About Media Friendly

Cedar House, Media Friendly UK Headquarters

Media Friendly is one of the UK and Europe’s most respected Communications, Media Training and PR companies and was founded in 1998 by Andrew Carapiet and Moya Fillmore.

Media Friendly has worked with over five hundred organisations over the last thirteen years and run training courses for over five thousand Chief Executives, Directors, senior Executives and senior Managers from many of the UK’s leading companies and organisations.

We have an impressive track record working for various Government Departments, including The Department of Health, The Home Office and The Department for Communities and Local Government.

Internationally, we have worked with the United Nations and many other global organisations.

Within the UK we have a great deal of public sector experience – working with the NHS extensively, The National Assembly of Wales, over seventy Local Authorities, over thirty Housing Associations and many charities.

In the Private Sector, we have worked with blue chip companies from Financial Services, IT, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Heatlhcare, Construction, Retail and Consumer.

In 2008 Media Friendly moved headquarters from London to Grade II listed Cedar House in Marlow Buckinghamshire to be in easier of reach clients across the country.
We offer:

• Public Relations
• Media Training and Communications Training
• Presentation Skills and Public Speaking
• Communications Advice
• Crisis Management
• Proactive PR
• Social Media
• Management Training
• Finance Training

Andrew Carapiet

Andrew Carapiet – Communications Director

Andrew Carapiet is a former BBC TV Producer with fifteen years media experience, within television, radio and newspapers.

He was a Health, Political and Local Government Correspondent for the BBC for several years, covering most NHS, political, Local Government and Social Affairs issues for BBC News.

He has been a Media Trainer, Communications professional and Public Relations Consultant since 1997.

Andrew started as a freelance print journalist for several newspapers across England, before joining the BBC in 1987, initially as a reporter, producer and presenter for BBC Radio, then turning to television in 1990. He joined BBC Breakfast News as a Producer, working alongside Nicholas Witchell and the late Jill Dando.

Andrew spent a total of ten years with the BBC, where he worked for all the major television news programmes, including the Six O’Clock News and the Ten O’Clock News.
He served on the Ten Year Strategy Committee for the BBC’s News & Current Affairs Directorate.

He left the BBC in the mid 1990s to set up Britain’s first National Cable Channel for the Mirror Group, where he worked as a Programme Editor and Senior Producer. He has also worked as a Producer for BSkyB and Sky News.

Moya Fillmore

Moya Fillmore – Business Director

Moya Fillmore has been a Communications and Marketing professional for eighteen years, working with the Public Sector and the Healthcare Industry.

Moya started with four years in ethical pharmaceutical sales, before taking up her career in Marketing, PR and Communications within the Healthcare Industry. She has managed internal and external communications, producing in-house publications as well as handling media relations.

Moya was also responsible for devising and implementing marketing strategies which led to highly successful launches of a variety of innovative, high technology products.

With activities as diverse as organising medical conferences, to training in the UK, Europe and Middle East, Moya has developed a rounded and versatile approach to PR, Marketing and Communications.

Paul Anstiss

Paul Anstiss – Journalist, Broadcaster and Media Trainer

Paul Anstiss has worked in broadcast news since 1982 as a reporter, presenter and producer for companies in Britain and in the United States.

He currently works on a regular basis as a reporter for BBC News (News 24, Breakfast News, Radio 4, Five Live, Today) and as a reporter and presenter for Meridian TV’s local news programme in Kent (Meridian Tonight).

In London he worked for three years for Newsroom South East as a reporter and newsreader, and for Thames News as a reporter.

Judy Aslett

Judy Aslett Journalist, Producer and Media Trainer

Judy started as a journalist at ITN and soon became a producer for Channel Four News. For five years she worked as South Africa as Africa correspondent covering stories including the wars in Angola and Mozambique, as well as events in Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi. In 1994 her coverage of the first democratic elections in South Africa was nominated for a BAFTA award with Channel Four News.

Upon returning to the UK, Judy became Foreign News Editor for Channel Four News working in Moscow and Europe, went on to be Foreign Affairs Correspondent when Five News was launched by ITN in 1997. Since then Judy has presented on the ITV News Channel and produced and presented special investigative reports for Channel Four News and BBC Newsnight.

For the past eight years Judy has been working as a media and presentation trainer. She also trains the ITV trainee journalists and has travelled around the world, training journalists for APTV and ITN.

