My guest joining me today is Liz Perkins, a journalist who was involved in my No BS Media Summit at the end of last year.

Liz is the night news editor on the Sunday Telegraph, but also she often appears on Time Radio, talking about Welsh politics. Previously, she was the night news editor at The Daily Express. She has already had an amazing career, having worked across the world, doing many different things; moderating at the UN and in Davos, plus working in Afghanistan and reporting on the frontline troops during the conflict.

She shares how she knew she wanted to be a journalist at the age of 13, being inspired by Wimbledon. Initially she wanted to be a tennis writer and interview all of the famous players. And now, this is part of what she does! She is about to go to Wimbledon, this year writing for The Telegraph. Liz explains some of the differences in the reporting style of Wimbledon between The Telegraph and The Daily Express.

Liz also talks about being a female journalist in what is still seen as predominantly a man’s world, and shares how she took on the Welsh Rugby union, which was a brave thing to do; bringing to account a sporting institution - as a Welsh woman!

Having recently worked with one of my clients, Louise Muir-Sage to write her story, Liz explains how important it is to her that she gains people’s trust, when they are sharing such terrible times in their lives. She has written many stories about domestic abuse and other harrowing situations and strongly believes it’s important to give everyone a platform.

If you want to hear about the fascinating and hectic life of a working journalist, then you need to listen to this podcast!

To contact Liz:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-perkins-7b667b75/

X: https://www.x.com/LizPerkinsMedia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journoliz/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s episode of PR not BS with Lauren, she talks to national journalist Matt Barbour. He has been writing for national newspapers and magazines since he was in his early twenties.

He got into journalism on a whim. Whilst at the University of Bristol he set up a magazine, which won The Guardian NUS Magazine of the Year Award. Following the success of the magazine, he was approached by The Times to apply for their graduate training programme. It was an interesting experience, being thrown in at the deep end. For him, more so, as the day he joined, Princess Diana had died the previous day, so no-one had time to talk to him! But it was a useful time for him, understanding how a national newspaper worked.

He then spent a year in Australia working for Men’s Health Magazine – his best job ever! He returned to the UK with a renewed love of journalism, and began working with the UK version of the magazine.

Then he began writing for the health sections of various newspapers and magazines including the Sun, the Mail the Mirror, The Guardian and the Independent, but as the larger newspapers started to lose readership, he found it was easier to write for the tabloids even though he hadn’t aspired to write for them. ‘ A good story is a good story’ – it doesn’t matter where it is.

Matt’s main interest is inspirational human stories. Over the years Matt has built up his reputation as a journalist who will work with people to get their inspirational, personal stories out there, and he’s built up a trust with them; they know he’ll treat their case studies well. He shares some of the amazing stories he’s written about.

He also talks about the huge importance of good photographs to accompany a story – with an emphasis on ‘good’.

To contact Matt:

Email: matbarbour@googlemail.com

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Lauren’s second podcast guest is Lewis Steeper, who along with his wife is the founder of the Oliver Steeper Foundation, following the tragic death of their son in 2021.

Lewis shares Oliver’s story, and how he went to nursery as a fit, healthy nine month old baby who later choked while eating his dinner. After being told that all was well and it wasn’t an emergency, Lewis and Zoe arrived at the nursery to find paramedics doing CPR while they were running to the ambulance. Other difficulties ensued. They were unable to travel with him in the ambulance due to COVID restrictions; he may not survive the hour journey to London, because they didn’t have the necessary equipment; a helicopter couldn’t be used due to lack of equipment.

Oliver survived the journey, but the brain damage was already done, so he had zero chance of survival. Lewis shares the harrowing story of what they went through, including how Oliver’s kidney was donated to help someone else.

During this terrible time, Lewis had a message from Lifevac Europe asking if he’d seen their product. You can imagine his answer! However, due to his curiosity, he eventually looked at the product and then he met the guy who’d messaged him and after that in February 2023, he and Zoe set up their charity, where they provide LifeVacs to nurseries.

LifeVacs are anti-choking devices which are non-invasive, and they clear airways by suction. He explains how and when it should be used. This device has saved over 3,800 lives globally and it’s 98.9% effective.

He also talks about campaigning in parliament about ratios of children to staff and how allowing more children to be in a nursery with less staff members is detrimental to a child’s education, well-being and safety. Sadly, this is still ongoing.

If you are a parent of a young child in nursery, which is most young working parents these days, then this podcast is a must to listen to.

To contact Lewis:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOSFoundationUK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tosfoundationuk/

Website: https://www.tosf.org.uk/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is Michael McEwan, a journalist who I’ve recently met on LinkedIn.

Michael, a Scot, is a disability campaigner and freelance journalist. He has worked for the BBC, STV and written for many different publications about disability and non-disability care issues.

He talks about how as a youngster he wanted to get into media, but didn’t know how and also having cerebral palsy himself it made his journey that much harder. Talking about his school life, time at university and then employment, he explains how his biggest bugbear is that generally people and employers see the disability rather than the person. People regularly underestimate his capabilities.

We have a conversation about whether self-employment is an option that people with disabilities often feel they have to take to be able to follow the career they want in life. Michael shares some of the many problems that occur when you are out and about and if for example you want to use the disabled toilet, in many places it can either be inaccessible, or if it is, often used as a store room. So working from home can be an easier option.

