Public Relations London

Media Training and The Media

Media Training is vital for the appointed spokespeople for the company and should be incorporated in the original planning. The more senior the person, the more the issue will be seen to be important and under control - always under control.

But be aware that a small incident of staff cutbacks or redundancies is not the same as several or big plant closures. The first is HR Director; the second Managing Director - get the proportional importance of the issue right.

Always media train on your own identified issues so you know them inside out.

Near event live radio and TV training are important if you can anticipate an issue - a takeover, plant closures, a change in ownership, new regulations, a scientific or Government report. Once you can respond robustly and stick to the three points you want to get across on the media, you will be much better at staff and distributors' meetings too.

The media are not out to get you (not usually, but if they are you should understand this in your preparation). They do not care about the rights and wrongs, your company, you, the people you employ, your distributors, your profits and, least of all, the sensationalism which could spread near panic. They are only after a story with which to fill a 3-4 minute TV or radio spot or half a page in a newspaper and everything has to be transparent. National media want a potentially shocking or a genuinely national issue; local media a local issue. Don't ever think you are being unfairly treated - it is up to you to get the positioning of the story right and you can only do this at the beginning of the crisis - turning it around later is too late. The other thing to remember is that you must be robust in getting your three points across regardless of what you are asked and you are not obliged to respond to media enquiries. There are times when no available comment is the right thing to do. There may well be a better story for them to follow tomorrow and you will be forgotten.