Even the news cycle deserves a little festive break! On account of Ayudha Puja, a public holiday, the Influencing editorial team is taking a day off today, October 18. We'll be back tomorrow with fresh stories, industry updates and everything that matters in the world of media and communications. Until then, enjoy the festivities. The headlines can wait a day! Happy Ayudha Puja from Team Influencing!

RBA alarm as war-driven oil spike threatens inflation and rates A sharp rise in oil and commodity prices linked to the war against Iran is emerging as the Reserve Bank’s “worst fear”, risking a fresh inflation pulse just as unemployment pressures build. The stakes are national: higher fuel costs can quickly flow through to prices and wages, raising the chance of further interest-rate rises and a tougher economic landing. Covered by: Sydney Morning Herald. Retrospective tax shock hits private equity and venture capital A surprise budget change lifting the tax rate on carried interest—applied retrospectively—has wiped out a key incentive for private equity and venture capital executives. Beyond the sector, the move is likely to chill risk capital and startup funding at a time when Australia is trying to lift productivity and innovation investment. Covered by: Australian Financial Review. Snowy 2.0 cost blowout: review flags price tag could near $40bn A

In an age when brands can reach millions of people almost instantly, visibility is no longer a guarantee of influence. What matters is whether audiences believe what an organisation says, trust what it stands for and remain confident in it when things go wrong. That was the central argument made by Jo-ann Robertson, President Europe and Transatlantic Growth Leader at BPI Group, during her session on The Influence Imperative: Brand Leadership in an Uncertain World at PRAXIS India. “Reach didn’t die, it just became cheap,” Robertson said, challenging the communications industry's reliance on metrics such as impressions, awareness and engagement as indicators of influence. Her argument was that brands have become exceptionally good at measuring how many people see their messages, without necessarily understanding whether those messages change perceptions or build lasting relationships. “No brand actually has a right to exist,” Robertson told the aud

For Aloysius Goh, mediation is not merely a way to settle disputes. It is a disciplined process of rebuilding trust, enabling difficult conversations and making the possibility of peace feel credible. That, he suggested at PRAXIS India, is precisely why mediation has much to teach public relations professionals. Speaking on “Mediation as a Super Power in Public Relations”, Goh — founder and CEO of Singapore-based Sage Mediation — drew on his experience of handling nearly 1,000 mediations to explain how communicators can learn from the practice of conflict resolution. His central point was that reputation cannot be protected or repaired through messaging alone. It depends on whether organisations can create the conditions for honest dialogue, understand what is truly at stake and help restore trust between people. Goh’s interest in mediation grew out of a deeply personal experience. As a law student, he knew a fellow student who died by suicide after cl

Artificial intelligence can generate press releases, speeches and social media posts in seconds, but it cannot determine what audiences will find meaningful, credible or culturally relevant. That distinction, according to Joyce Lorigan, is pushing the communications profession beyond content production towards building trust and reputation. “AI isn't making communications less important. I think it's making reputation more important,” said Lorigan, Group Head – Corporate Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer at Springer Nature, during her keynote on Purpose with Accountability: Building Reputation Through Impact in the Age of AI at PRAXIS India. Her argument was straightforward: as AI makes content easier to produce, earning the trust of audiences becomes considerably harder. “Content is becoming really abundant, but trust is becoming scarce,” she said. “And scarce things become really valuable.” For communications professionals, th