Media Literacy and Justice Trainings
Knowing how to use the news media for social justice work is a crucial skill, especially in media-driven New York City. But getting the media to pay attention to your campaigns can be hard, especially if you want to talk about the deeper issues behind the day's headlines.
People's Production House gives trainings on a range of media issues, from media literacy for teens to communications strategy for grassroots organizers. We will teach your staff and members how to structure the media component of your organizing and advocacy campaigns. Our staff of working journalists, communications professionals, and campaign coordinators has a broad range of skills and a distinct social justice frame. We have years of experience building media capacity through training and technical assistance in organizations across the country.
Topics:
- How to pick a media goal. Make sure your press work matches your campaign needs.
- Developing a media message for your campaign, examining intended audience(s), stereotypes to avoid and the principles of winning media messages.
- Methods for creating a media message with staff and members. Learn how to bring all the brains of your organization into the media mix without getting off track.
- Honing access skills like building relationships with reporters, developing eye-catching news advisories and releases. Learn how to make yourself attractive to the media without compromising your work.
- Staying on message. Learn how to talk in soundbites without losing the message, and the critical skill of controlling the terms of debate in an interview.
- Making yourself useful. Understand how to provide background while still getting mentioned, and how to become a go-to source in your field.
- Creating a press protocol and media strategy specific to your organization and campaign, including using new media tools to get your message out.
- Understanding who you're dealing with. Get a deeper understanding of the politics of the media world and the outlets within it. Know how to gauge who is friendly to your cause, and who is not, and how to deal with interviews by both.
Key Features and Benefits
- A practical understanding and hands-on experience of what makes an effective media message.
- Create sound-bites to use for your own campaign and learn the tools to stay on message.
- Resource information, including handouts, which you can use in your own organization as you develop a media plan.
- Understand the principles of winning media strategies and how to apply them to your organization and its work.
Depending on the goals of participants, trainings may include:
- how to deal with hostile reporters
- the differences in TV, radio and print interviews
- practice interviews in various formats
- suggestions for media outlets to contact and intensive story pitching skills
- using editorial board visits to hold media outlets accountable.
Training Pricing Structure:
People's Production House offers our trainings on a sliding scale basis, depending on the budget of your organization. Our fee includes materials and exercises to use in your media work. We will work with your organization to design the training that is just right for your staff and members. Please contact us for more information.
