It’s been a huge month for technology and journalism in Australia, with hardline stances by the government, multi-million dollar deals between NewsCorp and Google, and that Facebook dummy spat. But before all that went down, I got to speak to the people who write about tech news for a living. It was a massive nerd-out moment for me - and I’m sure you guys feel me. Kicking off our tech journalism special is Natasha Gillezeau, part of The Australian Financial Review’s highly regarded technology desk. Natasha has covered everything from the Google and Facebook news laws in Australia, a rolling topic over the last 12 months, to the rise of more authentic influencers and more. Along the way she’s picked up award nominations at the Lizzies, tech journalism’s night of nights. Natasha is lucky enough to cover both breaking news and also follow trends, spending 5 to 6 weeks researching features and speaking to a variety of sources. How do you get your name into Natasha’s little black book of tech contacts? Well, she was happy to share what she’s looking for in a great source, from establishing trust and being polite and punctual, to being clear on what you do and don’t know about. (Hello, niche businesses!) I also asked Natasha about how she stays on top of trends, what her “journalist lens” is when she’s assessing stories for the AFR, and how to best prepare for an interview and make sure you’re quoted the way you want to be. Download 'Pitching to the AFR guide' at odetteandco.com.au/pitchingtotheafr Find Natasha instagram.com/natashagillezeau linkedin.com/in/natasha-gillezeau-571272176/?originalSubdomain=au afr.com/by/natasha-gillezeau-h18hvf Natasha.gillezeau@afr.com.au Find Odette Barry online odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr instagram.com/odetteandco instagram.com/hackyourownpr