MEDIA TRAINING

Over the past 18 years, our company has demonstrated its ability to deliver award-winning print and media materials covering health issues on time, and on budget. We often interview and rely on experts from NIH and other national health organizations. In the course of production, we train experts to convey their knowledge in a concise manner every day. Our gifted team of educators, journalists, Emmy-award winning producers, and videographers has all of the skills needed to provide your organization with quality media training. It will equip them with the confidence and proficiency to control the flow of information to the media.

Anyone who gives interviews for print, radio, or TV needs to feel at ease and be factually accurate, clear, concise, and credible. And the stakes are high. Wrong information, or even good information presented in an awkward or overly technical way can damage public trust, hinder the progress of projects, and reflect poorly on both individuals and an organization as a whole. Accent Media offers high level training which will prepare spokespersons to respond to requests for information and interviews from journalists be they television, radio or print.

Though there are many "one-person bands" in the field who can offer bargain prices, creating powerful media training materials and conducting expert workshops is not a job for one person. The highest quality training requires expertise from several different disciplines. Leading our team is Dan Cohen, a 25-year, 6-time Emmy award-winning veteran producer of live, post-production and corporate television. Using his years of work as a journalist, he lectures, consults corporations, companies, non-profits as a media training specialist with a focus on interview techniques and message development. He is supported by experienced interviewer, film director, and print journalist Cecilia Domeyko, media educator and director of actors Dr. Jack Jorgens, and Spanish-language television reporter-producer and experienced media trainer, Gilberto Cabrera. and one of Accent Media's award-winning professional cameramen. Together they can cover all of the dynamics of dealing with the media.

Our before-and-after materials and workshop will allow your spokespeople to project confidence, sincerity, and credibility. Our program uses a combinations of instruction, role-playing, exercises, visual materials, and audio / videotape practice sessions. We do this by teaching trainees to:

1. Deliver key messages directly and effectively (without too much technical jargon ­ though this may depend on the audience).
2. Adapt message points for various media.
3. Develop and deliver powerful sound bites.
4. Provide information in a manner the media will readily respond.
5. Redirect questions to maintain control of the interview and reinforce message points.
6. In the case of television, use verbal and nonverbal language to emphasize key points, eliminating vocal patterns and physical gestures.
7. Gracefully handle difficult interviewers.
8. Develop techniques to reinforce message points, provide a call to action and leave a lasting impression.

We train executives and staff to outline a specific plan for presentation with key message points developed prior to the interview, so that the interviewee has a greater chance of controlling the information. We also conduct media training among low literacy, grassroots groups who wish to better their ability to connect to the media and act as spokespersons for their organization.

Our session is usually divided into two segments. The first is an interactive Powerpoint presentation. The session discussion would cover a number of topics including:

* A general overview of the media.
* Information about interview techniques for print, television and radio.
* Message development.
* "Bridging" techniques for inserting message points into an interview.
* Suggestions on clothing for television interviews.
* Suggestions on posture during the interview.
* Video examples of interview techniques.
* Practical interview experience with video analysis.
* Take home review document.

Sample questions for participants:

1. What are your goals in the interview?
2. What is the message you are interested in communicating?
3. What are the key points you want to communicate?

Sample questions participants should ask of the journalist:

4. What do you already know about this subject?
5. Who else have you talked to?
6. What are you looking for from me?

The second part of the training session focuses on practical experience, where simulated interviews are conducted and videotaped. The interviews are then reviewed and discussed to reinforce points made during the discussion part of the training session. The practical experience segment would consist of:

* Live interview with a professional journalist.
* Videotaping with a professional television camera photographer.
* Instant videotaped review and analysis.
* Interactive discussion and evaluation of the interview situation.

Sample points to be covered:

* Focus on the headline of your message.
* Have some facts.
* Have some real life experiences or anecdotes.
* Be proactive in your answer.
* Look for key opportunities to turn the interview back to your message

Each participant will be given a VHS tape or DVD of their own practice interview for further study. After participating in our training program, NCI participants will leave the workshop feeling confident in their ability to handle day-to-day media requests.

Media training courses available from 4 hours to two days, for individuals or groups, and we can adapt our workshops to meet the needs of individual organizations.


1. ADVANCE MATERIALS .

We will provide participants with a packet of print materials for reading about the basics of media training before attending the workshop. These materials can be put on the Accent Media website so that your personnel can access them via the internet.

2. SIMULTANEOUS RECORDING

For larger groups, we can record participants simultaneously in adjoining rooms, doubling the amount of experience the group can get in the time available.

3. FOLLOW-UP MATERIALS

After participants have completed the workshop, they will be given recordings of themselves so that they can continue to review and learn from them. Or if they wish, the tapes can be erased to preserve confidentiality.

4. EVALUATIONS / REPORTS

We conduct evaluations of each workshop we give, and can provide clients with detailed reports on the progress of participants.

5. SUBSEQUENT EMAIL / TELEPHONE / IN PERSON COACHING

As part of the workshop, each participant will be given one free individual consultation by telephone or email when they are facing a difficult interview. If the client wishes, we can provide additional consulting service where staff can get instant feedback in preparing an interview.