CorpComms Magazine

If you type the phrase 'media training' into Google, you are met with over 800,000 bewildering results. This being the internet, some of them are bound to be offering to enhance something more intimate than your communication skills, but many will be trying to grab a slice of the lucrative business that is training the camera-shy to deal with a possible tussle with Jeremy Paxman.

Ten years ago, it would have seemed ludicrous to train the chief executives of tiny drainage companies and obscure charities to deal with the glitzy world of the media, but now everyone is craving a moment in the spotlight. Even the House of Lords has decided media training has merit, recommending last December that five senior judges should undergo courses to help them explain controversial sentencing decisions in simple English.

Trainers now have to adapt their courses to deal with a proliferation of media outlets, not to mention the podcasts and vodcasts that are de rigueur for any self-respecting company website these days.

Changing times

'Media training is a traditional activity that tends to be done by people with lots of experience,' says Paul Murricane, founder of media training provider Media Mentor, who has 20 years' media experience himself. 'Some people who are doing it are missing the fact that the world is changing.'

Traditional training aims to familiarise managers with media and give them the skills to deal with them. It might lift the lid on the workings of a local news station - the times of news conferences, the type of stories that might make the evening bulletin - as well as giving guidance on how to deal with an experienced print reporter. But as Murricane points out, the media landscape is changing fast, and training companies have to catch up.

'For instance, there used to be news conferences at set times of day, and set news bulletins,' he recalls. 'People on national newspapers now work like I used to on local radio, where the next deadline is an hour away.'

Sue Nelson, co-founder of media training group Boffin Media, agrees that training companies have to engage with a changing media. A former BBC correspondent, she says executives now have to be far snappier when it comes to dealing with journalists. 'You need to get your point across in far less time now,' she points out. 'If you watch old interviews, they tend to be rather long by comparison.'

Furthermore, the proliferation of television channels, radio stations and internet sites means the media are hungry for potential candidates, and more people feel they need training. 'We can now say to people who never had a chance at getting into the media, Look at the opportunities in your area for local radio, TV and so on,' says Murricane. 'With 24-hour news coverage there is such a huge demand for interviews.'

Estelle Matthews, a media training consultant from Marlston, agrees. 'More people than ever need to be media trained because of the sheer number of outlets,' she says. 'There are people staring into the barrel of a camera who have never done any training before.'

Andrew Leach, founder of Harvey Leach, says seeing media training as an 'optional extra' can have disastrous consequences. 'Untrained people can land an organisation in serious trouble,' he warns.

Pressing the flesh

A typical day on a media training course includes advice on presentation, getting a message across and pitfalls to avoid. David Bennett, a partner in Crown Media, says that often one of the most valuable things a training day can do is simply allow executives to meet members of the media.

'They need to realise we don't have two heads,' he asserts. 'The most important things to teach people are that you need to be honest, you need to understand that the journalists have a job to do - and you definitely need to maintain a sense of humour.'

While many of the tenets of media training may sound more like common sense, Leach says even the most confident people could do with a bit of help. 'I have heard managing directors say they are wasting their time,' he recalls. 'They say, I could speak to a room full of people and have them in the palm of my hand - but I can pretty much guarantee they won't be able to get their point across during five minutes in front of a journalist.'

Murricane agrees, although he says some people learn more than others. 'At the end of the course we will say to some people, You should never go on television, or You are alright with radio but if you talk to a print journalist you will end up telling him or her your entire life story, so don't do it.'

'The main things to teach are confidence and control - if you do not have control, you will end up working to the journalist's agenda,' adds Leach.

Mergermarket, which provides expert comment on mergers and acquisitions, took the step of asking its experts, mostly print journalists, to go on a media training course with Marlston.

'It was fantastic for us,' says Hannah Bagshawe, head of communications for mergermarket. 'We have a lot of experts in various subjects, but they have never learned to talk about things on television. People want so much quick information now that I think media training is really important.'

Crowning achievement

Crown Media provides an extreme example of how media training is being adapted to fit modern media trends. The company, which is only 18 months old, has been awarded the Ministry of Defence media training contract.

Bennett, who is currently giving media training to soldiers destined for Afghanistan, says troops need to cope with the way media is evolving.

'These troops are heading to Afghanistan, where some things will go well and others could go tragically wrong,' he points out. 'Since there are often journalists embedded within the units, everyone needs to know how to deal with them.'

Bennett recently spent some time out in Kabul and says that, as well as dealing with the increased requests for interviews created by 24-hour news coverage, his company is training the troops to deal with the proliferation of local media.

'We had to train the taxi drivers out there to find the places where local radio stations and publications are based,' Bennett explains. 'Often these are secret and are the only way to get a message out in the local language. In 2004 the number of local radio stations in Kabul went from three to nine. People have to be efficient in dealing with the media due to the sheer number of outlets and 24-hour coverage. There are no deadlines any more - the deadline is yesterday.'

Bennett adds that media trainers now have to bear in mind the fact that news outlets can be accessed all over the world. 'If we have a client in Hong Kong, it can tune in to television and radio from across the globe,' he says. Murricane believes this represents an opportunity for many clients. 'We have a lot of people who have done interviews down the line for media in Russia or the Middle East,' he says. 'We now incorporate this into our training programmes.'

World of difference

Another way media training is adapting is by offering training in podcasting, vodcasting and producing YouTube videos. Many managing directors need special coaching in how to write pieces to read aloud for podcasts and vodcasts.

Media Mentor estimates that 20 percent of its business now involves podcast and vodcast training. 'It gives people tremendous power - they are suddenly their own broadcaster,' says Murricane. 'They are essentially broadcasting without the filter of a journalist, and that can cause problems. People have blind spots; either they try to treat it like an online version of the company brochure, which convinces no one, or they have no idea who the audience is. There has been a real sea change in media training.'

Murricane adds, however, that the main things a media trainer can teach remain the same. 'The worst things people can do are to be overly defensive and put their hands over the lens, or find questions inappropriately funny,' he says. 'Media training can help people understand who journalists are and why they ask the questions they do - and give them real practice in dealing with answering those questions

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