Note: This Influencing Insider was a subscriber-only edition. To tune into these subscriber-only edition's contact Jemma - jemma@influencing.com The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Technology Editor David Swan has offered his three best pitching tips to PRs. His first and most important piece of advice for PRs is to read his work to gain an understanding of what topics he writes about and how he writes. He also would rather PRs err on the side of sending too much information, rather than too little and try to provide a case study, where feasible.   “If you want to give me more content to work with, I prefer that,” said Swan when appearing on Influencing Insider recently.  Swan’s appearance came shortly after his recent victories at the Samsung Australian IT Journalism Awards, which included the Gold Lizzie for Best Journalist.  He said of the win that he was “thrilled and surprised to have won,” adding that to win four Lizzies was “a real honour”. Swan believes

Vox Media, the US media firm that owns New York magazine, digital sites like Vulture and sports network SB Nation, as well as a number of high profiles podcasts from the likes of Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher, could be the latest member of the Murdoch family media empire. This time it is James Murdoch doing the circling, via his investment firm Lupa Systems with media reports overnight claiming he was in advanced talks to buy at least part of Vox Media. The talks are reported to centre on some of Vox Media’s most valuable assets rather than the company as a whole. Those assets include New York Magazine and its associated titles Vulture, The Cut, Intelligencer and Grub Street, along with Vox Media’s podcast network. The talks are not final and there is no certainty a deal will be completed. Axios reported Vox Media has been exploring whether selling parts of the company could deliver better value than trying to sell the entire business. The Wall Street Journal also re

Rates rise again as RBA warns inflation pain isn’t over The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.35% and warned inflation relief is still at least six months away, with the Iran war-driven oil shock pushing up prices and weighing on growth. The decision sharpens pressure on households and sets up a tense pre-budget debate about whether governments can afford more spending without prolonging high rates. Covered by: Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, The West Australian. Bullock to Chalmers: stop the handouts or risk higher inflation RBA governor Michele Bullock explicitly cautioned Treasurer Jim Chalmers and state governments that new handouts and “cash splash” budgets could add to demand and make inflation harder to tame. Several papers frame it as a direct political clash ahead of the federal budget, with the central bank warning fiscal policy could undermine the inflation fight. Covered by: The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Cour

Senior journalist Pradeep Tiwari, former editor of the Delhi edition of The Pioneer Hindi, died of a cardiac arrest in Ghaziabad on Sunday. He was 57. According to The Pioneer, Tiwari had been facing health issues since the Covid pandemic. Over a career spanning three decades, he worked with Devgiri, JVG Times, Amar Ujala, Hindustan and The Pioneer Hindi, building a strong editorial presence in North India.

Image: A man takes down an election billboard bearing a portrait of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday. AP   Tuesday, 5 May 2026 #1  ·  Pure Politics  ·  In-depth feature BJP Nails Mission Purvodaya — Most Consequential Leap Since 2024, Even Bigger Than the 2017 Victory in Uttar Pradesh By Subir Roy, Arvind Mohan   ·   The Economic Times  ·  Page 2 The Economic Times provides an in-depth analysis of the BJP's sweeping performance across the 2026 Assembly elections, particularly its historic win in West Bengal, a state considered a Hindu-heartland fortress for TMC. The report contextualises the result as the most consequential electoral shift for BJP since 2024, explaining how the NDA's expanding footprint now covers chief ministers in states governed by NDA, and draws connections to ideological consolidation across east and northeast India. It also examines how within-NDA results

A week after two journalists were allegedly assaulted in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh for questioning state Health Minister Irfan Ansari over the recent air ambulance accident, no FIR has been registered, triggering anger among journalists and press bodies in the state. The delay has raised fresh concerns over the safety of journalists and the police response to attacks on media professionals. Journalist Sushant Soni said that despite submitting a formal written complaint on April 28, no action has been taken so far. “Despite a formal written complaint given to police officials on April 28, 2026, no action has been taken.” Questioning the police inaction, Soni added: “What is the intention of the police? Are they waiting for something untoward to happen before registering an FIR and taking action?” The second journalist involved in the incident, Ashish Sav, said the assault and the lack of response afterwards had deeply affected him. “Journalists are assaulted in front o

PayDay News founder Warwick Ponder says Australia’s fast-changing payments sector was missing a dedicated media outlet – and early audience growth suggests he may have been right. PayDay News was founded in January 2025 and launched two months later to fill what Ponder described as “a massive hole in the market”. He explained that while it was a slow start when launching, the publication had seen a 560 per cent increase in subscribers in the last nine months.  “There are many thousands of people coming to the website every week to have a look at the stories. We are growing our subscriber base at a rapid rate weekly, and we hope that momentum continues as people start to see value in the publication,” Ponder told Influencing.  Senior Business Correspondent Michael Sainsbury added that LinkedIn had also been a key social media outlet, with the publication’s page racking up 5000 followers. The publication has begun to look at expanding its social media presence to Fa