Laticia Braving has spent more than two decades telling stories - from the intensity of national television newsrooms to the global pace of international broadcasting. But the work she is best known for today wasn’t born in a city studio. It was shaped by regional Australia - and sustained by it.

Born in Casino in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Laticia grew up immersed in the rhythms of regional life: farming families, small towns, hard seasons and deep community ties. Over time, she became increasingly frustrated by how regional and remote Australia was portrayed in mainstream media - too often reduced to moments of crisis, and too rarely recognised for the ingenuity, leadership and innovation thriving well beyond the capitals.

Today, Laticia is the founder of Regional Stories, a digital platform designed to amplify regional voices and support a thriving ecosystem of regional creators. She is also the creator of the documentary series You Can’t Do That in the Bush, spotlighting bold ideas and grassroots problem-solving born far from the boardroom. Underpinning it all is Blue Clay Creatives, the regional creative agency Laticia built and grew for over more than fifteen years.

In her words

Regional Australia doesn’t need saving. It needs seeing.

For years, I watched the same pattern play out: regional and remote communities would make the headlines when something went wrong - floods, fires, drought, tragedy - and then disappear again as soon as the cameras moved on. Those stories matter, but they aren’t the whole truth. Not even close.

Because out here, there’s a different kind of brilliance. A quieter kind. The kind that doesn’t always come with a press release or a city skyline. But it exists everywhere - in sheds, paddocks, main streets, workshops, kitchens, clinics, community halls and school ovals. The bush is full of people solving problems with what they’ve got, building bold things where they are, and creating lives rich with grit, humour, pride and heart.

The place that shaped my lens

Some of my earliest memories are the smell of freshly cut hay, the soft hum of my grandfather’s old header, and the golden light across the paddocks at Ellangowan as we rounded up cattle and pushed them through heat and dust to better pastures. That rhythm, the work, the seasons, the people - shaped my values early.

Even as a kid, I was obsessed with people. I used to “interview” my dolls with a hairbrush like it was a microphone, asking questions, listening, piecing together a story. I didn’t just want to tell stories. I wanted to understand people.

That instinct carried me into journalism - from metro newsrooms in Sydney to national television on Channel Seven’s Today Tonight, and later overseas with the BBC in London and ITN News. It was fast, intense, and on paper, it was nothing like I’d imagined.

The further I went, the clearer something became: coverage isn’t the same as representation.

Regional Australia was often reduced to a single narrative… disaster, deficit, disadvantage. And I knew firsthand how incomplete that was. The bush is complex. Beautiful. Messy. Proud. Funny. Harsh. Generous. It holds hardship and hope at the same time. It deserves storytelling that reflects the full spectrum - not just the crisis.

For a long time, I sat with that tension — loving the craft of journalism, but struggling with the way regional stories were framed once they left the places they came from. Eventually, that discomfort turned into clarity: if I wanted to tell stories differently, I had to build the structure that allowed for it.
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That structure became Blue Clay Creatives.

The engine behind it all

‍After I returned from London in 2010, I knew my path was clear. I wanted to tell the stories I wanted to tell  and the way I wanted to tell them. Enter, Blue Clay.

Blue Clay Creatives began as a video production agency - a practical way to tell stories visually and work closely with people on the ground. Over time, it grew into a full-service marketing and creative agency, shaped by what clients actually needed rather than what a city-based model prescribed.

For more than fifteen years, we worked across multiple regions and industries, partnering with government agencies at federal, state and local levels, as well as small businesses, family-run enterprises and larger organisations. Each project brought its own challenges, insights and learnings - not just professionally, but personally. Different communities. Different pressures. Different definitions of success.

That work sharpened my understanding of how regions function…how policy meets reality, how businesses survive and grow outside metropolitan centres, and how storytelling can influence perception, funding, workforce and opportunity. It also introduced me to some of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met: regional business owners, innovators, community leaders and quiet achievers doing extraordinary things without ever seeking the spotlight.

And yet, even with all of that, I still felt restless.

I was proud of the work we were doing, but I wanted more. I wanted to tell the stories of people who weren’t necessarily looking for a corporate product or a marketing outcome - people whose impact was no less significant, but whose stories were rarely commissioned, funded or amplified.

I wanted to help scream those stories from the hilltops!

That tension between client work and untold stories is what ultimately gave rise to both You Can’t Do That in the Bush and Regional Stories. Blue Clay became the foundation that made it possible: the engine that allowed me to reinvest time, income and creative energy into storytelling that served communities first, not just commercial outcomes.

‍Why I created You Can’t Do That in the Bush

You Can’t Do That in the Bush is an online docu-series that travels across Australia to spotlight radical ideas, grassroots problem-solving and bold leadership born far from the capitals.

From turning marine debris into usable products in the Torres Strait (Plastic Fantastic) to running a couture fashion label from rural Mareeba (Threads of Culture), every episode reinforces something I’ve always believed: Big ideas aren’t born in a boardroom.Some are born in the bush!

Building a platform for regional voices

Out of that same belief came Regional Stories, a digital platform designed to connect, empower and amplify voices across regional and remote Australia.

It combines curated content from existing regional creators with original films, photography, podcasts and articles. But it’s bigger than content.

Regional Stories is about building a creative ecosystem that keeps regional creators in the regions. A place where filmmakers, photographers and writers can collaborate, publish and be seen — without having to leave their communities to do so.

Our goal is simple: to make sure the digital landscape reflects the full, vivid truth of regional life.

Building a Platform for Regional Voices

Out of that same belief came Regional Stories, a digital platform designed to connect, empower and amplify voices across regional and remote Australia.

It combines curated content from existing regional creators with original films, photography, podcasts and articles. But it’s bigger than content.

Regional Stories is about building a creative ecosystem that keeps regional creators in the regions. A place where filmmakers, photographers and writers can collaborate, publish and be seen — without having to leave their communities to do so.

Our goal is simple: to make sure the digital landscape reflects the full, vivid truth of regional life.

‍More Than a Series... It’s a Bridge

Storytelling can do more than entertain. It can bridge divides. It can help someone in Sydney understand what life is really like in the Coober Pedy. It can show a young girl in a small country town that her voice - her face, her ideas - belong on screen too.

That’s the true purpose behind both Regional Stories and You Can’t Do That in the Bush:

• to elevate voices that have long been overlooked
• to inspire people to see themselves reflected in the media they consume
• and to remind the rest of the country that innovation, leadership and creativity thrive just as fiercely in the bush as they do anywhere else.
  

Stories with Heart, Stories with Purpose

Over the year ahead, our team will be travelling across Australia, capturing the pulse of regional life in all its forms. Artists to farmers. Engineers to environmentalists. Community builders, quiet leaders, and people creating global impact from places that rarely get the spotlight.

For me, this isn’t just filmmaking. It’s coming home - over and over again.

‍Watch, Share, and Be Part of It

You Can’t Do That in the Bush is now live - with the few episodes streaming on YouTube.
Plastic Fantastic and Threads of Culture are just the beginning of what we hope will become a national movement of regional storytelling.

You can also explore more stories, or join as a contributor, through Regional Stories — where we’ll continue curating and creating digital content that celebrates the spirit of regional Australia.

Because not all big ideas are born in a boardroom.
Some are born in the bush.

Watch the series: YouTube – You Can’t Do That in the Bush
Connect with us: www.blueclay.com.au | www.regionalstories.com.au
Follow the journey: #BushBrilliance #YouCantDoThatInTheBush #RegionalStories