Five Reasons to Conduct Media Interview Training

Given the importance that organizations place on generating press coverage, it is essential to have a strategy and qualified professionals assigned to critical tasks. The preparation of the people in charge of speaking with reporters is fundamental to this effort, for five reasons.

1. Media interview training helps individuals cultivate the skills to engage in more productive give-and-take with reporters. Being interviewed by a reporter is not simply a matter of answering questions from memory while adopting a defensive stance. It is up to the spokespersons to take the lead in telling the story of the organization, from their perspective. To this end, spokespersons need to be familiar with how reporters work, the editorial environments in which they operate, the types of questions they are likely to ask, and their individual backgrounds, among other topics.

2. Trained spokespersons help an organization secure greater media coverage. Being interviewed by a reporter does not mean that the person will be quoted, or even result in a story. Therefore, a successful media interview training program must also address what constitutes news from the journalist’s perspective. Armed with such knowledge, spokespersons can focus their comments on what journalists want, suggest story ideas, refer reporters to other resources, and in short, become valuable resources that reporters turn to again and again.

3. Media training produces better media coverage. Organizations want media coverage that, as far as possible and practical, reflects their key messages; in other words, the main points the organization wants readers/viewers/listeners to take away from the coverage. Training is the best way to ensure spokespersons master these core messages and skillfully weave them into their responses to a reporter’s questions.

4. Media training increases the likelihood that what you want to communicate will be covered. It’s impossible for people of any audience to understand the purpose of your communication if you don’t know what you want to say. Media training forces an organization to clarify what it wants to say and how, which increases the likelihood that a reporter will understand these messages and, ideally, report on the organization more accurately.

5. Media training educates spokespersons on typical media relations challenges. Myths abound about how journalists work and the critical role media relations professionals play in the editorial process. The training invites spokespersons to participate in this process, introducing them to the art and science of building productive relationships with reporters and the vital role they play. Perhaps more important, key players within the organization begin to incorporate media considerations into their thinking as a byproduct of a comprehensive training program, which benefits the entire organization as it strives to navigate through a world rich in media. media.

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