Company:

Saltwater Media Solutions

State:

Melbourne

About:

Saltwater Media Solutions is a communications consultancy with a simple corporate objective - to provide 'authentic and effective media training and strategic advice'.
Founding Director Luke Waters establilshed the company in 2010 with a view to helping clients:
- Communicate effectively with ALL stakeholders
- Empower spokespeople through proven interview techniques
- Develop reputational resilience through tailored risk and crisis management
- Maximise benefit from every media opportunity
Luke's journalistic career has exposed him to some of the world's most complex, diverse and volatile situations which have also provided insight to best-practice media strategies.
All Saltwater Media trainers and consultants are qualified, experienced and have demonstrated sustained success (not just worked) in the Australian and/or international media.
www.saltwatermedia.com.au

Experience:

Senior, award winning journalist Luke Waters is the founding director of Saltwater Media Solutions Pty Ltd. He holds current qualifications in Journalism, accreditation in Workplace Training and Assessment and formal training in Risk Management – and has developed and delivered training courses and strategic media advice to clients throughout Australia and internationally. Among them are business and industry leaders, politicians from all 3-tiers of government, higher education, the health sector, elite sport, emergency services, non-government organisations, not-for-profits and more.
Luke’s journalistic career has exposed him to some of the world’s most complex, diverse and volatile situations which have also provided direct and valuable insight into best-practice media strategies. These include (but are not limited to) international diplomacy, politics and government process, humanitarian and natural disasters, war zones, the corporate sector, health and education, social issues and sport and recreation.
Luke’s journalistic career includes experience working as a print, radio and television journalist, presenter, producer/chief of staff, contributor, and/or video journalist at a range of organisations including (but not limited to)
SBS World News and Dateline – Senior journalist
ABC News, 730 Report, Stateline, News Breakfast – journalist and presenter
Network Ten News – journalist and presenter
News Limited (Contributor)
Prime and WIN Regional News
Luke is a member of the CNN International Journalism Fellowship – and has reported extensively around Australia – including the Canberra Press Gallery. He has also embedded with the Australian and international militaries, and reported from The Pacific, South East Asia, The Middle East, The United States and Africa.
Luke’s vast journalistic experience and thorough knowledge of Australia’s media landscape underpins Saltwater Media Solutions’ relentless commitment to providing authentic, effective media training and strategic advice.
Awards and recognition –
In 2016, Luke was nominated for the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award, and a TV Week Logie for his coverage of the Syrian crisis – which included exclusive coverage from the front-line of the conflict, reports on the humanitarian fall-out and a world exclusive interview with the Syrian President Assad.
Luke’s journalistic work has also been acknowledged with several awards including –
The United Nations Of Australia Media Award
Melbourne Press Club Quill Award (Best long-form broadcast journalism)
Australian Sports Commission Media Awards (Multiple winner)
National Drug and Alcohol Foundation Award for Excellence in Media Reporting
Afro-Australian Media Award for Excellence in News Reporting
Victorian Multicultural Commission Media Award
National OPSO Awards for Excellence in News Reporting on aging Australians (Multiple winner)
AFL Victoria Media Award
Cricket Victoria Media Award (Multiple Winner)
Connect on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-waters

Media training services offered:

• Print
• Radio
• Television
• Online
• Presentation
• Editorial

Fees:

Price available upon application.

Reviews and Recommendations:

The Australian Retailers Association has regularly engaged Saltwater Media Solutions as a training provider. The courses are practical and effective – and provide an authentic experience around how media interviews are conducted. The pitch of the training is absolutely appropriate, moving from confidence building to providing techniques for handling difficult and challenging interviews.
One of the most beneficial aspects of the training is the simulated live press conference. This is a most confronting media experience, but having Luke re-create the conference and provide strategies for handling the situation was invaluable. The same can be said for the media crisis training which provided a highly effective strategy and technique for handling media at a time of crisis.
Since dealing with Saltwater Media Solutions, the media exposure of the Australian Retailers Association has grown considerably – and we attribute this in no small way to the skills and techniques Luke and his team have provided for our staff.
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Luke's course was well-structured, took into consideration the complexity of our business and demonstrated how we can simplify messages for general media consumption. The course was logical and practical and provided our spokespeople with a process to follow in all media situations. Luke was extremely professional at all times throughout the planning and course delivery phase and has given us confidence in sharing our messages in the media.
THE HADER CLINIC

One of the main reasons we chose Luke was his personable manner; some of our staff had previously negative experiences with the media and it was important that they felt comfortable in these sessions. Luke picked the tone for our staff perfectly, and explained what the media were looking for and how our staff could provide that. He also gave them strategies to manage more difficult interview situations. The sessions were an excellent balance of theory and practice, and our staff became more and more confident with their practice interviews. Luke was extremely organised and the feedback of our staff was overwhelmingly positive.
BASS COAST SHIRE

Luke delivered a comprehensive and yet practical training session to our key and emerging spokespeople that left them feeling confident of getting their key messages across in an often difficult media environment. Luke's highly professional approach garnered through years of practical experience enabled him to cover theory in a digestible manner and provide great insight into the interview process through the interview workshop and tips he delivered. Luke's expertise provided a clear, simple and highly effective process for our spokespeople to follow and apply which has in turn delivered them great confidence in dealing with the media and public speaking more generally. I would highly recommend Luke and Saltwater Media Solutions for all your communication needs.
REFUGEE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA