A line-up of experienced journalists from across print, broadcast and digital media has been confirmed for this year’s No BS Media Summit in Swindon.
The two-day event, organised by Scott Media, will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon on 11 and 12 November, bringing together business owners and media professionals for a hands-on approach to public relations.
Leading the speaker line-up is Jo Riley, who brings more than 25 years’ experience to the event. As head of Bav Media, she has worked on thousands of stories distributed to national newspapers and broadcasters worldwide, alongside long-time collaborator Geoff Robinson.
Also joining the summit is John Boitnott, a US-based writer offering an international perspective on how stories travel across global media markets — a sign of the event’s growing ambition beyond the UK.
Broadcast insight will come from Claudia Redmond, whose work spans major outlets including ITV, BBC, Sky News and Channel 4, with a particular focus on arts and culture coverage.
The format is designed to be practical rather than theoretical. Delegates will pitch story ideas directly to a panel of journalists, receive feedback, and build assets such as professional photography for media use. Sessions will also explore how public speaking and personal storytelling can strengthen a brand’s visibility.
At the centre of it all is Fiona Scott, who says the aim is to cut through the usual PR gloss.
“This is about connecting businesses with the newsroom in a straightforward way,” she said. “We want people to understand what actually makes a story land — not the jargon, but the reality.”
With places capped at 35 and already filling up, the summit is positioning itself as a focused, small-scale alternative to larger conferences — one where access, rather than audience size, is the main draw.
For Swindon’s business community, it’s a chance to get closer to the people who decide what makes the news — and, perhaps, how to become part of it.
