Influencing Insider

Want to know how one of the best consumer-technology/gaming freelance journalists goes about their work? Join Influencing Insider next Thursday, 17th July, at 1 pm when Alice Clarke stops by to discuss: 

• The consumer technology topics and games she’s interested in writing about

• How she crafts stories and topics for different audiences/publications.

• How does a freelancer engage with PRs? Alice reveals her pitching do’s and don’ts

About Alice Clarke 

Alice Clarke is an experienced journalist predominantly writing for publications such as GamesHub, News and Gadget on topics ranging from the latest in gaming, to the new trends in consumer tech, while also keeping an eye on the business side of tech. Clarke has received no less than three Lizzies at the IT Journalism awards including one this year for Best Game Reviewer. 

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. 

Join us on Influencing Insider next Thursday July 10 at 1pm when we welcome The Conversation’s Editor Misha Ketchell who will talk about the publication, its plans for the future and its unique publishing model. 

Areas covered will include:

• How The Conversation came about

• The unique collaborative business model, unique points and audience

• The key role academia plays

• The importance of quality journalism today

About Misha Ketchell

Misha is the Editor of The Conversation Australia and New Zealand. He has been an editor and journalist for more than 25 years. He was the founding editor of The Big Issue Australia and editor of Crikey, The Reader and The Melbourne Weekly. He was also a reporter and feature writer at The Age and also worked at the ABC where he was a TV producer on Media Watch and The 7:30 Report and an editor on The Drum.

Join us on Influencing Insider next Thursday 3rd July at 1pm when we welcome Refraction Media’s Managing Editor Jasmine Fellows on the show to discuss: 

• How Refraction Media are powering Australian STEM magazines and writing.

• What information does the publication provide its audience? 

• How does RM create and operate their stable of magazines? 

About Jasmine Fellows 

A long time Australian science writer, Jasmine previously helmed both Double Helix and Cosmos magazines in a 17 year stint at the CSIRO. Earlier this year she moved over to Refraction Media as Managing Editor working across the Careers with STEM and Science Meets Business magazines, among other Refraction Media initiatives. 

About Refraction Media 

Refraction Media was established in February 2013, co-founded by Heather Catchpole and Karen-Taylor Brown. It is one of the country’s leading STEM publications, producing six verticals with multiple editions per year across each vertical. Refraction Media has also worked with leading Australian companies, including Commonwealth Bank, Google, and ANSTO.

It’s certainly an exciting time for Image Matrix Tech director and founder, Djuro Sen. He won a Lizzy for Best Technology Reviewer at this year’s IT Journo awards and the publication has welcomed Phil Tann on board, so no better time then to welcome Djuro Sen onto Influencing Insider this coming Thursday 26th June at 1 pm AEST to discuss: 

• What Consumer-Tech topics is Djuro and ImageMatrixTech interested in?

• What goes into your technology reviews? 

• We’ll talk about how Image Matrix Tech is tracking and discuss future plans.

• And Djuro will reveal how they engage with PR pitches and the best ways for PRs to reach the publication.

About Djuro Sen

Djuro Sen has operated Image Matrix Tech since November 2008 and has multiple awards for consumer-technology-focused reviews, news and in-depth features. He also discusses technology issues  for Sky News, regularly appearing across their programs, and was previously at the Seven Network, where he wrote about all things tech. 

About Image Matrix Tech

Image Matrix Tech is one of Australia’s leading technology websites. Its aim is to educate the public on tech topics via news articles, reviews and features. The publication is an award-winning site, with multiple awards at the Australian IT Journalism Awards in previous years. 

Have a question for Djuro?

Join the episode live, and you can submit your questions to be read out on air and answered.

Join us this coming Thursday June 19 at 1pm when we welcome the ABC’s Jordan Bissell who’ll not only talk about her background and work with the national broadcaster but will also drill down into a subject close to her heart - how do we as media and PR professionals handle pressure and anxiety, and what happens when we don’t?

Jordan will talk about the work of the ABC Life Matters team and in particular a program that focuses on mental health.

About Jordan Bissell:

Jordan Bissell has a background in journalism and is a freelance journalist and producer at the ABC. Before her current role she was a journalist at Seven News where she mainly covered crime, and prior to that Jordan was a producer at Nine. 

Since its launch in 2023 Capital Brief has earned a formidable reputation for its in-depth coverage of politics and business - not surprisingly it’s home to some of Australia’s best journalists - and the subscriber-led business model is booming. Who better to talk about the journey so far and the future direction of Capital Brief than CEO Chris Janz who joins us next Thursday for a live chat with Tony Bosworth on Influencing Insider.  

Join us this coming Thursday June 12 at 2pm when we welcome Chris to discuss:

• The Capital Brief story
• Let’s talk about the business model and why it works
• How should PRs approach Capital Brief?
• The future - what does it look like?

About Chris Janz:

Chris Janz is the co-founder of Scire, a start-up launched by former Fairfax Media executives Janz and David Eisman. Capital Brief is Scire’s first publication. Janz was previously publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review and led the initiatives that prevented The Age and Herald from discontinuing their print editions.

It’s been a couple of months since Pickr took out the Lizzy for Best Independent Media at the Australian IT Journalism Awards, so who better to come on Influencing Insider next Thursday at 1pm than its founder Leigh Stark, who will talk all things consumer tech including: 

• What Consumer Tech topics currently interest him?

• How does a consumer tech story/pitch develop?

• How does AI make an impact in the world of Consumer Tech?

• How can PRs optimise their pitches for independent media? 

About Leigh Stark

A long-time consumer tech journalist, Leigh Stark has written about tech topics for close to 20 years, the last decade for his own publication Pickr, winning two Lizzies during that time and a couple of Highly Commendeds. You can also hear Leigh talking about anything AI, gadgets, phones, and hardware on the radio through numerous appearances. 

About Pickr

Pickr is Stark’s long-time on-line publication. Pickr is predominantly focused on covering all Australian technology news, reviews and guides to assist the consumer in making the right choices. Topics covered range from mobile phones, to wearables, gadgets and of course all the latest AI news. 

Regional news is at a crossroads, as print titles close their doors and many communities slip into news deserts. Is local journalism doomed… or are there signs of renewal? 

Join us next Friday, 23rd May at 1 pm AEST for our live Influencing Insider with Claire Stuchbery, Executive Director of the Local & Independent News Association (LINA), to explore:

• What is the state of local and regional news out there and what are news deserts?

• Is print dead and is digital taking its place?

• What’s the impact of social media on local news?

• What does a successful regional media operation look like today?

Tech Day is very busy. They’ve got journos moving countries and new journos joining the publication, as they expand their global empire. So what better time for Tech Day publisher, Sean Mitchell, to join Influencing Insider on Thursday, May 15th at 1 pm AEST to discuss:

• What does Tech Day’s global expansion look like?

• What topics most appeal to Tech Day?

• How does Tech Day engage and interact with PR's?