JBAU Comms
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jbaucomms.bsky.social
JBAU Comms
@jbaucomms.bsky.social
190 followers 860 following 67 posts
Cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes - media training and comms consultancy - jbau.com.au
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jbaucomms.bsky.social
Nice to drop by Flinders for lunch and pick up a copy of Empire Times! Great to see them advocating for students at the new Adelaide University to have a strong student media of their own and I came at petting zoo time!

Even the campus llamas want a strong and independent student media on campus 😁
A copy of the Empire Times students magazine next to a bowl of ramen JB doing a selfie with a llama Close up of a llama looking into the camera JB doing a selfie with a llama but this time the llama is posing like a model!
November 5, 2025 at 2:02 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Don’t let Big Tech make you feel redundant. New email: auscommsguide.com/2025/10/09/c...
Screenshot of the Aus Comms Guide email
October 9, 2025 at 8:27 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Being a non-profit comms manager/consultant is walking to the tram with:

- Suitcase filled with tripods.
- Backpack of photo/camera gear.
- Laptop, iPad and 4 iPhones for video content.
JB carrying lots of bags at the tram stop.
August 27, 2025 at 10:08 PM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Stealing other people’s ideas isn’t “thought leadership” 🤦‍♂️
Pressmaster.ai Promoted Winning content ideas get lost because experts overcomplicate creation. Thought Leadership Viral Flywheel Find a YouTube Video with 100k+ Views Schedule them for the next 2 Weeks Pin and Extract the Insights with Pressmaster Create 15+ Content Ideas and Posts [LEAKED] The Thought Leadership Viral Flywheel pressmaster.ai Jonathan Brown • You Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes How is stealing other people's ideas "thought leadership"? And doesn't "thought leadership" involve...thought? Like...actually having thought about the stuff you're posting about? And won't you be instantly found out to be a fraud when people talk to you in real life about the things you've posted online only to find out you never put the effort into actually investigating and interrogating those thoughts?
March 28, 2025 at 1:13 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Too many of the numbers you’re being fed by my industry are meaningless crap. And I’m over it.
Jonathan Brown • You Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes 4m・G .. #Media, #Comms, #PR, #Marketing professionals and agencies - stop lying to your bosses and clients. You're destroying trust in our profession. Some examples l've personally seen in recent years: - "Our website has amazing traffic" - I looked into the stats and discovered that 90% of the traffic was going to one SEO optimized article that had nothing to do with the organisation's actual work. - "We got you coverage in 10 publications" - 9 of those publications were bots that copy + paste media releases into a generic "news" style website. - "Your story had an audience reach of over 70m" - your "reach" stats for this Australian story include the publication's global audience, even though it was only published on their Australian site. You didn't magically reach over double the Australian population. - "SEO will solve problem x" - no, you've applied the business/ marketing strategy of a drop shipping business to a non-profit so you can sell your cookie cutter SEO services. and don't even get me started on the ridiculous promises being made about #Al. Many of these little white lies were never called out or picked up on until I saw them. So sure, you might think you're getting away with them for now, but one day they will come back to bite you in the ass. Be honest with your bosses and clients. Say no when your services aren't the right fit. Have the hard conversations and educate instead of presenting fancy numbers and fake successes. Yours sincerely, A communications professional who is sick of being fed fake, meaningless numbers from my own industry.
March 22, 2025 at 4:10 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Flashback! Remember when Triple R in Melbourne celebrated 40 years with a giant radio takeover at the State Library? I wonder where that radio is now? 🤔
A giant old school style radio stands in front of Victoria's State Library as pedestrians walk past.
March 14, 2025 at 12:43 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Recently I’ve been doing a fair bit of work with some excellent policy makers on how to translate policy for public audiences.

I’m thinking of running my next webinar on this topic. Policy whizzes: what would you like to know about engaging with media, government and stakeholders?
Q&A: TAKING YOUR POLICY PUBLIC
February 27, 2025 at 3:51 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
PSA:
Jonathan Brown • You Comms cheerleader for proud nerds and good causes Pet hate: If you're a business/organisation that markets to marginalised communities, don't insult us by advertising to us with Al slop. Al companies don't need your money but a disabled designer does. A queer artist does. An Indigenous writer does. You can make a material difference in the lives of the people you say you're there to help by actually hiring them. Actually investing in their talents and skills. By using Al slop rather than hiring us, you're contributing to the problems that drive marginalisation.
February 22, 2025 at 6:34 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
News: Today I started as Communications Manager at The Community Broadcasting Foundation!

I’ll be cheerleading for community media organisations across Australia 📣

The role is part time, so JBAU Comms is still here for your media training and comms strategy needs - don’t hesitate to get in touch!
JB smiling with the Community Broadcasting Foundation logo behind him.
February 17, 2025 at 7:20 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Video podcast recording today with one of my oldest friends in a very, very cool space 🥰

A delightful way to end the year, but you’ll have to wait for details on this one 😁
A man smiles in front of giant pink wall art that says “Big Queen Energy”
December 31, 2024 at 8:02 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Luyee Bai shares his takeaways after attending media training for scientists, researchers and experts with JBAU Comms.

Thanks for coming along! 😁
December 22, 2024 at 1:06 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Some lovely feedback from Students in Renewable Energy 😄
students_in_renewable_energy students_in_renewable_energy On Tuesday, 3rd December, @afrizans from the solar team took part in this awesome opportunity from @jbaucomms! The media training for Scientists, Researchers and Experts focuses on building the skills to communicate accurate and research-backed information in a clear and relatable way. This is particularly important in a world where today, many global issues, including climate change, are heavily politicised. Well done Afriza, we are blown away by your public speaking skills!!! * thank you so much @jbaucomms for providing this invaluable opportunity to our members!
December 16, 2024 at 6:17 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
The first time I spoke to Alex Wood - he held out a clump of soil and excitedly told me how there were more organisms in that clump of soil in his hands than there are humans on earth.

