Influencing Insider

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 06/09/25Have 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 JonesTegan 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 withHow to share your news content with Are Media, and how digital differs from printThe best way to reach out to Jayde

ORIGINALLY AIRED: 30/01/25The 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 APPThe 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: 29/05/25Renewable 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 landscapeHow it can be harnessed for positive impactThe 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 audienceWhat topics is Mum Central interested in?How Mum Central interacts with PRsHow you PRs pitch story ideas to Mum Central.About Belinda JenningsBelinda 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.

Information Age, published by The Australian Computer Society, is at the forefront of technology issues reporting, and we’ve got IA’s senior technology journalist Tom Williams joining us on Wednesday, November 12 at 2 pm.We’ll be covering a broad range of areas with Tom, including:Who is Tom Williams and how did he get started?What topics are Information Age interested in?How does Information Age operate within the Australian Computer SocietyHow PRs can pitch and connect with Information Age.

Award-winning journalist Marc Dodd joins Influencing Insider on Thursday, October 23 at 1pm when he will be talking about online news, including how it is changing, what works now, and what the future holds for both print and online journalism.Marc is Editor of Nine.com.au, part of the Nine Digital News Team, and he began his career in the UK as Assistant Sports Editor for the Metro newspaper, before moving to Australia in 2011.In 2015, he contributed to The Australian’s win of the inaugural Kennedy Award for Outstanding Online News Breaking for digital coverage of the Philip Hughes tragedy, and in 2017, as mobile editor at The Australian, he was part of the team that won Mobile Site of the Year at the Australian Newspaper Awards.More recently, he guided the Nine.com.au team to the Kennedy Award for Outstanding Online News Breaking in 2020 and 2021, for the bushfire and flood crises reporting.

Trade media is evolving, and Lindsay Reed at DCN - Daily Cargo News is leading the charge! Join us on Thursday, 16 October at 1 pm for an Influencing Insider with Tony Bosworth and Lindsay to unpack: 🎙️ How DCN went from a weekly newspaper to a contemporary magazine🎙️ Lessons from launching and sustaining a weekly podcast🎙️ The importance of industry awards🎙️ And the future of freight and logistics media

After a short break, Influencing Insider is back — and we’re kicking off with a big name.Fiona Ellis-Jones, Head of News & Information at ARN joins us on Influencing Insider.📅Date: Thursday, 18th September 2025🕗Time: 1pm📍Online: register belowFiona is an experienced newsreader, journalist, and media executive and today leads a large team of journalists at ARN. In this session, Fiona will cover:The changing face of media and how newsrooms are adaptingHow ARN covers news across its metro, regional and digital audio platformsLive audience Q&A 

On Thursday, August 14th  at 1:00pm AEST, we’re sitting down with Scott Purcell, co-founder of Man of Many the men’s lifestyle outlet that started in a spare bedroom in 2012 and has grown and built a global audience:Man of Many the origin storyThe future for digital publications and what the key drivers areTopics the publication is interested in, and what’s hot right nowHow Man of Many is developing and growing - the secrets to its success 

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 aboutHow she crafts stories and topics for different audiences/publications.How does a freelancer engage with PRs? Alice reveals her pitching do’s and don’tsAbout 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 aboutThe unique collaborative business model, unique points and audienceThe key role academia playsThe importance of quality journalism todayAbout Misha KetchellMisha 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 SenDjuro 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 TechImage 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 storyLet’s talk about the business model and why it worksHow 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 StarkA 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 PickrPickr 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?