Media Training 101

Written by a seasoned journalist and public relations professional, Media Training 101 is your essential guide to handling the news media. A former USA Today reporter and consultant to major companies, Sally Stewart leads you through every step in developing a communications blueprint and a strategic public relations plan to support it. She shows you how to communicate effectively with the media in any given circumstance and how to control the way your company is portrayed in the media. Each chapter includes vignettes, anecdotes, and real-life case studies that help you know what to expect. PREFACE.

INTRODUCTION.

PART ONE: Understanding the Media.

CHAPTER 1: Foundational Rules for Media Success.

CHAPTER 2: How Journalists Think and Behave.

CHAPTER 3: Responding to Journalists.

CHAPTER 4: What Is News?

PART TWO: Practice Facing the Media.

CHAPTER 5: Key Message Point Workshop 65

CHAPTER 6: Lethal Mistakes: The Dirty Dozen 73

CHAPTER 7: Playing the Interview Game and Winning.

CHAPTER 8: Putting the Organic Keyword Method to Work.

CHAPTER 9: Key Message Point Practice Questions.

PART THREE: Giving a Great Interview.

CHAPTER 10: Interviews: What Is What and Who Is Who.

CHAPTER 11: Things You Should Never Say to a Reporter.

CHAPTER 12: When Things Go Wrong.

CHAPTER 13: Dress for Media Success.

PART FOUR: Implementing Media Training on the Fly.

CHAPTER 14: When the Media Just Shows Up.

CHAPTER 15: Crisis Control.

CHAPTER 16: How to Write and Review a Press Release.

CHAPTER 17: How to Pitch Your Company’s Story.

CHAPTER 18: How to Hire PR That Works.

CHAPTER 19: How to Create a Stellar Press Kit.

CHAPTER 20: Media Training and the World Wide Web.

CHAPTER 21: PR Lessons from Law School.

CONCLUSION.

GLOSSARY.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

INDEX.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

SALLY STEWART is a former news reporter at USA Today and ad hoc commentator for CNN as well as a seasoned public relations expert. Since 1996, she has worked as a communications consultant for a variety of public companies, private enterprises, and nonprofit organizations. Today, she heads her own consulting group, SA Stewart Communications, headquartered in Santa Monica, California. She appears frequently on TV current affairs programs. For more information, visit her web site at www.mediatraining101.com. Media Training 101 is an in-depth guide to handling the news media, written by a seasoned journalist and public relations professional. A former USA Today reporter and consultant to major companies, Sally Stewart leads you through every step in developing a communications blueprint and a strategic public relations plan to support it. She shows you how to communicate effectively with the media in any given circumstance and how to control the way your company is portrayed in the media. Each chapter includes vignettes, anecdotes, and real-life case studies that help you know what to expect.

Media Training 101 offers proven advice on topics such as gaining control during a crisis, following the rules for interviews, and capitalizing on a story once it’s out. It explains the fundamentals of good public relations, such as devoting enough time and effort to manage your company’s image and relying on facts in a crisis rather than spin, which often appears suspicious. You’ll learn to craft a core message that will resonate with the public.

Media Training 101 shows you how to employ proven strategies for communicating your core message effectively, without sounding too rehearsed. You’ll learn how to:

• Answer tough questions on the fly
• Assess media opportunities
• Avoid traps that lead to negative coverage
• Present yourself to the press
• Refine your company’s presentation materials and pitching style

You’ll also discover what journalists consider newsworthy and how they operate. This information will enable you to develop realistic expectations for media coverage. Ultimately, Media Training 101 teaches you how to work with the press. This is invaluable information for all professionals and business owners.

"Navigating the media can be treacherous. Sally Stewart offers a practical, no-nonsense road map to make sure you come out smelling like a rose."
–Dominick Dunne, Columnist, Vanity Fair and author of Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments

"If you need one guide to building your brand through media and public relations strategies, this is it. Sally Stewart provides invaluable information about what the landscape is today. I know from my own experience that Media Training 101 works–and works great."
–Michael Greenberg
President, SKECHERS USA, Inc.

"Everything you need to know about the care and feeding of the media–and then some. With equal parts William Randolph Hearst, James Carville and doting Jewish mother, Ms. Stewart delivers a killer guide to coping with the press–and turning it to your advantage."
–Dennis Kneale
Managing Editor, Forbes

This helpful, practical guide offers proven strategies for dealing with the news media in any situation. Ideal for company spokespersons, public relations officers, or anyone who will have to deal with the press sooner or later, it also includes expert advice on designing a public relations plan and implementing it effectively. You’ll learn how to:

• Dodge deadly pitfalls
• Control a crisis
• Employ interview tactics that really work
• Follow the ethical rules of public relations
• Design stellar press kits
• Develop your key message points
• Understand how journalists think and behave
• Know what’s news and what’s not
• Avoid the ten things you should never say to a reporter
• Write great press releases
• Pitch your company’s story
• Hire good outside public relations professionals