Then with a shrug and a big smile he simply said “I love soil”.
December 15, 2024 at 10:43 PM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
A great morning delivering JBAU Comms media training with the Australia Awards ‘Advancing climate adaptation, resilience and just energy transitions in the Indo-Pacific’ fellows.
December 12, 2024 at 3:41 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
I've had so much fun this last week working with from people across the enviro, legal, science, academic, activism and policy sectors.

Next week I'm doing one-on-one sessions - so if you need a quick refresher of your interview skills, get in touch 😁 events.humanitix.com/how-to-be-a-...
December 8, 2024 at 2:44 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Alyssa Seckinger-Crow has been sharing her passion for our oceans for years and is a now a leader in some pretty powerful climate movements.

Thanks for coming along to one of this week’s JBAU Comms media training sessions!
December 5, 2024 at 10:24 PM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Great question on Inta from @mardukian.com about this 😁
Can anybody send these? Or do you have to have an existing connection with a news org? jbaucomms 4m • Author @cloudthreeau yes you can usually there's a generic "newsroom" email you can send to each outlet (if not publicly listed, you can usually call up and ask "I have a media release to send, where can I send it to?) or find the emails of journos who report on your topic to go to them direct. And basically: - Only email when you have something valuable to say (straight up self promotional will usually get binned) - Try to emphasise what makes your perspective unique over others "For small business owners, this policy change will be devastating" - Look at other quotes in the media and see the types of quotes that journos pick up on
December 5, 2024 at 9:48 PM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Did you know you don’t have to do the whole fancy #mediarelease thing every time?

When breaking news happens - journos need comment *fast*.

Get to the point - so when they’re writing their live blogs, breaking news, preparing for bulletins - they can quickly and easily get quality comment.
To Сс Newsrooms Всс Expert response to Government free chocolate announcement Draft saved at 1:59 PM Expert response to the Government's free chocolate announcement: "Australian chocolate lovers are finally being respected for the contributions we make to Australian society. The evidence shows that regular chocolate consumption boosts productivity by over 200% and it's great to see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recognise the contributions of chocolate lovers. We expect to see Australia rise on the happiness index tenfold as a result of this initiative. - Jonathan Brown, Chocolate Expert Jonathan Brown is available for media comment - comms@jbau.com.au and 0444
December 5, 2024 at 6:00 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Thanks to Noel Lim from Anika Legal for attending a JBAU Comms media training session and for sharing his thoughts 😁
December 5, 2024 at 12:06 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Another great day - today my JBAU Comms media training focused on policy and campaigns.

I learned about housing law, climate protests, social work, police accountability and our oceans.

And here’s me being an excited media nerd 🤓

Thanks to everyone who’s attended sessions this week.
JB in front of two screens showing media training recordings. He has a dorky, excited look on his face.
December 4, 2024 at 6:57 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
What a great day learning from and teaching media skills with #STEM experts!

My JBAU Comms media training session yesterday covered frogs, urban planning, biochar, robots, mathematics, energy and more.
JB holding a microphone speaking to a room of people seated at chairs Students sitting at microphones recording a podcast with cameras pointed at them Students sitting at microphones recording a podcast with cameras pointed at them Students sitting at microphones recording a podcast with cameras pointed at them
December 3, 2024 at 8:51 PM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
One of my favourite things in the world is working one-on-one with smart, interesting people.

Let me help you refine your message and interview technique! 😄
December 3, 2024 at 2:21 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
Next week I'm doing interview practice sessions in #Melbourne - come practice your skills and get tailored feedback: events.humanitix.com/how-to-be-a-...
Practice your interview skills Dedicated 45 minute practice and feedback sessions with an experienced broadcast and media trainer Tuesday 10 December Revolver Lane, Prahran
December 2, 2024 at 11:03 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
A comment in response to something I saw on LinkedIn. Really soured my experience with SEO agencies.
How not to get coverage ... This week I wrote a piece on a relatively unknown company, it's in print and online on The Sun, so decent exposure for them. However their agency has sent me this today (see screenshot). As journos we don't decide who gets backlinks - that's down to the online production team. If they don't link, that's their prerogative and it's often because of the impact on our own site's SEO. The upshot? I've now asked to be removed from the agency's entire mailing list as I can't guarantee a link and certainly don't have time to be diving into Ts and Cs buried on a link at the bottom of their press releases. Result? No more coverage for any of their clients in any form from me. I absolutely understand that there is pressure from clients for links, but wider exposure and brand building matter too. Relationships between PRs and Journos matter also - and this is not how you build them. PR friends, is demanding links with legal undertone a thing now? Jonathan Brown Comms cheerleader for proud nerds I once had an SEO agency tell me they were going to contact hundreds of journalists to beg for linkbacks. I shut it down instantly. Sure, we'd love a link, sure, it'd be great for SEO, but journalists aren't free marketing - and treating them and their journalism as merely a marketing tool is offensive to journalism. There's no way in hell I was going to let them ruin our relationships with journos and publications like that. Instead I made sure our focus was making great content that was worth linking to in its own right - that actually added value to audiences. The lesson: be VERY careful of agencies or consultants who focus solely on KPls (like back links) and ignore relationships and the bigger picture.
November 30, 2024 at 3:11 AM
jbaucomms.bsky.social
The mean journalist or broadcaster who is trying to trip you up is rarer than you think. Unless you’re a politician, broadcasters mostly want a good conversation for their audience.
November 26, 2024 at 7:51 AM