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You are invited to attend a special guest panel organised for students completing the subject Dealing with the Media. This postgraduate subject is part of both the Strategic Public Relations and Media Practice Masters Degrees offered by the University of Sydney.

The Panel:
We are delighted to host an international panel of four speakers with a broad range of experience across print and broadcast media, non-profit and government communications:
  • Kathleen Burns, visiting journalist and academic from Washington DC
  • Dan Kaufman, journalist and section editor at The Sydney Morning Herald
  • Adrian Raschella, senior journalist for ABC TV news
  • Ria Voorhaar, Media Advisor for Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign

Detailed biographies of our speakers below.

Topics will include:
  • How to frame news stories for government and non-profit organisations
  • How to find newsworthy angles for media releases
  • How to build relationships with media contacts
  • How to balance the expectations of clients with the needs of the media
  • Useful methods for measuring the success of campaigns

Format:
A 20-minute address by each speaker will be followed by 30 minutes question time.
No RSVPs are necessary.

Please contact Alana Mann, Unit Co-ordinator – Dealing with the Media alana.mann@usyd.edu.au ph 61 2 9351 2249 if you have any queries.





BIOGRAPHIES

Ria Voorhaar

  • Ria is Media Advisor on Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign. Ria is a seasoned communications specialist with a strong track record in using new media to drive successful, ethical public campaigns. Ria graduated from the journalism school at RMIT, in Melbourne, and was selected by influential business magazine BRW as a reporting cadet. After travelling extensively overseas, Ria joined the travel industry 'bible' Traveltrade winning the Australian Society of Travel Writers' "Travel Industry Writer of the Year" award in 2004. Her time as a pivotal member of Channel 7 's online news team in 2005 fine- tuned her news sense and interactivity skills - knowledge Ria later used to help consumer watchdog CHOICE gain nation-wide media recognition for its important advocacy work.

  • Adrian Raschella
  • Adrian is a senior journalist for ABC TV news and has been with the network six years. Covering both general rounds and the arts for the 7pm news bulletin, he also contributes to ABC TV's other national news and current affairs programs. Recent major events he's worked on include the Pope's visit to Sydney and producing the 7pm bulletin's coverage of the Georgian War in the early days of the conflict. Seventeen years ago, while completing his degree in politics and psychology, Adrian began his career in Adelaide as a cadet journalist in commercial radio before moving to Channel Ten news. He moved to Sydney in 1999 and worked as a freelance reporter and producer at Channel Ten, ABC, SBS and Sky News before joining the Channel 7 newsroom in the lead up to the Sydney Olympics. During his time there, he worked as a producer and reporter on the national news programs and as a presenter on Sydney Weekender.

  • Dan Kaufman
  • Dan has worked at The Sydney Morning Herald for the past nine years, primarily as an editor. In that time he's edited most of the feature sections, from Icon to Travel, in addition to writing for most sections. Prior to the Herald he worked on magazines for five years as both a journalist and editor across both specialist and mainstream titles. Dan’s most recent assignment for the Herald has led him to discover a talent for stand-up comedy – if we are fortunate he may share this with us.

  • Kathleen Burns
  • Kathleen is a journalist and academic based in Washington, DC. She spent 5 years in Australia as the only US journalist accredited to the Parliamentary Press Gallery. During that time, she was a stringer for CNN and was part of the press pool for the visit of the first President Bush and Queen Elizabeth. Returning to Washington, she was the inaugural program director for the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies. A past president of the Society of Professional Journalists, she won a Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America and was on a task force team at the Chicago Tribune that won a Pulitzer Prize for its vote fraud investigation. Ms. Burns has taught in seven universities, including University of Canberra

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