The media world as we know it is well and truly changing. The rise of streaming, as well as AI, is beginning to influence people's day-to-day lives. KBI.Media’s Karissa Breen is seeing all these trends, and she joins Influencing Insider at the special time of next Wednesday at 10 am AEST from the US to discuss:

- How AI is reshaping media power

- The White House is legitimising independent media

- The Oscars moving to YouTube signals a new paradigm

- Insight into the US media market

- The future of conferences

About Karissa Breen

Karissa Breen has recently moved to the US, living in Orlando and is the founder and CEO of KBI.Media - a CyberSecurity specialist publication producing different podcasts speaking to CyberSecurity executives on trends and topical stories.

About KBI Media

KBI.Media is an independent cyber publication covering CyberSecurity and technology trends via its various formations, including its KBKast and other podcasts, including Destination Cyber, whilst also offering Thought Leadership items.

This year’s Samsung Australian IT Journalism Awards are inching closer and closer, and what better way to mark it than by having multiple Lizzie winner Edmond Tran of This Week in Video Games join Influencing Insider on Thursday, 19th March 2026 at 1 pm to discuss:

• What topics are you and This Week In Video Games interested in covering?
• How does This Week In Video Games' editorial model work?
• The best way to pitch to Edmond?
• Edmond's pitching do's and don'ts?

About Edmond Tran

Edmond Tran is an award-winning Gaming Journalist who’s previously helmed popular Australian gaming titles including ScreenHub, GamesHub and the Australian iteration of GameSpot. Currently, Edmond Tran is Managing Editor at This Week In Video Games.

 About This Week In Video Games

This Week In Video Games was founded in January 2024 as part of a collaboration between Tran and Skill Up Productions’ Ralph Panebianco. This Week In Video Games aims to be an independent gaming website free of commercial interests and funded by the readers.

Influencing Insider returns with a bang next Thursday, March 5, at 2 pm, when we welcome News Corp Metro’s NSW Business Reporter, Paul Wallbank to the show to discuss:

• What is the role of a NSW Business Reporter and how does he work with other metros?

• What topics is Paul interested in?

• What’s the best way to pitch to Paul directly?

• Paul’s pitching do’s and don’ts

About Paul Wallbank

Paul Wallbank’s been involved in the Australian media for close to 30 years, having been a freelance journalist prior, writing on business and technology matters. More recently, Wallbank worked with the Australian Computer Society as Media and Communications Manager, and joined The Daily Telegraph in October 2025. Previously, Wallbank has written for SmartCompany and contributed to the ABC.

About ripe in Town:

ripe is a newly-launched digital publication highlighting the "juiciest picks and freshest takes" on Australia's regional towns. 

ripe's mission is simple: to provide “ripe” ideas for travellers whilst supporting Australia’s small towns and regions by highlighting the diverse food, drink, culture, and experiences that make each community unique.

About Lauren:

Lauren Deighton is a marketer, entrepreneur and storyteller with over 15 years’ experience spanning brand strategy, paid media and digital marketing. Lauren has worked both publisher-side and agency-side in both Sydney & New York for companies such as News Corp, VICE media, Concrete Playground, The Urban List & Influenster. 

She is the Founder & Director of Brandscend Agency, where she helps entrepreneurs and small businesses grow through intentional digital strategy & implementation. She also offers 1:1 training and courses.

Lauren recently launched ripe in Town, a digital travel and lifestyle publication celebrating Australia’s regional towns. Through curated guides and thoughtful storytelling, the team champions local experiences, food and culture & encourages Australians to explore deeper connections to place and community.

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 06/09/25

Have you heard?! Weird Tech Media has officially been launched! 🚀

Tune in for a very special episode of Influencing Insider where we'll be looking at Weird Tech: the brand new offering from award winning duo Rae Johnston and Tegan Jones.

Co-founder and Co-CEO Tegan Jones joins us this Friday 6th September at 2pm - ⁠you can get ahead and download the brand new Weird Tech media kit attached here. ⁠

Can’t make it? No worries, register anyway to learn how to access the replay afterwards.

About Tegan Jones

Tegan is a Senior technology journalist with SmartCompany. Prior to her present role, she was the Editor of Gizmodo Australia and Global reviews editor at Finder. An award-winning journalist, she has been reporting on technology, telecommunications and gaming for the past 10 years, and regularly appears on mainstream media channels as an expert tech commentator. Her previous roles include Reporter and Editor across Business Insider, Lifehacker and Kotaku Australia.

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 07/11/24

Australia and New Zealand’s leading multi-channel publisher, Are Media has been producing content across lifestyle, entertainment, fashion, beauty and food for over eight decades.

Overseeing the lifestyle & food at Are Media is Head of Digital - Lifestyle, Jayde Malifa. She joins us on Influencing Insider next Thursday 7th November at 1pm to discuss:

• The digital titles under Are Media - and what their audience connects with
• How to share your news content with Are Media, and how digital differs from print
• The best way to reach out to Jayde

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 30/01/25

The first Influencing Insider of the year sees Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson, award-winning tech journalist for the Australian Associated Press, join host Mike Woodcock on Thursday 30th, January at 1 pm to discuss: 

• What is the best way to work with tech journalists? 
• What particular topics are relevant in the tech/renewable energy sector?
• What makes a good news pitch to an AAP journalist. ?

About Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson 

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson is a journalist for the Australian Associated Press, focusing on topics such as renewable energy and AI. A journalist for over 25 years, Jennifer also worked in the newsrooms of the Courier Mail and was NewsCorp’s National Technology Editor for 13 years. 

About the APP

The Australian Associated Press is one of Australia’s longest-running media agencies, having been published since 1935. With over 90 journalists in locations across Australia and New Zealand, the AAP provides “trusted news” to its readers. 

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 29/05/25

Renewable energy and electric cars - many say that’s our future and thanks to two online publications, RenewEconomy and The Driven you can stay fully informed about all the cutting edge technology reshaping our future. 

And who better to talk to about this than Giles Parkinson, founder of both those publications and an ex-deputy editor of The Australian Financial Review. 

Join us this coming Thursday May 29 at 1pm when we welcome Giles to discuss:

• The future - what does it look like?
• How do publications best cover emerging technologies?
• What are the hot topics in the EV and renewable energy areas?
• And how should PRs approach RenewEconomy and The Driven?

About Giles Parkinson:

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and of its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and the EV-focused The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. 

Artificial Intelligence is becoming the most dominant topic of discussion in today’s landscape, impacting everybody. Therefore, it makes it a perfect topic to discuss for Influencing Insider’s end-of-year roundtable. Join technology journalist Chris Griffith, AI Australia Podcast host Emma Bromet and AAP Editor Andrew Drummond, along with host Tony Bosworth, on Thursday, 4th December at 1 pm AEDT to discuss:

• How AI is changing the media landscape
• How it can be harnessed for positive impact
• The latest AI trends shaping the industry and the year to come

Mum Central is hugely successful and has 1.1 million Facebook followers, 36.5k on Instagram, 1.6k on X, and 29.6k on TikTok.

Areas covered will include:

• How did Belinda begin Mum Central?
• Its use of social media in growing its audience
• What topics is Mum Central interested in?
• How Mum Central interacts with PRs
• How you PRs pitch story ideas to Mum Central.

About Belinda Jennings

Belinda Jennings is the founder, owner and managing editor of Mum Central. Belinda has worked in the media/marketing industry for over 25 years and is now channeling all that knowledge and experience as both an industry professional and mum of two teenage boys into Mum Central and fellow publications Mum’s Pantry and Australian Baby Bargains.