Tim Grout-Smith

Tim Grout-Smith – Journalist, Consultant and Media Trainer

Tim Grout-Smith is a graduate of Oxford University with 26 years’ BBC experience.

He has reported for the BBC from more than thirty countries, including reporting from the Rio Earth Summit, and won international awards for his work in 1987 and 2001.

In 1992 he took up the post of Project Director with the newly-formed BBC Marshall Plan of the Mind (now the World Service Trust, the largest specialised media development organisation in the world).

Gail Downey

Gail Downey – Film Maker, Journalist and Media Trainer

Gail Downey is an active film maker, producer, journalist and broadcaster who is equally capable in front of the camera as behind it. As a journalist Gail does both live reporting on location and presents programmes in the studio. She has produced news reports, short films and documentaries on diverse subjects from crime and conflict to science and the environment and on health. She has presented programmes on BBC Radio Five Live, BBC and ITV News across the country.

As a film maker Gail has produced films for numerous organisations including businesses, the Department of Health and charities like Flying Scholarships for the Disabled.

Gail works with organisations during publicity campaigns and product launches to run communications teams or assist press offices and often produces films for such campaigns.

Lily Poberezhska

Lily Poberezhska – Teacher, Journalist and Media Trainer

Lily Poberezhska is a London-based graduate of Kiev State University, a teacher, journalist, media trainer and consultant and worked for nine years for the BBC World Service.

She worked for nine years for the BBC World Service, and has a diploma from the London School of Public Relations. Widespread experience in use of the media for education and awareness-raising includes work for the World Bank, the EU and the British government in aid projects across the former Soviet bloc and beyond.

Steve Hemsley

Steve Hemsley – Journalist, Trainer and Writer

Steve Hemsley has been a journalist since 1989. He writes for the national press including The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and CNBC European Business. He also has a strong background in the trade media.

He is a former features editor of Music Week and now writes extensively for magazines across many industry sectors including media, pharmaceuticals, human resources, retail and the drinks trade.

Among the companies and organisations he has worked with are Southwark Council, Royal Bank of Scotland, Grant Thornton, Indesit, Dennis Publishing, The Economist, Budget Insurance, UKTV, Philips Design, Millward Brown and Sony Computer Entertainment.

He is also the co-author of the book Boost Your Child’s Confidence published in 2008.

Rob Jones

Rob Jones – Internet Marketing Social Media

Rob Jones is a strategic digital marketing consultant helps companies take poor performing websites and transform them into highly successful online businesses.

Rob has worked in the internet industry since 1995 as a designer, producer, trainer and digital marketing consultant for start-up businesses, SME’s, FMCG brands and Blue Chip Corporates across the UK. Rob’s worked with hundreds of clients during this time, and fortunate to have been involved with a number of award winning and highly publicised campaigns.

Among the companies and organisations he has worked with are The Financial Times, Marketing Magazine, RAC business, BARR (Tizer and Irn-Bru), Jones Lang Lasalle, Savills, ECCO, Spotless Group, English Heritage, and Hyundai Car UK.

Cat Young

Cat Young – Social Media Trainer

Cat has been a trainer for over 15-years and has designed & delivered over 100 workshops and seminars on the Internet and Social Media. A born educator, Cat delivers a friendly, interactive and hand-on style of seminar. Coupled with her extensive knowledge, you will be sure to come away with more than you bargained for!

Cat is the senior consultant in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Social Media Marketing (SMM) and is responsible for the strategy, implementation and measurement of marketing campaigns for many clients ranging from SMEs to large public sector organisations.

Cat is also Chair of a local partnership which combines representatives from business, community interest groups & local government. She has been able to steer the group through funding applications, personality clashes & red tape in order to successfully deliver projects for the local community.

Helen Isacke

Helen Isacke – Performance Coach & NLP Master Practitioner

Helen Isacke is a highly experienced and effective Performance Coach and Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Helen’s innovative and outcome focused approach to personal development ensures that the solutions delivered improve organisational performance and are highly valued by the individual. She has worked with senior management from the private and public sector, including Kier Group, Vitec Group, British Bakeries, Meggitt, Odgers Ray & Berndtson.

Helen is also qualified to administer psychometric profiling tools TDI and FIRO Element B. Helen’s background in HR, recruitment and marketing reflects her passion and commitment to people development and communication.