- Oil on the wheels of business, or a load of bollocks?

One journalist asks: What does the age-old industry practice of “doing lunch” really serve?

By Anonymous for Media News, Mediaconnet.com.au The tradition of an expensive PR-bought lunch for a journalist is as old as the media industry itself, but when did it become the only way to build a relationship with someone? It’s a common scenario. The dining environment is stunning, a waiter brings out the perfectly cooked lamb shank and a robust shiraz to wash it down, but there is a bitter taste in the back of your mouth.   Read more…

- Don’t be scared, they’re not trying to make you look bad

It’s little wonder people are spooked by active participation in news media. The whole process is the antithesis of button-downed message orchestration and corporate signoff and safety nets.

Control is forsaken and submission and anxiety rule. Careful answers to journalistic questions are scurried back to the factory and smashed to bits, with just the chunkiest shards dispassionately hammered into spaces between advertising.

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