Advanced Media Handling

Learn how the most successful comms teams work effectively with the media to influence and generate media coverage

This full-day Advanced Media Handling workshop supports communications teams to optimise how they work with journalists and media outlets, including in crisis situations.

What you’ll learn

This full-day course gives you a clear understanding of how the media works and what journalists need. You’ll learn when your spokespeople should speak to the media, how to brief them effectively, and how to manage broadcast crews on-site. We focus on preparing spokespeople to communicate with confidence even under pressure. You’ll gain practical tools to help them manage stress, avoid sounding defensive, and use tone, empathy, and body language to defuse hostility and connect with critical audiences. The course also explores how the media operates during a crisis, what journalists look for in accountability interviews, and the common pitfalls to avoid. Through real-world case studies, you’ll learn what works, what doesn’t and how to communicate clearly when it matters most.

How you’ll learn

Your course will be led by a senior broadcast journalist who are also specialist media trainers with years of experience in crisis training. They’ll share their expertise and use presentations, case studies, discussion and practical exercises to build your team’s media handling skills whether it’s dealing with general press inquiries to influencing media coverage during a crisis.

Who this Advanced Media Handling workshop is for

This workshop is designed for teams in press office and communications roles who need to confidently brief journalists, manage TV crews on site, prep senior executives for media interviews, respond to media during a crisis, influence media coverage and help their organisation to limit reputational damage in a crisis.

Course Modules

Module 1

Advanced Media Handling Theory

  1. Media relations strategy
  2. What journalists want and how to pitch to newsdesks
  3. Dealing with journalists/TV crews on your site
  4. Prepping spokespeople for interviews
  5. Effective messaging and crisis questions
  6. Dealing with tricky questions – ABC technique
Module 2

Crisis Media Handling & Practical exercises

  1. Media v your priorities in a crisis
  2. Your crisis issues
  3. Limiting reputational damage
  4. Prepping spokespeople – messaging, tone, empathy
  5. Practical exercise – Prepare a nominated spokesperson to do a mock interview face to face with a trainer. Followed by feedback on messaging, spokesperson prep and interview performance.

What our students say

View all testimonials

I honestly thought that the whole day was fabulous!!! You really couldn’t have done anymore for us. The combination of practical exercises and feedback was particularly useful, it was a challenging day (in a very good way) in that we really had to think, learn and adapt quickly. I know the team are significantly better prepared for media interviews after this training.

Fragile X Society
, Managing Director

PA Media Training were efficient, well organised and genuinely lovely people to deal with and, importantly for us, able to provide flexibility around our needs to create the bespoke training we required. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for further training or to recommend them to other organisations.

Mayor of London’s Press Office
, Head of Media

The training scenarios are as real to life as you could possibly get. They took considerable time to research our current plans and issues and used these to design a series of true to life radio and TV interviews. The team is outstanding, and their expertise and knowledge has been invaluable. Book them – you’ll be glad you did.

NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group
, Communications Manager

The team is flexible, slick, well-resourced and overall simply first class. Their expertise and knowledge have been invaluable. I was delighted with our choice, so I’d have no hesitation in recommending them

Prostate Cancer UK
, Head of External Relations

The lifelike interview settings and tasks that PA Media Training deal in replicate perfectly the real-world feel of a tough media interview and help the delegates come out of the day feeling much more confident that they can play an active role in representing their organisation.

Transport for London
, Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs

What a great session we had on Communicating with Impact. Bridgid shared practical techniques to enhance and develop our communications skills so we can present and speak publicly or to senior stakeholders with confidence and impact.  I speak for my whole team in highly recommending Bridgid Nzekwu if you are after effective and fun communication training.

Vodafone
, Group Legal Director, Corporate Commercial & Compliance

The small class sizes nurture a comfortable environment where everyone supports and learns from each other. The staff helped me hone in on my writing skills and develop the confidence to feel comfortable on camera.

Camilla Foster
, Reporter
, Newsquest

Contact us

Do you wish to train on one of our specialist courses? Start by filling in the application form – we’ll ask you for some important information such as your education and employment history.

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For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
By submitting this application form you confirm your acceptance that the information you have provided will be used during the recruitment procedure. Once the recruitment procedure is completed, the data will be stored for one year and then destroyed. If you are the successful candidate, relevant information may be taken from this form and used as part of your personnel record.
If you would like to receive regular updates from PA Media Academy, please tick here:
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Contact us

For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.