Mainstream and social media is becoming a minefield of disinformation, bias, and sensationalism. Our waking hours see us exposed to a torrent of content from platforms and networks that not only sows confusion, but also undermines confidence in democracy, and harms our wellbeing. We are all spending huge amounts of time in front of screens – and we’re even increasingly performing on-screen.
All of us need the tools and skills to navigate this rapidly evolving media environment.
Rostra director Tony McMahon has worked across all the media sectors over the last three decades: print, TV, and online. He began his career in print journalism becoming a news editor at Financial Times magazines. Later, he went into TV as both a reporter and producer working at Sky News and then the BBC.
He set up The Money Channel – a live financial TV operation – with a talented team of producers and reporters; was a founding executive of Cantos, a public relations company that empowered business to use filmed content online to get across its messaging; and worked with civil society groups in recent years to help them improve their reach within target communities by improving their communications skills. This helped them to reach vulnerable young people at risk of various social harms.
Most recently, he has set up a documentary ideas hub, Fabula TV, working alongside networks, producers, and distributors – as well as appearing in many TV documentaries on History, Channel 5, BBC, ITV, and other channels as a history and science expert.
Tony says: “As a journalist, I learned how to find stories, check their veracity, and judge the integrity of sources. But news gathering is becoming much more complex. The emerging social media and digital news environment is very problematic with fake stories, and the abuse of AI to trick users. Bots, trolls, rogue states, and less than credible influencers are a real threat to genuine news gathering.”
Services Rostra can provide:
- As an experienced on-screen contributor, Tony McMahon can train members of your organisation to perform with confidence in live or pre-recorded scenarios and not be tripped up by interviewers
- Rostra can design and implement media literacy modules as a stand-alone product or integrated into wider programs to educate on how to filter out fake news and use the media responsibly
- Bringing yourself to the attention of newsrooms in TV, radio, and print
- Advice on content creation whether filmed or in print or both – and how to become a social media influencer
- Managing communications in a crisis – what not to do. Understanding the behaviour and objectives of journalists
- How to approach different social media platforms from TikTok to YouTube
Tony McMahon on Channel 5 as a broadcaster
Tony McMahon on YouTube
Tony McMahon using a green screen studio in Los Angeles
