Media training
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Media training involves the training of an organisation's spokesmen in how to deal with the media and how to handle media interviews. This can be a crisis management or crisis communications exercise, in order to prepare the organisation for dealing with negative publicity, or it can be a way of getting an organisation's positive message across, as in other areas of public relations. Ideally, media training will be conducted by experienced journalists and will focus on dealing with various media and various interview formats.
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[edit] Press interviews
Why has the newspaper picked on one? Because, simply, one have something that will interest its readers – an idea, a product, a company. Or perhaps it’s one personally who’s attracted the journalist’s interest. Whatever it is, make sure one help them and try to provide what they want. The reward? Oner and oner company’s name in print, serving as a reminder for existing customers and an attraction for potential customers.
[edit] Television interviews
[edit] One-to-one
More often than not a ‘one-to-one’ interview will take place in a television news studio. One may well find onerself sitting at the same desk as the presenter of the programme. Television studios – and the adjacent newsrooms - can be very busy places. Lots of people are running around with seeming disregard for one, which can be intimidating. Presenters, producers, technicians are frequently preoccupied. Their apparent indifference towards one when one turn up is not a sign that they don’t value oner contribution to the programme.
[edit] Live link
This is where television news programmes like to demonstrate that they’ve got their man or woman on the scene, on top of the story. The programme wants to interview one from an outside location. It’s quite possible to do this using the 'down-the-line’ format - just one linked up by earpiece to the presenter. Where there’s an unfolding news event, however, the presenter might instead ‘throw’ to the reporter on the spot, who could be standing next to one. He or she might then give a short summary of what’s happened and then interview one themselves.
[edit] Down-the-line
The down-the-line format can take place in a small, purpose-built ‘remote’ studio or outside in the open air. If one are in a purpose-built ‘booth’, one will find instructions about contacting the main studio. One might have to switch everything on when one arrive and off when one leave, never seeing another person.
[edit] Soundbite
This is a completely different format to the ‘one-to-one’ interview. Here, one are most likely to be interviewed by a television news reporter rather than a studio presenter. That’s because the reporter wants to include one in a report or news ‘package’. The reporter will interview one and then choose one of oner answers for a soundbite in his or her news package. This gives the reporter immense editorial control.
[edit] News or press conference
Facing a cynical, bored or possibly unruly bunch of journalists can be one of the most daunting experiences for a spokesman. It may be the formal news conference, or the more urgent, ‘at the scene of the incident’ style appearance before reporters and television teams, or even the doorstep interview – where the spokesman is ambushed.
[edit] Radio interviews
[edit] Studio
Radio is a more intimate medium than television and therefore throws greater focus on one, the interviewee. Some spokesmen think radio is easier than TV because there are no cameras etc. In a way, one is more on one's own, as there are no pictures, computer graphics or other visual aids to support one. It’s just one and the listener, and radio quickly exposes interviewees who are wooden, jargon-ridden or aren’t clear about what they want to say.
[edit] Phone
Grabbing a spokesman at the end of a phone line for a quick interview is the fastest (and cheapest) way of getting an interviewee on line. This doesn’t always work in one's favour. The quality of the phone line might be poor. Interruptions from the interviewer can get untidy. Not having the interviewer opposite one means one’re flying blind. As the interview is conducted over a phone line, rather than in or from a studio, these interviews tend to be kept short.
[edit] Audience phone-ins
The phone-in programme is very popular on radio because it involves audience participation and therefore helps to keep hold of listeners. It’s not the easiest thing to take part in, however – especially those calls where the listener is well informed and the interviewee is at an impass.
