Media Training

After facing intense backlash for the price increase of EpiPens—a life-saving medication for individuals with severe allergies—Mylan CEO Heather Bresch outlined the company’s plan to make the drug more affordable during an Aug. 24 interview on CNBC. By shifting the conversation to the broader—and incredibly divisive—issue of health care in the U.S., Bresch offers her critics something else to direct their ire at. But what she really did in this interview was display a mastery of media training skills.

Ten years ago, Yahoo and AOL were cutthroat competitors for search engine and web portal dominance. Today, however, Yahoo’s unexpected PR savior in the post-sale fallout has been AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong, who, having recently sold his own company to Verizon, has taken the opportunity to spin the Verizon acquisition as a merger of two user bases and an opportunity for digital advertising sales, refuting the media’s portrayal of Verizon’s opportunistic seizing of a sinking ship.

Sometimes pitches can get lost in the daily deluge that is a reporter’s email inbox. And there are plenty of journalists who are simply more engaged on social than other means of communication. One of the great things about social media is that PR pros can cultivate opportunities by being present on the platforms journalists use to identify story angles and sources.

Sand between your tanned toes and the relaxing sound of waves hitting the shore. Happy hour that begins at 4pm (it’s 5’oclock somewhere). Visiting new places. Dealing with crowds (literally, being able to deal with… Continued

How many times has this happened to you? You’re watching live television or attending an event with family and friends and a CEO or some other public official says something you, as a PR pro, know could spell trouble for the brand that person is representing? Your friends notice you cringing. Should it be your CEO up there, before your friends even notice it, you’re heading to the office or ducking out to make or receive a phone call about what you just heard. It’s part of the job.

In our nervous-twitch environment, PR execs who provide media training often face an executive or a team that has received coaching previously. These executives or team members know—or think they know—the basics and don’t want to waste time on Training 101. They are content- and results-focused and likely lack the PR knowledge about how the 3 P’s (preparation, practice and performance) can be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful interview.

You’re halfway through what’s been a rather interesting year in business, politics, brand successes and blunders and Game of Thrones developments. Which is to say: you still have another five solid months to make this… Continued

When you have an important message to communicate—especially one that might be controversial or unpopular—you need more than just the message itself. You should equip yourself with a “messaging toolkit” that will help you effectively deliver (and justify) your message in various formats to various media.

This piece is excerpted from Maura Fitzgerald’s article “Making the Most Out of Broadcast: Turning Your Exec Into a Media Star” in the PR News Media Training Guidebook, Volume 6. Dress: ■Dress conservatively. For men, a… Continued

This piece is excerpted from David Hlavac’s article “How to Take a ‘Playbook’ Approach to Messaging: 7 Tips for a Winning Strategy” in the PR News Media Training Guidebook, Volume 6. In order to make… Continued