Michael talks about the work he’s been involved in, in the past some of which was funded by the Scottish Government – when he went around speaking about the challenges facing people with disabilities day to day.

Like me, in his early days of working in the media, Michael worked on a hospital radio, where he volunteered. He now presents a podcast and has also had two documentaries commissioned. When people tell him he can’t do something, his answer is always, I’m going to prove you wrong!

Website: https://www.michaelmcewanmedia.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcewan-ba4a8784/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RAD1OMAN

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s episode of PR Not BS is going to be a little bit different because I’ve handed over to Lauren to interview her guest, Richard Tidmarsh!

Richard is based in the Chippenham area and runs two businesses – Casali Recruitment and The Chippenham Dog Walker and Pet Care Services.

Casali is a generalist recruitment business who works with a number of businesses both locally and UK wide helping them to recruit for jobs including forklift drivers, call centre staff, welders, stewards for sporting events and more!

Richard has a sales background of 30 years which he uses to sell jobs to candidates and candidates to jobs and he enjoys it so much that it doesn’t feel like a job to him.

Lauren and Richard talk about what it’s like to work with family as Richard works with his wife in his dog walking business. They set the company up 12 years ago after temporarily fostering a job and missing the interaction on a daily basis.

Networking has been vital for both Lauren and Richard so they talk about the meetings that Richard went to before he joined Business Buzz a year ago where he met Lauren for the first time. One thing that Richard shares is that he’s noticed how many other groups he has been to where he feels like he is constantly being sold to and he likes that you don’t get that at Business Buzz.

If you’d like to know more about Richard you can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-tidmarsh-firp-6b305a1 and www.casalirecruitment.co.uk

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is a member of one of my networking groups, and I’m pleased to be talking to Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam of The FD Consultant.

The FD Consultant is a collective of part time finance director consultants. After qualifying as an accountant, Romesh spent several years working at FTSE 100 businesses. Since 2008 he has either been full time chief financial officer or finance director of several successful businesses. He is passionate about helping businesses grow, which is why he set up the group five years ago; to be able to share his skills and expertise.

Romesh shares how many businesses don’t need or don’t have the budget for a full time finance director but do perhaps need support. This is where The FD Consultant comes in. He talks about how when running a business most of us don’t have the skills to do everything, and instead of worrying about finance and administration, by using part time finance directors, they can focus on their skills and passions.

He also explains how understanding and preparing for what is ahead in your business is so important, and how not managing cash flow is the main reason many businesses fail.

Just having a passion for what you do isn’t enough – the business has to be viable, profitable and have positive cash flows.

Romesh uses a wonderful bathroom scales analogy – you keep thinking I’m fine, I’m in good shape, but then when you get on them, the numbers aren’t okay! And the numbers don’t lie. So it’s all about being prepared, and looking at and learning to understand data, which is what he helps people to do – in a way that works for them, rather than using fancy accounting terms!

We also talk about PR, and Romesh shares what he has done since starting the business. Among the things he does, which he refers to as a learning curve – he has a podcast.

To contact Romesh:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romesh-jeyaseelanayagam/
Website: https://www.thefdconsultant.com/
You Tube podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjkFJ4VONDk

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is my bestie, who I've known for around 15 years, Lis McDermott.

Lis is a novelist, poet and writing mentor. As you’ll hear we have quite a lot in common!

Lis has recently mentored me to write my second book and she talks about why she finds that weird, as I’m a writer, but also how it works.

She talks about what she has learnt about PR and marketing from me and how that has impacted on her as an author as well as how important it is as a small business to be able to build relationships with the companies and suppliers that you regularly work with.

Lis also shares how her business has evolved in both what she does but also in how we work together. As a photographer, she regularly worked with me and now as an author she does some writing for me.

She talks about some of the bad LinkedIn images that people used to use – things have gotten better, but it’s important to have updated professional images to show the authentic you.

Lis talks about how she moved from photography into writing, and talks about the snobbery around being self-published, compared to being with an established publishing company. She also shares why she writes and how despite not being a millionaire, it is something she continues to do and still loves.

To contact Lis:
Website: https://www.lismcdermottauthor.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lismcdermott/
Substack: https://lismcdermottauthor.substack.com/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is Dane Whitehurst, Creative Director of Burgopak, who designs and produces packaging for different brands and products worldwide. The business is all about translating brand values into the ‘wow’ factor.

Over the years the company has produced around 400 million of their patented systems!

Dane talks about why packaging is important and should be one of the priorities to get in place when you have a new product. Afterall, you spend time developing a product, so why would you not present it in the very best way to your consumers? The packaging is the first thing that a consumer will see, so their experience needs to leave a good impression.

He talks about the things that have to be considered when creating packaging apart from it needing to be aesthetically interesting; it has to be commercially viable, responsible and sustainable. The company has spent a lot of time on research and development to create their systems. They can then adapt these to match the specific client’s needs.

He shares some of the companies that they’ve worked with over the years, which includes many banks and healthcare companies including; Ancestry, Revolut, Thriver, Motorola, O2, Vodafone.

Dane also talks about how packaging has become part of PR – especially with the social media trend for unboxing.

Looking at Burgopak packaging and hearing Dane talk about it, you can see that packaging is more than just boxes!

To contact Dane:
Website: https://burgopak.com/
Email: info@burgopak.com

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe