Award-winning journalist and leading digital communicator Tom Burton has been appointed publisher for The Mandarin, Private Media’s new publication showcasing, discussing and sharing the work of Australia’s growing number of public sector leaders*. The Mandarin is due to launch July 2014. To visit the alpha site please click here “We are delighted to have Tom’s unique publishing, public sector and digital experience leading our efforts to create a venue for senior public servants helping to build better communities,” said Private Media CEO Marina Go. Burton brings a wealth of experience in publishing, public administration and digital media. He is a former Walkley Award-winning journalist, covering politics, economics and communications for The Sydney Morning Herald and as the Canberra bureau chief of The Australian Financial Review. He saw early on the opportunity the Internet offered and under his leadership SMH.com.au became Australia’s No. 1 news site. “Australia has a world-class public sector advising and implementing policy and programs in a complex and challenging political, media and stakeholder world”, Tom Burton said. “Yet strangely there is not a place where our public sector leaders can share their work, experiences and learning among fellow public leaders so they can deliver better communities for all Australians”. The Mandarin will be a place for agency heads and executives and those interested in their work to engage and collaborate around the development of policies, programs, projects and regulatory solutions, in this demanding and often contentious period of rapid change. The Mandarin will also be of great interest for the many businesses and community organisations that want to gain insight into public policy making and program delivery. We hope this will better engage government with business and promote stronger collaboration and partnerships to build better communities. “There are many common issues public servants are working on, be they economic transformation and regional development, alcohol and violence, literacy and numeracy, obesity, digitalisation and cybersecurity, aging and youth unemployment”, Burton said. “We want The Mandarin to be a venue where programs and initiatives can be discussed and analysed in a thoughtful and considered way”. * According to government data compiled by Bloomberg, in the 10 years through June 2013, 375,000 public sector workers were taken on compared with 173,200 mining workers. For further information, media interviews and speaking appearances, please contact: Samantha Dybac – Sammway e: [email protected] p: 0411 251 373 Alpha site: http://themandarin.com.au
MEDIA / INTERVIEW ENQUIRIES: Samantha Dybac E: [email protected] P: 0411 251 373 EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: Tom Burton E: [email protected]MEDIA RELEASE Monday 5 May 2014 Tom Burton appointed publisher of The Mandarin Award-winning journalist and leading digital communicator Tom Burton has been appointed publisher for The Mandarin, Private Media’s new publication showcasing, discussing and sharing the work of Australia’s growing number of public sector leaders*. The Mandarin is due to launch July 2014. To visit the alpha site please click here “We are delighted to have Tom’s unique publishing, public sector and digital experience leading our efforts to create a venue for senior public servants helping to build better communities,” said Private Media CEO Marina Go. Burton brings a wealth of experience in publishing, public administration and digital media. He is a former Walkley Award-winning journalist, covering politics, economics and communications for The Sydney Morning Herald and as the Canberra bureau chief of The Australian Financial Review. He saw early on the opportunity the Internet offered and under his leadership SMH.com.au became Australia’s No. 1 news site. “Australia has a world-class public sector advising and implementing policy and programs in a complex and challenging political, media and stakeholder world”, Tom Burton said. “Yet strangely there is not a place where our public sector leaders can share their work, experiences and learning among fellow public leaders so they can deliver better communities for all Australians”. The Mandarin will be a place for agency heads and executives and those interested in their work to engage and collaborate around the development of policies, programs, projects and regulatory solutions, in this demanding and often contentious period of rapid change. The Mandarin will also be of great interest for the many businesses and community organisations that want to gain insight into public policy making and program delivery. We hope this will better engage government with business and promote stronger collaboration and partnerships to build better communities. “There are many common issues public servants are working on, be they economic transformation and regional development, alcohol and violence, literacy and numeracy, obesity, digitalisation and cybersecurity, aging and youth unemployment”, Burton said. “We want The Mandarin to be a venue where programs and initiatives can be discussed and analysed in a thoughtful and considered way”. ENDS * According to government data compiled by Bloomberg, in the 10 years through June 2013, 375,000 public sector workers were taken on compared with 173,200 mining workers.
MEDIA RELEASE Monday 5 May 2014 Tom Burton appointed publisher of The Mandarin Award-winning journalist and leading digital communicator Tom Burton has been appointed publisher for The Mandarin, Private Media’s new publication showcasing, discussing and sharing the work of Australia’s growing number of public sector leaders*. The Mandarin is due to launch July 2014. To visit the alpha site please click here “We are delighted to have Tom’s unique publishing, public sector and digital experience leading our efforts to create a venue for senior public servants helping to build better communities,” said Private Media CEO Marina Go. Burton brings a wealth of experience in publishing, public administration and digital media. He is a former Walkley Award-winning journalist, covering politics, economics and communications for The Sydney Morning Herald and as the Canberra bureau chief of The Australian Financial Review. He saw early on the opportunity the Internet offered and under his leadership SMH.com.au became Australia’s No. 1 news site. “Australia has a world-class public sector advising and implementing policy and programs in a complex and challenging political, media and stakeholder world”, Tom Burton said. “Yet strangely there is not a place where our public sector leaders can share their work, experiences and learning among fellow public leaders so they can deliver better communities for all Australians”.
The Mandarin will be a place for agency heads and executives and those interested in their work to engage and collaborate around the development of policies, programs, projects and regulatory solutions, in this demanding and often contentious period of rapid change. The Mandarin will also be of great interest for the many businesses and community organisations that want to gain insight into public policy making and program delivery. We hope this will better engage government with business and promote stronger collaboration and partnerships to build better communities.
“There are many common issues public servants are working on, be they economic transformation and regional development, alcohol and violence, literacy and numeracy, obesity, digitalisation and cybersecurity, aging and youth unemployment”, Burton said. “We want The Mandarin to be a venue where programs and initiatives can be discussed and analysed in a thoughtful and considered way”.
ENDS
* According to government data compiled by Bloomberg, in the 10 years through June 2013, 375,000 public sector workers were taken on compared with 173,200 mining workers.
Tom Burton travels from Sydney. Biography below. For further information, media interviews and speaking appearances, please contact: Samantha Dybac – Sammway e: [email protected] p: 0411 251 373
The term ‘Mandarin’ explained: Just as the scholarly officials of China, the Mandarins, successfully adapted their role over 13 centuries, the role of the modern Mandarin has changed significantly since the term was first used to refer to the powerful bureaucrats who ruled Canberra in the post-war period. The role of Australia’s Mandarins — the public heads who lead our federal, state and local government departments, utilities, programs and regulators — has changed significantly from when prime ministerial permanent secretary Sir John Bunting, public service chief Allen Cooley, Treasury boss Fred Wheeler and Defence secretary Arthur Tange ruled Canberra in the 1960s and ’70s. Things were sorted by this small coterie often at lunch at the Commonwealth Club, down by the lake at Yarralumla. For further information please visit The Mandarin alpha site
Tom Burton Biography Tom Burton is a Walkley award winning journalist, publisher and digital communicator. He has just completed a project advising Malcolm Turnbull’s department on the roll out of their digital communications. Prior to that he lead the digital transformation program at the Australian Communication and Media Authority, where he oversaw the rollout of their social media practice and launched their new website, now considered the model for modern government engagement. During the late 2000’s Tom worked in Washington DC as online communication director at the Center for American Progress as well as at series of B2B digital products covering government, telcos and streaming media. He is a former Executive Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and Chief Political Correspondent for the Australian Financial Review. Tom specialised in economics and communications and won a Walkley award for a series about the powerbrokers of Canberra. Tom sensed the opportunity of the internet early and under his leaderhsip smh.com.au became the most popular news website in Australia. He won a Walkley award for the site the Herald launched during the Sydney Olympics. More recently he founded, developed and published a series of web 2.0 social media and B2B web start-ups. Tom also worked as a Ministerial Adviser to the Communication's Minister, Michael Duffy during the 1980’s. He has been a regular media commentator and conference speaker on politics, communications, digital engagement and economics.
Tom served as President of the Media Alliance for three years and was Chair of the Walkley's Foundation for seven years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Law from the University of NSW and is admitted to the NSW Supreme Court. He completed the Executive Management program in marketing at North-Western University, Chicago. He has lectured in social media and web 2.0 publishing at the John Hopkins University in Washington DC and UTS in Sydney.
