Influencing Live returns to cover AI, media law, and investigative journalism pressures

Multi-channel news platform Influencing will host its media relations conference, Influencing Live, at the Wesley Conference Centre in Sydney on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026.

The one-day event brings together more than 40 journalists, editors, analysts and platform leaders to discuss how they want to work with PR professionals, along with new technology and tools in the media industry.

Phil Sim, CEO and Founder of Influencing, said: "Journalism is going through a profound transformation. That, in turn, fundamentally changes media relations."

"We invite the communications sector to spend a day with Australia's media community so as to better understand how technology is impacting journalism, and in turn, appreciate how that might change the media relations work they do."

Lauren Sams, editor of Fin Magazine and deputy editor of The Australian Financial Review Magazine, will give the opening keynote on the intersection of commerce, creativity and communication. Eleni Paneras, head of national vision at News Corp Australia, will follow with a session on video. After lunch, Billi FitzSimons, editor-in-chief of The Daily Aus, will speak about how the outlet built its audience by proving that young Australians do care about the news.

READ MORE: 'It's time to disrupt the intelligence space': The Daily Aus launches The Future Brief to challenge “broken” research model

Sim will also announce Influencing Open Intelligence, which opens the Influencing platform to PR practitioners with professional credentials without a paid subscription. Once verified, users get access to Influencing’s media database, the PRWire newswire and the call-out service at no extra cost.

Delegates can choose from four streams: Consumer, Business, Innovation and Media. Sessions cover pitching across formats from radio broadcasts to financial results, AI storytelling and the trade press.

In the Media stream, Professor Peter Greste will make the case for an Australian media freedom bill, and Duncan McNab will examine the pressures facing investigative journalism. Workshops include media law essentials with LegalVision, launching and monetising a Substack, and a session from Coping Inc on turning a podcast into a community.

All delegates will be in the first cohort to receive an Influencing Open Intelligence subscription, including access to the media database after a demonstration. Existing professional Influencing subscribers and journalists can get a free pass to the event.

Passes for the conference are still available and start at $450 (plus GST), with Duo and Team options available. Click here for more information.