courtesy: facebook.com/media140

John Kerrison’s expert knowledge of media, broadcasting and social media is a popular resource for Australian businesses. His knowledge has seen him invited on lively panel conversations for the Risk Management Institution of Australia, SR7 consultancy and the IABC.

John is a regular facilitator for the Optus Business Customer Advisory Board where he facilitates complex debate with a panel of Australia’s leading CIOs and ICT executives.  John sees public speaking as another way of sharing ideas and providing insight. His presentations are engaging, fun and informative.

Keynote Presentations

John first spoke at Media 140 at the ABC in Ultimo in 2009 on the subject of how social media was changing politics reporting. He joined journalists Annabel Crabb, Caroline Overington and Chris Uhlmann, and argued that social media allowed more voices in the media landscape in Canberra. The influence of bloggers on policy debate has meant that press gallery journalists no longer control the news agenda– they are now players in a broader narrative that includes savvy users of social media.

John Kerrison is now a regular host or panelist for Media140 forums in Australia.Contact John directly via the contact box in the web footer or via Claxton Speakers International

Panel discussions

John Kerrison’s shift from broadcast journalism to communication strategist with a social media passion has seen him join many panel discussions. For the NSW Chapter of the RMIA, John Kerrison spoke about ‘Social Media, friend or foe’. Social Media need not be a threat if rolled out across an organisation effectively. Harnessing the social media habits of current employees is just one way of getting quick leverage in digital spaces. John Kerrison was a panelist and session convener for the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s 2011 conference on ‘developing successful Social Media campaigns’.

John Kerrison is a member of NSW Chapter of IABC and was a panelist on the discussion “who owns social media in the organisation”.

Regional Australia

While the news presenter at Prime Television, John Kerrison was a regular MC and guest speaker over five years across the Central West of New South Wales. He was the MC for the Orange City Christmas carols, the annual Daffodil Ball for cancer research, and the Reading Bug program to promote literacy.

Hear John’s call for business to restructure the approach to public relations in light of a new media revolution

John Kerrison is one of those rare people who sees the power of news and understands the mechanics behind it because he was a news-maker. John Kerrison has reported for Australia’s largest metro broadcasters.  John’s keynote asks the big question, why do we even have a news business? A mass public remains compelled to know how the most powerful groups in communities ,such as businesses and governments, are making decisions that could affect lives. So how does Social Media change that? The mass audience, ironically, has greater powers when it fragments, and small, mobile groups can form. Social media is key to this change.

Shot by photographer and friend http://www.neeravbhatt.com/

It’s an exciting time for interest groups keen to challenge the status quo and create their own news. Protest groups using multiple social networks are creating real change in our communities. It’s hard to image that before access to social networks and viral communication tools, it could take many weeks to garner support for a cause. For example, rallying troops for a boycott took considerable organisational resources such as meeting rooms, secretariats, petitions, mailing lists– but not any more. Digital spaces and social networks provide that infrastructure. With this ability for interest groups to mobilise in seconds and create their own news, businesses need similar powers to react quickly. There are incredible opportunities for building relationships with interest groups that never existed before; there are opportunities that change how a business manages ‘public relations’ and therefore changes, fundamentally, the media relationship.

Organisastion’s must rise to the challenge that this presents. Soon, a key measure of an organisation’s legitimacy will be its provision of credible and transparent content.