Course Introduction
Understanding the media and using journalism for the benefit of your organisationWhat's it about?
In a world of 24-hour global news coverage, organisations face intense pressure to capture the attention of the world’s media. Sharp, accessible and credible messages are vital to engage journalists and persuade millions of readers, listeners and viewers about the importance of your organization’s work. Sophisticated ideas, plans and issues must be explained in a clear fashion. Messages must stand out. Quotes must sparkle. Statistics must tell a “big picture” story. This workshop shows you how to develop and deliver truly engaging and memorable messages for the media. It helps you to adopt the skills journalists have honed over decades to fashion and deliver outstanding messages which convince and persuade your audience.
Who should attend?
This workshop will benefit anyone seeking to explain the importance and impact of their activities by offering engaging, media-friendly stories for local, domestic and international news organizations. The focus is on developing and delivering messages to print, TV and radio journalists in a clear and confident way.
Learning outcomes
- Develop incisive and accessible media messages to sell a story
- Use keywords to add impact to the story, and quotes to inject personality
- Structure clear arguments and deploy memorable facts and context
- Explain complex issues in a simple way to TV, radio and print journalists
- Prepare quickly and effectively for interviews and press conferences
- Anticipate skepticism and “bridge” away from difficult questions
- Handle nerves, tough questions and difficult reporters
Benefits
Participants will benefit from being able to get to the point quickly and engage the media by making their messages – whether written or spoken -- relevant and accessible. Organisations will benefit from having staff who can deliver group messages clearly and confidently to a media audience.
Course Structure Highlights
- What makes the media tick? Understanding deadlines, bylines and the news cycle
- Honing news judgment – recognizing what makes for a great story
- Do you make it clear why this matters to the media, public and investors?
- Understanding the Power of Less – the 10 Second Test
- Developing clear, credible and engaging messages for print and TV
- Press releases – key elements, common mistakes, pitfalls
- Press conference preparation – media management basics
- Deploying keywords and leads to attract an audience
- Injecting context to give the story immediacy
- Understanding the power of rhetoric, word play and quotes
- Deploying statistics in a compelling way
- Developing the power to anticipate and tackle tough questions
- Responding to crisis
