Up to eight South Australian games developers will be able to get some financial assistance from South Australian Film Corporation’s travel fund to allow them to attend Gamescon in Germany next month.  SAFC’s Game Executive, James O’Connor, says global representation of the state’s game developers' ongoing works is “very important.”  O’Connor told Influencing, “Gamescom is the biggest games convention in the world right now. Last year, I believe there were 335,000 people in attendance, much larger than any other comparable event you can point to.  “It is a hotbed for making deals, meeting contacts, networking, and getting a stronger understanding of what the games industry globally is… there's just a wealth of opportunities available at an event like this.” The SAFC travel fund will support the attendance of up to eight South Australian-based game developers at the German event, which will take place from August 20 to August 24 in Cologne.  The selected

Mark Bouris.  NOVA Entertainment has announced a new partnership with Mentored Studios, the podcast platform founded by Australian entrepreneur Mark Bouris AM. Over ten years ago, Bouris set out on a mission to help Australian small business owners cut through the noise and access the information they really needed b y helping Australians understand money, leadership and the realities of entrepreneurship. That turned into became Mentored, which has since evolved into a hub for anyone keen to improve in their career, business and life. Nova Podcasts has partnered with Mentored Studios on three podcasts - Straight Talk, Project 100 and The Mentor, as well as Property Insights and Off the Record with Buzz & Webby. NOVA Entertainment’s Chief Growth Officer Adam Johnson said of the deal: “We’re proud to welcome Mentored to the Nova Podcasts network. Mark is a powerhouse in the Australian business landscape, and we’re committed to scaling the reach and commercial impact o

  Leigh Sales will be guest presenter on the airwaves for a special week of Lunchtime Concerts next week on ABC Classic, from this Monday 14 July. One of the ABC’s top journos and presenters, Sales has also long been known for her deep personal connection across genres and her enthusiastic piano playing. More recently, her passion for classical music has grown through learning the cello as an adult, and studying with Umberto Clerici and members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This journey also featured in her podcast Chat 10 Looks 3, where she shared her musical discoveries.  

  Starting Monday 4 August Planet America joins 7.30, Australian Story, Four Corners and Media Watch in a strong Monday night line-up. Hosted by Chas Licciardello and John Barron, Planet America offers a unique perspective on US politics, providing the latest news and expert political analysis through a sharp satirical lens. The program will air at 9.35pm on ABC TV and ABC iView. Chas Licciardello said, "we're very excited for Planet America to be moving to Monday nights, which is a more traditional timeslot for news programming on the ABC main channel. On Wednesday nights it's been almost impossible to convince people that US politics wasn't some kind of elaborate dark comedy performance piece." John Barron added, “when Planet America started in 2012 the most outrageous thing Mitt Romney did when he was running against Obama was misspell ‘Amercia’. Safe to say things have changed. “Over the years we’ve been able to talk to Members of Congress, top advisors and dozen

Gurugram-based Artemis Hospitals has renewed its partnership with Delhi-based independent PR consultancy, Grandeavour Communication (GC), for the third consecutive year. This continued collaboration reflects a strong relationship built on trust, performance, and a shared vision in the evolving healthcare PR landscape.  Over the past two years, GC has delivered consistent, results-driven communication for Artemis, earning praise for its deep sector understanding and strategic storytelling.  Asgar Ali, Head – Sales & Marketing at Artemis Hospitals, said, “Grandeavour Communication has worked as a true partner, offering full-throttle support. Their execution, mindset, and responsiveness set them apart.”  Saachi Sagar, Sr. Consultant at GC, added, “With Artemis, our goal has always been purposeful storytelling, amplifying medical expertise and building patient trust with authenticity.”  Payel Banerjee, PR Director at GC, said the team is ready to scale new heights.

Image source: HT, Al Jazeera, CNN and IE; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   At least 13 people, including two children, died after a key stretch of the 39-year-old Gambhira bridge collapsed near Vadodara on July 10, plunging six vehicles into the Mahisagar river.  Hot off the Press As reported by Tushar Tere and Prashant Rupera in The Times of India, the vehicles included trucks and a pick-up van commuting from industrial zones in Padra and Ankleshwar, an area known for diverting heavy traffic to avoid expressway tolls. Aditi Raja for The Indian Express noted that Vadodara district panchayat member Harshadsinh Parmar had flagged concerns about the bridge’s deteriorating condition as early as 2022. Funds were only recently sanctioned for a new Rs 212-crore bridge, but it came too late. An engineering report had reportedly declared the structure “unfit for use.” Rescue efforts, as documented by Abhinay Deshpande for The Hindu, involved fire brigades, locals and the NDRF. Six veh

Channel 7's Estelle Griepink with fellow 7 journo Mike Amor at the trial. A fascinating insight into on the ground coverage of the so-called mushroom murder trial from 7NEWS TV reporter Estelle Griepink who was there for the entire 11 week trial.  Griepink took to LinkedIn to reveal the day-to-day at the trial.  Erin Patterson was this week found guilty by a jury of 12 of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. The three innocent lunch guests who tragically lost their lives were husband and wife Don Patterson and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson.  “An unprecedented amount of airtime and column inches will be dedicated to the fallout from the verdict in the coming weeks”, said Griepink. “But I wanted to share a little about what it was like covering the trial first hand for 7NEWS Australia. “I was one of dozens of reporters who moved their life to the country town of Morwell and spent week after week inside a courtroom listening to evi