Instructor
Josef Jurkovic
Josef Jurkovic is a CEC director and founding partner. He has over 35 years of public and private sector experience across diverse areas of internal and external communications, public consultations, branding and marketing.
When, Where How much?
When: Date not set
Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia
How much: $675 (+ tax)
HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICER (A010)
WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
Today’s media business is dominated by competition for attention and advertising dollars, editorial policies, transformation of the traditional news and reporting cycles and by the impact of social media technologies.
The media relations function in the public sector now encompass a wide range of activities, including ministerial communications, briefings, spokespersons, media kits, strategies, and action plans, and much more. Is media relations art or science? And if it is both, as most practitioners believe, how can we define and achieve desirable results? Developing and integrating media relations strategies into overall communications planning are important skills for public sector communicators. The difficult part is the process of actually translating media strategies into reality, of building professional relationships with members of the media and, perhaps most important, achieving recognition of the organization and its media relations officers as credible sources of information. This workshop is designed for communications practitioners and others in the public sector who are tasked with developing and implementing media relations strategies and who would like to expand and deepen their media relations knowledge and expertise.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
- Current media realities and expectations
- The Do's and Don'ts of dealing with the media
- How to develop an effective media relations strategy
- How to monitor and measure media coverage
- Identifying and managing issues in a media context
- Crisis communications and dealing with the media
- How to integrate media relations with strategic communications
WHAT WILL YOU TAKE AWAY?
- Workbook, exercises and handouts
| Agenda | |
|---|---|
| 8:45 - 9:00 | Introductions and Workshop Overview |
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Effective Media Relations and Strategic Communications Integrating media relations into strategic communications planning and implementation. Strategic communication planning sequence. Media context. Who does what and when. The impact of social media. Role of the spokespersons. |
| 9:45 - 10:15 | “Sine Qua Non” of Media Relations Myths and realities. Basic tenets and principles. Different journalistic styles. Research. Dos and Don’ts of media relations. |
| 10:15 - 10:30 | Break |
| 10:30 - 11:15 | Exercise: Based on a specific media scenario, participants will identify and assess the appropriateness of a media relations campaign and determine what information is required about the media before a strategy can be developed. |
| 11:15 - 12:15 | Developing a Media Relations Strategy – “Will the Shoe Fit?” Components of a media strategy and plan. Expected and realistic results. Role of research. Segmenting the media. Context and drivers. Short term v. long-term strategies. Determining the “right” strategic approach. Media tools and implementation plan. Fitting it all together. |
| 12:15 - 13:15 | Lunch |
| 13:15 - 14:00 | Exercise: Based on a specific media scenario, participants will develop media lines and a strategic approach for a media relations campaign. |
| 14:00 - 14:45 | Implementing and Managing Media Relations – The Road to Credibility Understanding and responding to media needs. Key techniques: offering; pitching; responding; clarifying; correcting; writing; talking. Role of third parties. Effective media monitoring and evaluation. Media measurement approaches. What to monitor and evaluate and when. |
| 14:45 - 15:00 | Break |
| 15:00 - 15:45 | The Media and Crisis Communications Defining and anticipating crises. Crisis team, roles and responsibilities. The Do’s and Don’ts of crisis communications and dealing with the media. |
| 15:45 - 16:15 | Exercise: Dealing with a crisis scenario and developing a media relations approach. |
| 16:15 - 16:30 | Wrap-up and Workshop Evaluation |