Media Relations Services

Media relations is the work of earning accurate coverage in news and current affairs, trade titles, broadcast and online outlets. Unlike advertising, nobody pays for the space. A journalist decides whether your story is worth their time, and an editor decides whether it runs.

Our media relations work includes:

• media releases, statements and announcement plans
• launches, results, appointments and milestones
• exclusives and background briefings for selected journalists
• interview requests and spokesperson preparation
• responses to journalist enquiries, including difficult ones
• media lists covering metropolitan, regional, trade and broadcast outlets

Newsrooms have fewer people and more to fill. Journalists respond to news value, timing and access. They want to know what is genuinely new, who it affects, and whether someone with authority will speak on the record.

Organisations that earn steady coverage tend to do a few things consistently. They return calls before deadline. They honour embargoes and expect the same in return. They give a straight answer, or explain why they cannot. Over time, that record matters as much as any single announcement.

Not every story suits a media release. Some announcements are better offered to one outlet as an exclusive, where the depth of coverage matters more than its spread. Others suit a background briefing, where a journalist hears the context before the news breaks, or a short statement issued only if asked.

We advise on the format and the timing. A strong story can disappear on budget night or in the week of a major sporting final, while a modest one can run well on a quiet Sunday. Choosing the day is part of the work.

An unexpected call from a reporter is where many organisations get into trouble. The instinct is either to say too much on the spot or to say nothing at all. Neither tends to end well.

A better first step is to take the details: the journalist’s name and outlet, their deadline, the questions they want answered and whether anyone else has been approached. That buys time to settle an accurate response. We help you decide whether to give an interview, a written statement or a background explanation, and we prepare the words with you. If a story is wrong after it runs, we help you seek a correction through the outlet’s own process.

1. Brief

   You tell us what you want to announce or what has been put to you, and who needs to hear it. We ask what is confirmed and what is not.

2. Angle and plan

   We identify the news value, the right outlets and journalists, the timing and the spokesperson, and set it out for your approval.

3. Approach

   We prepare the release or statement, brief your spokesperson and handle the contact with journalists, including follow-up questions.

4. Report

   We tell you what ran, where, and how accurately, and what we would change for the next announcement.

Each city has its own media rhythm. In Melbourne we work face to face from our Southbank office; see public relations in Melbourne. For announcements that run through the national press gallery, see public relations in Canberra. For business and financial media, see public relations in Sydney.

Media relations sits close to media training for spokespeople, crisis communications and bylined content and thought leadership. If you are new to working with an agency, our guide What Does a PR Agency Do? explains how engagements are usually run.

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