists, who, with their left leanings and ceaseless demands for a pay rise, were regarded as nothing more than a management issue, "creatives".

She would come in in the morning, and with evident satisfaction look down the News Ltd and declare, "it's the day from hell".

At Fairfax we creatives were, as I said, much more indulged, and I would go through phones, routinely smashing them down on the table at the evasive bullshit coming out of whoever was the target for the day, going through a phone every three months or so.

They were simply replaced without fuss.

At News Ltd, such behaviour caused enormous angst, and when I broke a phone one day poor Madonna was hauled upstairs and hauled across the coals for creating an uncomfortable workplace. Again, entirely unfairly.

While at first I thought she was a terrible tyrant, my view changed when other women reporters told me they would find her in the toilets in tears, after having had strips torn off her by the imperious then Editor in Chief Paul Kelly for some alleged sin, or story missed.

There were always stories to be missed and judgement calls to be made, and no one could have worked harder or been more dedicated to the task than Madonna.

I came to respect her enormously, and when I hear of yet one more of her career successes, feel privileged to have known her.

http://madonnaking.com.au/biog/

Madonna King is an award-winning journalist, author and commentator. She has long been known as the voice of current affairs in Queensland, heading the top rating current affairs program on the ABC for six years, and winning several national ABC awards for her journalism.

Madonna’s fifth, and latest book, is a biography of federal treasurer Joe Hockey. Last year she authored the biography of Australian of the Year and inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine, Ian Frazer.

Madonna writes for the Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend magazine, and her weekly column, That Thinking Feeling, appears on Brisbane Times each Thursday. Previously, she wrote a popular Saturday column for Brisbane’s The Courier-Mail.

She has regularly appeared on breakfast television, as well as having spent many years in the Canberra press gallery reporting and interpreting politics. With her more than 20 years’ experience across newspapers, radio and television, Madonna is a sought-after facilitator, Master of Ceremonies and speaker. Thinking on her feet in an interview with the prime minister, calming the anger of a talkback caller or interviewing leading CEOs are skills she has used to advantage in traveling around Australia moderating hypotheticals or facilitating conferences on topics as varied as leadership, education, politics, business, resources, the law, tourism and the environment.