Media Training
One of the first ways to establish contact with the media is, of course, the press release about a news story for which you’d like some publicity. Many press releases are appallingly written, with the real news buried in paragraph 19, preceded by a lot of organisational mumbo-jumbo. Write a sharp, snappy press release, therefore, [...]
There is a world of difference between a trick question – and a tricky one. Any interviewee in these media-savvy days who is asked to name the day on which his wife-beating sessions stopped should be able to spot the danger easily enough. Much more difficult is the line of questioning which leads to a [...]
Andrew Harvey has written an article for the Law Society Gazette about the role of the lawyer in helping an organisation respond to the media in the event of a crisis. He discusses how the lawyer can help keep the balance between the need to get all the facts right and the need to respond [...]
There’s an easy way to pre-empt some of the questions that a journalist will put to you, either in an on-the-phone or face-to-face interview. Just remember the 5 Ws: What Where When Why Who Most questions for most interviews will fall into one of the above categories. Knowing this should give a spokesperson a head-start [...]
There are some pretty hoary clichés about how we present ourselves. “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” Or “Communication is x% the words you use, x% the tone of voice and x% body language.” Adjust the percentage figures according to taste. But the reason they are clichés is that they are [...]
It’s much easier to get a good press and come across well in the media if you have got the policy right or made the correct decision in a crisis. The public can generally tell when an interviewee is concealing something or doesn’t really believe in what they are saying. One of Bill Clinton’s former [...]
Journalists come in different shapes and sizes: The young hopeful. May be pushy, aggressive, but also inexperienced, and their questions may be ill informed, perhaps ill considered. They’re anxious, though, to make their mark – and will often press you further than you want to go. The innocent. Very dangerous…liable to come to you looking [...]
We recently conducted a media training session for two journalists from PRWeek. You can read their review of the training here. A text version of the article is below: Media training: Shine in the media spotlight Giving an interview to the media can be daunting, so PRWeek took part in a training session to pick [...]
Never let it be said – though many would – that journalists don’t have any original thoughts. However the best journalists are those who enlist experts to help them create their story. That is where you come in. Your specialist knowledge – whether you are an economist, a meteorologist, or simply an eyewitness to an [...]
1. Apologise and be honest Beginning with a straightforward apology defuses the hostile questions that may follow and suggests that you are not hiding anything. Being honest about the situation will reinforce your credibility. If you don’t give an honest apology from the start, the whole interview will be spent trying to drag it out [...]
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