Sales hosted ABC TV's current affairs program 7.30 from 2011 to 2022. In November 2022, it was announced that Sales had been appointed as the new host of ABC TV's weekly documentary series Australian Story. She has also written and co-written several books, and since 2014 has co-hosted a podcast with Annabel Crabb, called Chat 10 Looks 3.
She joined the ABC in Brisbane in 1995.[5] Since then, Sales has held several prominent roles with the ABC and was New South Wales political reporter covering the 1999 and 2007 state elections. In addition, she reported on the 2000 Summer Olympics.[citation needed]
She was the ABC's national security correspondent from 2006 until 2008 and was based in Sydney. From 2008 to 2010, Sales was a co-host of the ABC's Lateline, a late-night national current affairs show with a heavy emphasis on federal politics and international affairs.[8]
In February 2022, Sales announced she would step down from 7:30 in June 2022 following the federal election.[13] She said she planned to continue working for the ABC.[9] In November 2022 Sales was announced as the new host of ABC TV's weekly biographical documentary series Australian Story, commencing in early 2023.[14]
In May 2024, Sales was announced as a mentor of autistic journalism students at Macquarie University for ABC TV's new interview documentary series The Assembly, based on a French format,[15] which premiered on 20 August 2024.[16]
Sales' second book, On Doubt, was published in 2009[8] as part of MUP's series Little Books on Big Themes.[7] It covers the rise of opinion in place of straight news reporting and the value of bringing a sceptical mindset to politics and policy, instead of ideological certainty.[citation needed] A second edition was published in 2017,[8] with an additional chapter noting the Trump presidency and the rise of fake news.[citation needed]
Her third book, Any Ordinary Day, was published in October 2018.[20] It examines the way people adapt to life-changing blindsides, drawing on Sales' personal experience as well as her years covering high-profile news events that drastically changed people's lives.[citation needed]
In the wake of fellow ABC presenters Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Millar both deactivating their Twitter accounts due to the high level of personal abuse they received on the platform, Sales wrote an opinion piece for the ABC in September 2021 exploring the issue of bullying received by journalists on Twitter which she described as "insidious" and "unhinged".[21] This in turn prompted a public conversation on the topic.[22][23][24][25]
In November 2014, Sales started a podcast with Annabel Crabb called Chat 10 Looks 3. It is independent of the work they do for other media outlets and is an opportunity for them to talk about books, movies, television, the media and culture.[26][27][8]
The podcast won two awards at the 2019 Australian Podcast Awards in the "Literature, Arts & Music" and "TV, Film & Pop Culture" categories.[28] Described by Sales and Crabb as "shambolic" and "peripatetic", the podcast episodes are recorded every two to three weeks.[29] The podcast has spawned livestream shows in Australian capital cities[30] and a book titled Well Hello published in September 2021.[31] Self-proclaimed "chatters or chatterati" have formed a Chat 10 Looks 3 community on social media platforms[32] built around the same tenets as the podcast – friendship, kindness, and an agreement to not discuss politics. Sales has said "a community has sprung up around (the podcast) who shares these in-jokes and language and interests. When I consume podcasts... I tend to see myself as a member of the audience, not as a member of a community. That's why it caught me by surprise".[33]
In 2020, Sales voiced Coco's mother, Bella, in season two of Bluey, including the episode "Baby Race".[35] and in 2022 she voiced an ice-cream lady in the "Ice Cream" episode.[36][37]
In September 2023, she appeared at a public event at ANU, as part of the university's Meet the Authors series. She talked to astrophysicist and ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt about her new book Storytellers. Questions, Answers and the Craft of Journalism.[38]