"Journalists are bombarded with negative stories all day. They are actively seeking interesting, funny, quirky, and feel-good news stories to balance the scales.
"I applaud small businesses or large organisations that do their own media work. That's just fantastic and we need more of that! But many don't have media skills or time to work on media."
Ms Allen said she had set up Solas Media to help sole traders, SME operators and larger organisations pave a pathway to positive media exposure, to help them build their credibility and their client base.
Originally from Ireland, Ms Allen moved to Whangarei with her husband in 2012. She has worked in regional media in Ireland and New Zealand for the past 13 years.
Ms Allen is now packing her knowledge into a series of media training workshops, which kick off at the Orchard Business and Event Hub in Whangarei on Friday, June 23.
In the "What's Your Story? Reveal Your Newsworthiness!" workshops, Ms Allen will share details such as what makes a news story, how newsrooms operate, and how to pitch a good story to media.
"Identifying your media objectives is vital too. Why set off on a journey if you don't know where you want to go? Your objectives also shape the key messages that you communicate through the media.
"Of course, none of that matters until you know whether you and your business are even newsworthy."
She believes people have forgotten what makes a good news story and "earned media" was perceived to be out of reach.
"Maybe that's the result of blogs and social media, or native advertising which looks like news, or even an apathy towards media because some believe it's a dying industry.
"While the way we consume media is always changing, just like how we listen to music, journalism isn't going anywhere. If anything, we are consuming more media now than 10 years ago."
She has also started to work with local high schools, creating media plans and delivering press releases on their behalf.
"This one is close to my heart - high school students are achieving wonderful things across Northland but many schools are so busy teaching them how to do that, that they don't have time to communicate it to local media."
Ms Allen said Northland had a healthy selection of print media available which was eager to hear remarkable stories from Northlanders, from the Northern Advocate daily paper and its website to community papers in the Far North and Whangarei, and suburban magazines and newsletters.
"Print publications - and their online versions - are supporting local business with advertising and stories. It's important that the communities they serve also support the media to ensure they can continue to pump resources into journalism."
Ms Allen says her upcoming workshops are aimed at lifting the lid on media relations to empower business owners, or anyone who works with media.
"These are skills that you'll have for the lifetime of your business. The training removes the perceived shroud of mystery from media relations - most of it is common sense. The rest is just shortcuts that I'm eager to share."
Register for the workshop before June 9 by emailing christine@solasmedia.co.nz. For more information and media tips, check out solasmedia.co.nz.
