MediaConnect is pleased to announce the inaugural MediaSmart seminar, to be held on June 26th with the goal of helping new tech PR professionals to better understand the tech media and work more effectively with IT journalists.

An impressive lineup of leading tech journalists including Joshua Gliddon, Sandra Rossi, Helen Frost, Roulla Yiacoumi, Brad Howarth, Agnes King and Pam Carroll will speak at the event, which also includes presentations from two senior tech PR professionals. The seminar will be moderated by experienced media trainer Geoffrey Stackhouse, as well as tech media authority and MediaConnect CEO Phil Sim.

The course content includes:

- A discussion of findings from exclusive research of the tech media community about their interaction with PR professionals;

- An opening presentation from AFR Technology Editor Joshua Gliddon about the role of the tech journalist and how PR can help or hinder;

- A tutorial on the many different niches within the tech media, followed by a panel discussion on the differing needs of channel, enterprise and consumer journalists;

- An overview of new media trends, including online media, blogs, RSS feeds, instant messaging, podcasts, vodcasts and more;

- Presentations by two senior PR professionals sharing their experiences on working with tech journalists;

- A discussion on dealing most effectively with the tech media's highly influential community of freelance journalists;  

- A pitching workshop, where PR professionals will get the opportunity to develop their pitching skills and get genuine feedback from senior journalists and editors who will also discuss what does and doesn't work for them when it comes to being pitched to by PRs.

"This seminar builds on the success of our PR educationals that run in conjunction with our Kickstart and Influence Forums", said Sim. "What we found in running those events is that while these kinds of workshops are considered hugely valuable by the PR community, generally they're attended by senior PR professionals, when arguably it's the newer, less-senior PR professionals who could gain the most benefit."

"The tech PR sector has been challenged by high-levels of staff turnover at a time when the media has undergone massive change. It perhaps wasn't surprising, then, that when we surveyed the tech PR sector, 74 per cent of respondents said they felt in-house training could be improved.

"MediaConnect has always been about working with both the PR and journalistic communities to foster more effective interactions between the two, and the overwhelming response from both sides was that this event was desperately needed, so we're delighted we've managed to put this event together."

The MediaSmart seminar will be held at the Vibe Hotel in North Sydney on June 26th between 8:30 and 5:00, to be followed by networking drinks. The price for this inaugural event is $595 (excl. GST). Spaces are strictly limited.

"One of the things we're going to be very careful to manage is ensuring the dialogue is constructive and useful," said Sim. "We're very conscious of not letting the workshops become too negative, rather we'll be asking all our presenters to approach the event from a perspective of looking at how to build positive media relations."

Sim said that based on the success of this event, MediaConnect would look to extend the MediaSmart seminars into a series of quarterly events.

To claim a spot please contact Kirstin Coughtrie on (02) 9894 6277 or at kirstin@mediaconnect.com.au.