Exclusive - Optus has appointed Society Marketing Communications as its new PR agency. Influencing understands that Society began its engagement with Optus in April, with Thrive PR currently wrapping up the final pieces of work for the telco. Society will manage the breadth of Optus’ PR business, across both consumer and enterprise.

Asia-Pacific technology news outfit Tech Day has appointed a new managing editor in Mitchell Hageman, as it continues to expand its ever-growing network of sites. Joining the company in November of last year Hageman was previously News Editor, writing for the publication’s 19 sites across Singapore, Australia and New Zealand from his Auckland home base.  Hageman has two degrees in Performing and Screen Arts as well as Journalism.  Techday publisher Sean Mitchell notes that "Mitch's appointment is part of a much bigger expansion of the ambitions of Techday's editorial team”. “We have written more public interest stories in the last year than ever before and Mitch is a big driver of that,” he said. Hageman added: "Techday has a fantastic team, and I look forward to working with our incredible team to engage and excite our readers with interesting and relevant content".  Press releases should continue to be sent to pr@techday.com  

ARN has announced the She's on the Money podcast hosted by Victoria Devine will air across the KIIS network every Saturday between 9 and 10 am. Mitch Churi, a familiar voice of the KIIS network through The Night Show and Life Uncut Radio Show will anchor the show.  Award winning financial adviser Victoria Devine’s desire for women to better manage their finances is the primary rationale behind the birth of She’s on the Money. The podcast covers money related subjects such as debt, investing, saving for a home and buying a third investment property. Victoria Devine said that she feels thrilled to join the KIIS team after working for the iHeartPodcast network over the past two years, which is a part of the ARN.  “I can’t wait to be sharing my nuggets of financial wisdom with even more people and, at the end of the day, helping listeners change their relationship with money moving forward,” she said in an announcement.  ARN’s Chief Content Officer Duncan Campbell said

Georgia Dixon will head up the Australian launch of SafeWise, a website focused on home security and automation. SafeWise has previously been operating with success in the United States for almost a decade but is now making the leap into the Australian market and has appointed Dixon to lead the expansion as managing editor.  Asked why SafeWise decided on the Australian expansion, Dixon said “we just sort of noticed there was a gap in the market here in Australia, there’s not really anything dedicated to smart home security technology”. SafeWise Australia will aim to provider readers with solutions to the unique challenges that face Australians in regard to smart home tech and security, such as natural disasters and insects, Dixon said.  Dixon was previously the managing editor for sister site Reviews.org, a position which has now been filled by Fergus Halliday.  Editorial Lead of Reviews.org Brodie Fogg had high praise for Dixon saying: “Georgia just did magnificent wo

The Conversation has promoted Jane Howard as Section Editor for Arts and Culture.  Howard was previously the Deputy Section Editor, Arts and Culture for more than three years but will now step up to lead the section.  She has also worked as a freelance journalist across Australia, the UK and Asia and also won the Arts Journalism prize at the 2019 Mid-year Walkley Awards. The Conversation is a network of non-profit media outlets that publishes news and research reports online. They also offer informed commentary and debate on issues affecting the world.  

Food magazine, Delicious. has expanded its digital team with two new hires welcoming Stefanie Jackson as digital editor and Mark Mariano as digital producer.  New digital editor Jackson was previously a Senior SEO content specialist of food and travel at News Corp and before that Social media editor at whimn.com.au. Mark Mariano arrives as a digital producer with his prior experience including being a digital content coordinator at SBS..  Delicious is a monthly magazine and website, operated by NewsLifeMedia and describes itself as a celebration of food and the people who produce it.  

Technology journalists have two weeks remaining to submit their entries for the 20th Annual Samsung IT Journalism Awards.  Entries will close next Friday, May 27 at midnight. Entries can be submitted via thelizzies.com website or by clicking here. Any journalists with questions or experiencing issues with their entry should email our team at lizzies@influencing.com. All submitted articles must have been published or aired during 2021. As a 20th birthday celebration, the original bronze-cast frilled neck lizard trophies, forged by Tasmanian artist Eddie Wentorf will be awarded to all winners. This year’s Awards have received record support, with naming rights sponsor Samsung being joined by AWS, Watterson, Optus, Apptio, Enex, and Atlassian. Full table bookings of 10 for the Gala Dinner event to be held on Friday, October 21 are now open and purchased by emailing lizzies@influencing.com. Seats for individuals will be offered from next month.   Coverage Awards The Coverage