PRINZ - Public Relations Institute of New Zealand

Hands On with AI
2026-06-25 09:30 - 12:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Online
April 8th 2025 @ 9.30am - 12.00pm (1 x morning session)

Overview
Learn how to get your message across – and to make it stand out from the hundreds of other pitches that editors and journalists see daily.
Lively and enjoyable, this course is suited for everyone: from those new to the industry to those who’d like a refresher (highly experienced practitioners usually get just as much out of it).
By the end of the training, you’ll know all about:

the most common mistakes people make when pitching – and how to avoid them
the different kinds of stories editors look for
choosing the right angle for a release – and how to connect your key message to that
crafting an intro for a press release that will grab an editor’s attention
what to put in – and leave out – of a media release
how to structure, write and format a press release
writing compelling email subject lines and headlines
how – and when – to follow up an email
what images, contact details and other key information editors need
calling editors and journalists.

The course is highly practical and interactive, with participants able to ask questions throughout.
Zoom links will go out closer to the date.

Meet the facilitator Dan Kaufman is a former Sydney Morning Herald editor and journalist with over 30 years of experience. After working on a variety of different magazines in the 90s, he then joined the SMH, where he wrote for and edited almost every feature section at one time or another, from Travel to Health and Science. He also launched Sydney Bar Zine, which he ran for half a decade, and taught journalism and media writing at UTS and The University of Sydney. He’s now the director of Media Survival (https://mediasurvival.com/), which runs media training, writing, sub-editing, and communications skills courses. He also still writes the occasional column for the SMH.
