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Media Relations

We don’t just pitch stories – we place them where they resonate.

Amplifying your voice in today’s crowded media landscape demands more than presence. It calls for strategic insight, deep industry expertise, and a sharp, forward-looking approach. When done effectively, media relations strengthens your reputation and elevates the visibility of your brand across paid, earned, and owned channels, ensuring your story reaches the right audience with credibility and impact.

At Syntax we know first-hand how newsrooms operate. Our team of experts in strategic communications, media, policy, and advocacy know how to anticipate the news cycle and help our clients find the right time to insert their voice.

We can help you with:

  • Media outreach: We craft timely, compelling story angles that speak directly to your audience – then strategically pitch to the right journalists, outlets, and platforms to ensure your story lands exactly where it counts, when it counts.
  • Reputation management: We help shape and safeguard your reputation, ensuring every story reinforces your values, strengthens public perception, and drives lasting credibility.
  • Press release writing & distribution: We disseminate well-written and compelling press releases through targeted distribution channels.
  • Interview preparation: A media interview is more than a conversation – it’s your moment to stand out. With expert coaching, you gain the clarity, confidence, and strategy to turn every question into a step toward your bigger mission.
  • Crisis communications planning: Through customized situational exercises, we can provide a thorough review of your existing crisis communications plan and test your crisis communications preparedness.
  • One-day media training: Our seasoned media professionals equip participants with essential skills in media relations, crisis communication, message development, and interview techniques, providing a comprehensive understanding of today’s dynamic media landscape.

Ready to lead the narrative? Book a call with Syntax and shape what comes next.

Our Work

Strategic Media Relations

Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Canada

Client

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ottawa

Our role

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea engaged Syntax Strategic to support their media relations efforts over the course of six months.

Impact

Our team helped the embassy build relationships with key national reporters, secured interviews, and pitched opinion articles written by the Embassy team.

Media Relations Support

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

Challenge

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) required media relations support as they worked to build up their internal team.

Our role

Syntax was engaged to act as an extension of the FCM team, providing media monitoring and analysis, media planning, and outreach.

Media Relations

Innovative Medicines Canada

Challenge

Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) engaged Syntax to implement a media relations plan to raise awareness about some of the key challenges facing the sector including time-to-patient challenges and investments.

Our role

Syntax developed a comprehensive media relations strategy for IMC that aligned strategically with advocacy priorities to ensure media efforts also positively impacted advocacy initiatives. Syntax supports the execution of this plan, inclusive of policy monitoring, earned media relations and strategic communications messaging.

Impact

Through Syntax, IMC has engaged media for background briefings, created avenues for direct exchanges between the media and IMC, published op-eds, and received timely transcripts from and analyses of ministers, committees and deliberations involving the pharmaceutical industry.

Media Relations

The Canadian Liver Foundation

Challenge

The Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) is Canadians’ go-to source for liver health. CLF promotes liver health, improves public awareness of liver disease, raises research funds, and supports individuals affected by liver disease. For Liver Health Month 2023, CLF engaged Syntax to promote a media campaign that shared key messaging and educational resources with the Canadian public.

Our role

Syntax’s media and health practice teams joined forces to develop a strategy that shared critical and relevant liver health information during the month of March. We provided media relations support to CLF through impactful writing, attention-grabbing news releases, and targeted media outreach. We also delivered training and support to CLF’s communications staff to share best practices and ensure continuity of knowledge.

Impact

CLF’s messaging was shared widely, with nearly a dozen earned local and national broadcast media hits throughout the month of March. This was more coverage than CLF received in the previous 12 months combined.

Meet Our Team

Jennifer Stewart
Founder and CEO

Jennifer is an accomplished leader in Canadian business, government, and public affairs. She is renowned as an expert in this field, often being called upon by national media for commentary. Additionally, Jennifer has twice been named one of the “Top 25 People in the Capital” by Ottawa Life Magazine, one of Ottawa’s “Top Forty Under Forty” by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, and was a finalist for Ottawa’s “Established Female Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Jennifer has actively taken on many business and community affairs roles, including President & CEO of the Canadian Energy Marketers Association (CEMA), Chair of the Board of the Canadian Transportation Alliance, Co-Host and Co-Founder of The Honest Talk podcast, Chair of the Village of Carp Business Improvement Association (City of Ottawa), Board Member of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees for The Women in Technology Scholarship of Willis College, and Member of the Leadership Council of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

Jennifer Madigan
Chief Operating Officer

A communications and media relations professional with a long history in the TV and online news industry, Jennifer has a Bachelor of Journalism with combined Honours in Sociology from Carleton University. Over nearly 15 years in TV news, Jennifer worked as a reporter, videographer, and producer locally, and later as the Executive Producer of The West Block with Tom Clark on Global News.

