News
The clue is in the title of this page and we regularly update you with the latest news about Media Answers Australia
Not to be confused with the 'World News' page where we have links to the latest national and International stories, this is where you can find out where we are running our courses, taking part in exercises or presenting to audiences throughout Australia and beyond.
If you have a media related experience you wish to share then contact us via email or any of the social media links on this website.
Several of our clients in the UK and Europe have submitted "best practice" examples of media handling during a crisis and we are happy to add them to this page.
We look forward to adding your media experiences and comments so make sure you bookmark this page for future reference!
2019 Training plans
We have an early start to our Overseas programme with our first UK visit arranged for February and March. It's fair to say that weather conditions will be somewhat different to a Queensland summer however, clients in London and the East of England asked if we could tear ourselves away from the heat so we are happy to oblige.
Our courses have changed a great deal over the past few years with a real focus on the impact of social media and the slow demise of more traditional media outlets.
Commonwealth Games 2018
We are proud to have been a part of the 2018 Commonwealth games as members of the press operations team.
Over 45,000 people applied to become 'games shapers' and of the 15,000 volunteers required, 900 of those positions were in press operations.
Everything from organising press conferences, managing media enquiries, ensure reporters have all technical equipment in place to facilitating press conferences and collecting soundbites as a 'flash quote reporter' through to mixed zone and media control centre.
We we honoured to be a part of such a huge event.
One of the roles that seems to have everybody talking is that of 'Flash quote reporter' so, if you would like to know a little more about that position and a few tips to help you if that happens to be your title then just click HERE
We would love to hear your stories and shared experiences if you were also one of the games shapers so email us or use any of our social media pages to contribute photos, videos and stories.
Back to the UK in May/June 2018
That's the plan as we have been approached by several UK clients concerned about the impact of social media on company reputation. We were last in the UK during a rather chilly January and several news stories then highlighted the dangers of the 'stray tweet' or personal Facebook post.
For this reason, ALL of our training courses now include a segment on managing social media, minimising the impact of negative comments, the right of reply and pro-active posts across all social media platforms.
Dates in May are limited however, we plan on returning to the UK in October/November for our final 2018 training visit so contact us today and we can reserve some dates for you.
Logan Small Business Expo 2017
After the success of both the North and South Gold Coast small business expo the show moves on to Logan and takes place on Friday November 3rd from 10.00 until 16.00
We will have a stand at this event where we'll be chatting to fellow business owners about says to improve their media presence, how to manage all of their interview opportunities and, of course, offering some great video solutions for websites and all social media platforms. Paula Brand has successfully run these events for several years and business owners in Logan have been looking for a similar event to showcase their services and products. There is a short video clip HERE that gives you an idea of what to expect.
We are delighted to be involved and, as an added bonus, our covers band The Blue Shades will be providing the lunchtime entertainment!
Kells Ride for dementia awareness
Greg Kelly is currently riding round Australia on his darley Davidson motorcycle raising awareness of young onset dementia. Greg was diagnosed with this condition and there is no cure.
His aim is to persuade the top 500 corporate companies in Australia to donate just half a cent of their profits towards research into dementia and other chronic diseases.
We have a live cross every Monday morning on 101FM where Kell gives us the latest update on his epic adventure. Please watch the short video that shows his departure from the Gold Coast at the start of his ride.
Just click HERE or on the photo to find out more
Picture by Damien White Photography
Collaboration is the key word for 2017
Working with PR companies in Australia has given us a new insight into company expectations when dealing with the press. Good news stories can write themselves but how do you ensure that your message is delivered without it sounding like a sales pitch?
Media Answers team members have spent most of their working lives as part of TV and radio news crews so have a different perspective and this combitaion of experience and ideas is proving very valuable when delivering media awareness workshops as part of a joint venture.
Contact us today to find out when we are running another media awareness weekend.
We've been watching the Gable Tostee trial with great interest and, in particular, the saturation media coverage. One member of the jury almost caused a mistrial by posting comments on social media during deliberations.
In recent times jurors have been given prison sentences for posting updates and opinions on twitter and Facebook.
Click HERE to see the story in full.
Your opinions and comments are welcome as always.
Radio interviews
Over the past few years we have had the pleasure of interviewing many guests on the 101FM Monday morning show. From business owners to authors, politicians, local celebrities, film makers, social media experts, business advisors, the occasional 'unicorn pilot' and people with inspirational stories.
We now post links to these interviews via our YouTube channel and we would love you to share these links on your own social media pages to help spread the word for these great guests.
Let us know if you would like to be featured on a Monday morning show in the future.
Sometimes there will be a short advert before the interview, please let it play as that will boost the reach and help 101FM to gain a larger audience.
There are links to our YouTube channel at the foot of this page so subscribe and you'll have access to all of our interview archives. Make sure you click the HD button to watch in the best quality!
Clicke HERE for the entire collection
So what is it you do exactly?
It sounds like a simple question yet, when we've attended networking events in Queensland, not everyone can answer that? Our opinion on some network gatherings are clearly documented on our Media Answers blog page but there are a few really good groups out there.
People talk about an 'elevator pitch' but we prefer to keep things light and conversational rather than paper the walls with business cards that you'll never look at. When we are asked that question the normal response is "we do media training and film stuff" then leave it there. You can imagine the line of questioning surround exactly what we do film hence the reason we decided against taking the domain name of 'we film anything dot com!' Let's face it, we would have left ourselves rather vulnerable to some very odd requests!
No sooner back from the UK and we were straight back into action staring off with a filming project involving a very talented 8 year old lad! His efforts resulted in a 5 minute promotional package to assist in fund raising for a new school.
Having been invited to MC the first ever Gold Coast Memory walk to raise funds for Alzheimers research it was touch and go with the unseasonable Queensland winter weather but the event went ahead without a hitch and this looks set to be an annual event.
NORTHERN GOLD COAST BUSINESS EXPO 2016
We were invited to take part in this event as exhibitors, panel speaker and to produce a 2 minute promotional style round up of the day.
As part of the panel discussion, Mike Bennett joined Gold Coast Sun editor Vanessa Jones, International marketing advisor Lars Halvorsen and marketing expert Eddie "Jaffaman" Bryant where the topics included changes in media reporting, the impact of social media in today's news gathering process, citizen journalism and the value of positive PR alongside your crisis management strategy.
This 45 minute session was hosted by PR guru Annette Densham and was well received by the large audience. There is a suggestion that this team could be available for a world tour in 2017!
Click the image above to view our short video from the Expo.
OVERSEAS TRAINING IN JUNE 2016
Our first trip to the UK for 2016 took place at the end of May where we delivered relative responders training in addition to media awareness and senior management media training courses.
Clients in the UK have arranged their training calendars to align with our visit and we are looking forward to booking refresher courses for 2017.
Our training programs are always current and updated so that news examples are relevant to each individual company and show the current trends in new gathering.
Back home in Australia, we are now booking dates from July through until December so just let us know when you would like to arrange an informal chat to discuss your training plans for this year.
