The idea behind our mock-news exercises is to replicate as closely as possible how it feels to be under the media spotlight when something goes awry with your company and journalists get the whiff of a story.
News breaks on twitter and unless your response is swift and positive it’s easy to get swept away by the tide of a breaking story. There are SO recent many examples which illustrate the point – the communications aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the United Airlines passenger-dragging saga to name just two.
Each individual story has its own background but there are some universal truths that apply to most instances when companies or organisations are called to account to respond to a negative story in the media.
We do not encourage organisations to hide their heads in the sand or adopt the ‘No Comment’ stance, which merely increases your pain at a slightly later stage.
No , our workshops will bring together such general truths and incorporate them into the specific nature of your business and ensure that your stress points are tested so that you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie and how you can best protest your reputation when the media pressure is on.
First
Our first step is to LISTEN to you and find out as much about your business as possible and then work with you to come up with mock-news scenarios that fit your company brief.
Second
We then break the trainees up into groups and give you a real-life timescale whereby you prepare for a tv or radio interview while simultaneously deal with developments on social media, your customers, stakeholders and concerned members of the wider public.
The intensity of the exercise depends on the experience and skills of the team – we’ll tailor it to a workable but testing level.
Third
We will give your team opportunities to be interviewed by seasoned broadcast journalists in a challenging and supportive environment including full debriefing and feedback, tailored to the specific strengths of the individual trainee.
Our aim is to give you the skills and confidence needed to face the media and present your organisation to the wider world in a positive and constructive way along a wide range of likely scenarios.
You’ll be working with experienced journalists who’ve been covering international, national and local stories for 30 years and who will equip you with the right skills for the short, medium and long view required when dealing with a crisis.
We stress the importance of practicalities like preparation for interviews and will help you construct robust communications systems within your organisation so you’re not caught ‘on the hop’ when a potential crisis occurs.
At Mickordmedia.com we care as much about your reputation as you do. Whether on a training day or in a real-life media storm we become part of your team and will leave no stone unturned in ensuring you have the best possible support and advice.
It’s our firm belief that the best time to test your capabilities is before a potential crisis looms but we are happy to support you at any time, whatever happens.
Every crisis contains the seeds of opportunity as well as the potential for failure.
Let’s work together by uprooting the weeds and nurturing the flowers.
See also
Crisis communications services
Media training services
PR services
Case studies