During the years, Jennifer has gained a great understanding of the media maze and possesses a keen ability to spot and solve problems during a crisis. She also knows how to tell a story with impact. Jennifer uses these skills to help clients effectively shape and communicate their narratives. Jennifer provides strategic communications advice, crisis communications and media relations support, as well as media training for a list of clients including Crown corporations, national associations, and non-governmental organizations.

Jake Enwright
Strategic Counsel – Associate

Jake is a public affairs strategist with 13 years of government and public relations experience. Previously working in the fast-paced, highly visible setting of Parliament Hill, Jake has a proven track record of success managing communications for large organizations that earn significant media attention and has held senior roles advising cabinet ministers and corporate leaders. Jake’s areas of specialization include strategic communications, media relations, crisis communications, government relations, and ghostwriting.

Jake continues to be actively involved in federal politics and previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the former Leader of the Official Opposition, Erin O’Toole. Jake also worked as a senior advisor and media spokesperson for former Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose, and the former Minister of Industry James Moore. He has been consistently recognized by the Hill Times as one of the top political staffers in federal politics and is often asked to contribute political commentary for national media outlets.

Kate Cornick
Principal

Kate’s career spans nearly 15 years across journalism and private- and public-sector communications. She has built a reputation for translating complex subjects into clear, compelling stories.  

Before joining Syntax in 2023, Kate was a producer at CBC’s The Current, one of Canada’s most listened-to radio programs, where she helped deliver in-depth segments on national and international issues. While at CBC, she also directed national specials, produced live local news, and led the production of a two-time award-winning interactive news feature. 

Early in her career, she worked within Canada’s Department of National Defence as a communications officer. In this high-accountability environment, she learned to craft messages that resonated with both internal and external audiences, ensuring communications supported senior leadership priorities — expertise she continues to apply today. 

Her experience across media, government and consulting has equipped her with a nuanced understanding of how information moves, and how the right message, delivered at the right moment, can influence outcomes. At Syntax, Kate received top-secret security clearance, allowing her to support clients in the national security and intelligence space. 

Kate holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Ottawa. 

Megan Shaw
Principal

Megan brings 15 years of broadcasting experience and a deep understanding of media, communications, and brand strategy to her role as Principal at Syntax Strategic. Her career in journalism, culminating as a news anchor in Ottawa, gave her a front-row seat to breaking news, current events, and politics across Canada.

In her role, Megan leads high-impact communications initiatives, helping clients craft compelling narratives, engage audiences, and achieve measurable results. She combines journalistic insight, strategic thinking, and brand marketing expertise to guide campaigns from concept to execution.

Megan holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University and an Honours BA in English & Communication from the University of Windsor. She also attended the Broadcast Journalism program at Seneca College. Able to connect with clients in English and French, she is committed to delivering communications that resonate, inspire, and drive impact.

Michelle Johnston
Vice President, Communications

Michelle has built a career as a trusted communications advisor at the highest levels by providing strategic and tactical advice on issues that demand both nuance and clarity. Before joining Syntax, she spent over a decade helping senior government leaders make complex decisions and communicate with confidence. Her steady leadership helped governments reach key audiences, keep their message on track, and cut through the noise. As a former Deputy Director of Communications to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior advisor to cabinet ministers across Parliament Hill and Queen’s Park, she has an insider’s understanding of how political actors get things done.

Whether navigating policy intricacies, crafting compelling narratives, or managing crises, Michelle delivers thanks to her extensive experience in policy development, communications strategy, media relations, and issues management. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Toronto.

How We Work

Syntax acts as an extension of our clients’ teams, helping to increase capacity where it is needed most.

Engagements always begin with a kickoff meeting to understand communications objectives and deliverables. We won’t walk in the room and tell you what to do without taking the time to understand your goals, corporate strategies, and the context within which we will be working.

We believe every successful engagement starts with a plan, but that flexibility is important – especially when we are dealing with media relations.

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