Newton's was founded on the Gold Coast in 1975 - the region's first and longest established corporate communications company. Ken Newton is a former journalist who was trained on newspapers and became a senior journalist in charge of newsrooms in ABC radio and television.
He pioneered Gold Coast City Council public relations, working with two of the city's most flamboyant mayors, the late Sir Bruce Small (founder of the Malvern Star bicycle empire) and the late Robert Neumann (one of Australia's biggest independent industrialists). During his time with Council, Ken Newton introduced public consultation processes to local government strategic planning in Queensland - developing education and communication strategies which have now become common place.
In private practice, Newton's has consulted to local government authorities and a range of private companies involved in technology, education, manufacturing, architecture, project development and town / regional planning.
Ken Newton as a first year cadet reporter on the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin.
(Below) Ken Newton's farewell from his home town of Rockhampton when he
moved to Toowoomba with the ABC newsroom. Lots of Macs beer was the cause
of this otherwise compromising pic. The guy at the left is Geoff Michels,
ABC journo who went on to fame as anchor of the South Australia Today
Tonight and when last heard of was running his PR consultancy (which he
began in Adelaide), from a new base in London.
Today, Ken Newton is a specialist communicator and script writer, with emphasis on video and website production and communication strategies.
His company's documentaries and corporate web sites have promoted technologies and complex strategic planning and urban renewal concepts in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
While dealing with media is a traditional role of public relations, it is no longer the only means to an end.
Newton's is more interested in delivering wide-visioned public relations which is accountable, professional and doesn't waste time or money.
The company specialises in distilling complex academic concepts, manufacturing processes or planning ideals for specific audiences for political reasons, public feed-back, or to change perceptions.
Ken Newton was press secretary to two of the greatest
civic leaders Gold Coast has ever had, the late Sir Bruce Small and the
late Robert Neumann. This pic was taken after negotiations in Melbourne
when Eddie Kornhauser's group signed up to build the great Paradise Centre
in the heart of Surfers Paradise. It was just after the 1974 floods and
as a token of goodwill, the Hanover Corporation threw $75,000 into the
Mayoress's special appeal for flood victims.
The pic shows top row from left, Doug Roughton (Mayoral Assistant), Eddie
Kornhauser, Paul Brennan (Tourism Development Officer) Ken Newton (Mayoral
Press Secretary). Front row from left were Paul Fayman, Mayoress Jennie
Neumann, the Hanover board chairman who's name I forget, Mayor Robert
Neumann and George Herscue.
In short, Newton's has the ability to communicate - and get it right. They know what tools to use to achieve the best communication, within realistic budgets.
Their skills are used to great advantage for international projects by engineering and planning consultants Burchill Partners Pty Limited and during the Asian boom years by the Institute Sultan Iskandar of Johor Malaysia, a leading research and development institute which services governments and private sector clients in Asia.
In the early days of his PR company, Ken Newton and team
managed some of the Gold Coast Region's biggest projects, among them,
Lae Enterprises, the company which developed the first deep water suburb
of Runaway Bay. This was a national media tour of top boating and land
writers from around Australia. The pic is hard to see, but the tall guy
fifth from the left standing is the great Sir James Hardy of wine and
yachting fame, who was the development's signature figure. We drank some
great Hardy's wines with Gentleman Jim. Next to him on the left in the
cap and sunnies is the great Neil McCowan, the head of Lae Enterprises
who became a true friend of the establishment to this day. Ken Newton
ended up buying a home on Neil's Shearwater sub-division. Ken Newton is
third from the left in the front row. Next to him on the left in the pic
is Steve Warby, then of the Financial Review and who later worked for
Newton's and next to him is Cilla Skinner, the wife of Peter Skinner who
took the photo. Pete and Cilla are best mates.Peter worked with Ken Newton
for 4 years and then moved to America.
Newton's has also assisted Malaysia's biggest tertiary technical campus, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to promote its scientific discoveries to the governments and investor community of Asia.
Newton's team is a finely honed group of professionals who combine wide experience with advanced information technology.
Two ex-journos set out to conquer the world. Ken Newton at left and Peter Skinner. Pete was a superb photo journalist and for four years, they were a dynamic team. They didn't always dress like this - it must have been their day off!!!
Key members are scriptwriter and producer Ken Newton, script collaborator, director and digital editor Paul Noonan, director of photography David Endres, Malaysian cameraman Ismail Saleh, narrator Paul Ricketts and sound engineer Brian Newington.
Ken Newton is multimedia director and consultant documentary producer for the Institute Sultan Iskandar of Urban Habitat and Highrise (ISI) and his company has forged an alliance called ISI/Newton's Imaginators which consults to government, universities and the private sector.
Four years on and Peter said his farewells before leaving for the Brooks Institute of Photography in the USA, where he subsequently because PR director.
In more oppulent days in the heady 80's, Ken Newton ran his PR company from refurbished offices at Upton Street, Bundall, with a staff which peaked at 15.
Ken Newton has MC'd many Gold Coast affairs. This one was a Visitors Bureau function, with the Minister for Tourism (forgettable) and Graeme Isaacson formerly of Monarch Travel fame.
