Interview: From newsroom to screen - Lisa Toni Burke’s journey
Lisa Toni Burke has built an outstanding reputation as one of Europe’s most versatile TV presenters, with live broadcast experience on Sky News, BBC, RTE, RTL Luxembourg, and Fox News.
As the creator of RTL Today, she has shaped Luxembourg’s leading English-language news portal, giving audiences reliable and trusted reporting.
Her background is as impressive as her broadcasting career. A Cambridge Natural Sciences graduate, Lisa balances her scientific expertise with the art of communication.
From hosting space events to writing children’s science books, she has become a trusted figure across both media and education.
Film News Blitz presents this exclusive interview with The Motivational Speakers Agency, where Lisa shares her unique perspective on journalism, presenting, and the importance of scientific literacy.
Her journey reflects both the challenges and triumphs of a modern broadcaster, inspiring audiences worldwide.
Q1. The rise of digital platforms has transformed how stories are told and consumed. From your perspective, how has the digital revolution reshaped journalism and reporting?
Lisa Burke: “Well, that's a really important question because since I started off at Sky News in 2000, during that first decade we didn't really have social media at our fingertips.
“It really only came into play in the decade after, when I'd moved to Abu Dhabi and then back to London and Luxembourg, and it's changed everything.
“So now, most people get their news on this. People scroll, they want fast news, they get it in such a variety of ways.
“This 24-hour news, of course, hasn't changed. It's like, as some people in the political world say, we have to constantly "feed the beast".
“I think people have to be really careful about where they get their news from – is it a trusted source?
“I've got two teenage daughters and I worry about what they can absorb on social media. Is what they're reading real? Is it true? Is it just a trend? The nature of news has become very fast, very piecemeal.
“The good thing is it's quite egalitarian in that we have a lot of citizen journalism. If something happens in Kyiv at the moment, or Ukraine, or certain parts of the eastern region, you can have people literally there on their mobile phones, telling the story.
“We've seen it on all sorts of social media, so it becomes much more immersive and everybody has a voice – but not everybody has an honest voice and not everybody has a trained, impartial voice.
“So I think as consumers, we have to be very careful. As producers, you have to be careful, because whatever you put out there in the digital sphere can stay there a very long time, if not forever.
“We have to be very cautious in all sorts of ways.”
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Q2. As the founder of RTL Today, now Luxembourg’s leading English-language news portal, what vision drove you to launch it — and what challenges did you overcome in bringing it to life?
Lisa Burke: “Well, I moved to Luxembourg in September 2015 because my ex-husband got work here.
“When I came, it was very bizarre. It's an incredibly multilingual place – people have to, by schooling, speak three languages as their native mother tongue: Luxembourgish, German and French.
“When I arrived, there was also an increasing number of English speakers. People from all over the world, lots of relationships where they used English as the tool of communication.
“Lots of Eastern Europeans, people from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent – they would use English as their communal language.
“But for us to get our information, it was really piecemeal. We had a lot of information on various Facebook groups.
“There were certain sorts of news outlets in English, but nothing connected. Coming from a decade at Sky News, I thought, this doesn't make sense.
“So I went to RTL – Radio Television Luxembourg – and at the time I had a business with another lady. I asked them, "Have you thought about doing anything in English?"
“We hit them at the right time and they said yes, we realise we have to do something.
“With the tiniest budget but a lot of belief and trust in us, they gave us the go-ahead to create it. It took months of finding people – very hard to do when you can't pay them a lot, when there's nothing tangible to see.
“But now we have a great team. It's shown its worth time and again, especially during COVID and the floods we had here.
“When there's big news, we’re the only place for rolling updates, and people have written to thank us for this service.”
Q3. You’ve championed women in science and media. What message would you share with young women considering careers in STEM and creative industries?
Lisa Burke: “Oh well, that's really important. Lots of things here.
“When I was choosing my A-levels, I felt that if I could do science, I should do science. My message would simply be: if you can do it, do it. Most other subjects – languages, arts – you can take up later in life, not easily, but you can.
“With sciences, particularly the mathematical and physics brain, that is really at its peak in the early twenties.
“Einstein did his best work in those years, I believe. My physics teacher used to say the maths/science brain is good in the early years, and later in life you might become a better teacher, but the creative work is often done young.
“You will probably never opt to do science later in life. But you could pick up piano, or take an English or humanities degree. Science is much harder to take up later.
“For me, science has fed into every part of my life. It helps me in journalism, it gives me a logical way of thinking.
“I use it all the time – when I have information, I have to sieve it down and relay the main facts to an audience.
“I did have the chance to do a PhD, but I gave it up to work at Sky News. For a long time, I felt guilty about not continuing in STEM.
“Now I feel lucky – I get to cover space and science events in Luxembourg, meet scientists, and I still write children’s science books.
“So to answer your question: my message is like Nike – if you can do it, do it.”
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Q4. In both news and film, communication is everything. What’s your number one piece of advice for delivering a message with clarity and impact?
Lisa Burke: “Well actually, for effective communication in general, the main thing is to be clear. Believe in your message.
“If you believe in your message, you are authentic. You have to be honest. If you're not honest, it’s very apparent.
“You can work on presence, intonation, speech volume, all of that. But the core of anything is authenticity.
“You need a message you truly believe in, otherwise it won’t work.
“I do train people, and I always work with them one-on-one because everyone is different. It's bespoke to who you are, where you’ve come from, and your idiosyncrasies.
“At Sky News, my boss liked the fact we were all different. He never tried to change our styles.
“He also taught us the power of the pause. When you pause, people listen to you.
He used to say: "When I stop talking, that’s when people start listening."”
This exclusive interview with Lisa Burke was conducted by Megan Lupton of The Motivational Speakers Agency.
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