On completion of this course you will:

• Understand the principles of crisis management
• Have a company strategy for dealing with a crisis and the media
• Be able to organise and brief in-house personnel in how to react to a crisis
• Understand what the media want
• Be able to work with the media and gain their respect
• Learn how to handle difficult questions
• Be able to formulate effective soundbites
• Be able to organise a press conference
• Learn how to survive an ambush from the media

Who Should Attend?

• Corporate Communications/Public Affairs Managers
• Press Officers and Managers who have a communications responsibility
• Regional and Local Managers who may have to deal with an incident in their area
• Safety Officers/Office/Plant Managers
• Marketing staff keen to broaden their expertise in a vital area

Part 1: Introduction to Crisis Management & The Media

• Characteristics of a major incident/crisis
• Organising the incident management team
• Your agenda and objectives
• Preparing press statements/releases
• Working with the media
• Dealing with difficult questions
• Identifying/Influencing friends/enemies and decision makers
• Briefing and organising company management/spokespeople
• Organising a press conference

Part 2: From the Horse's Mouth - The Media Perspective

• Talk from an experienced journalist on what information the media is looking for during a crisis in a company
• What kind of questions you will be faced with from journalists
• How to gain respect/trust of media
• How to get your side of the story heard

Part 3: Putting it into Practice - Crisis Simulation Exercise

• Develop and work with a team to control an evolving hypothetical incident
• Deal with simulated media queries and interviews
• Develop press releases and holding statements
• Organise a press conference

Part 4: How did you Cope? - Assessment of Performance

• Constructive criticism of performance
• Identification of weak and strong areas in strategy
• Agreement on further action where required
• Agreement on basic structures relevant for your organization
• How to put the core structure in place

Part 5: On the plus side .

• Increased media focus.can it work to your advantage?
• Enhanced credibility and respect.its possible if you get it right
• Improved relationship with local opinion makers and public representatives
• A more confident approach to overall media relations

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