Handling the press and media: how to get your story covered

(Former name: Media relations training: from press release to media campaign)

Course summary

Good media coverage gets your message across to the public and decision makers better than any other communication method. Learning how to deal with journalists allows you to positively influence what is printed and broadcast.

This highly practical course helps you understand news angles and what the media want from you. It covers how to write press releases that will get picked up, how to develop useful relationships with journalists, how to plan and run media campaigns, and how to monitor and evaluate your press coverage.

PS, Comic relief

“Trainer excellent at making course relevant to everyone, and addressing our company's specific remit.”

PN, Macmillan Education

“Excellent - especially for someone with minimal experience. I feel I can go away with practical advice that I can actually use.”

HC, Care for the Carers Ltd

“Superb course - good pace and delivery. Good course materials. Very practical. ”

Course dates and location

We can deliver this course virtually for your organisation, on a date and time that suits you. If you have four or more people who would like to attend this course then group training could be the most cost-effective option. Contact one of our Training Coordinators on 020 7490 3030 or email for more information and a quote.

If you would like to attend this course then register your interest with us. Currently, this course is run on request meaning that a date will be scheduled once we have at least three people interested in attending this course.

There are no dates available at the moment.

Effective media-work raises your profile, attracts funds, keeps your stakeholders happy and gets your messages across. This course is a must for those who need a grounding in today’s media. It is essential to know what makes a good story and what makes journalists tick.

The course will show you how to get the most out of your media relations, particularly with limited resources. Over the day it will cover:

what is news?
understanding how a news operation works
the ‘news media’ – identifying the news outlets that matter to your organisation
o national, regional and local newspapers
o using the internet (your website, news sites, blogs, podcasts, RSS)
o television and radio (national, regional, local)
o trade press
understanding ‘angles’, what is a ‘story’?
o how to turn information into a story
o finding news hooks that turn a story into news
good practice in the press office
o keeping records of calls
o contact databases
o 24 hour availability
o setting targets
o media monitoring
o sign-off procedures
writing punchy press releases that get noticed
‘selling in’ stories
developing a media campaign
o aims and objective
o how to use celebrity ‘stardust’
o media stunts that work
strategies to prevent and handle a media crisis
a year of free support

There are a number of group exercises, and each delegate has the opportunity to write a press release and receive feedback.

This course is an excellent introduction for those who have to liaise with the media or act as press officer. It is also useful for those who need to brush up their media handling skills or update their knowledge. The Centre works with people from all sectors including the public sector, voluntary sector, corporate sector and private sector.

The course will give you a better understanding of how the media work, and help you recognise how to shape a story to get it covered. It will give you the skill to write effective press releases. It will also give you the know-how and confidence to handle a media crisis.

You may be interested in our PR strategies that work, Digital writing, Print newsletters that will get read and Presentation skills training. You may also like to consider our Radio and Television interviews as an in-house course to develop a group of trained media spokespeople.

£522 plus VAT not-for-profit price (applies to charities and all other not-for-profit organisations, including public sector and housing)
£589 plus VAT standard price (applies to all other organisations)

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Standard price: £589 VAT: £117.80; TOTAL: £706.80 ‘Not-for-profit’ price: £522 VAT: £104.40; TOTAL: £626.40

We have a two-tier pricing structure, offering discounted rates to charities and not-for-profit organisations: Not-for-profit price applies to charities and other not-for-profit organisations (including public sector and housing) Standard price applies to all other organisations

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