The Media Landscape

One of the golden rules of media training is not to show frustration at interview questions.  But that can be tough.  Interviews do not always go as planned, and spokespeople may face unexpected and uncomfortable questions.  They may face some that feel personal.  But when anger and frustration slip into interviews, they are propelled to a far wider audience – for the wrong reasons. Click here to...

There’s a lot going on in the news.   But one of the stories that seems to keep bubbling up over the past few weeks is how much money the Government has spent on media training.   The latest story reports that more than £18,000 of taxpayer’s cash has been spent on the training. How is the story being covered? And is the criticism justified?    Click here to read the original article this audio blo...

You can probably imagine the scenarios included in an airline’s crisis communication plan. Extreme weather, mechanical malfunctions, cyber-attacks and the mistreatment of passengers trending on social media are all likely to feature prominently. But what about showing an ‘inappropriate’ or spicy film to every passenger on a flight? And passengers being unable to turn off their screens? Media First...

One of Kamala Harris’s media interviews has caused a storm. Not because of anything the Democratic nominee said. But because she chose to appear on a podcast rather than traditional media.  To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . click here . Media First  are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of t...

Laura Kuenssberg’s cancelled interview with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to gain lots of attention.  What would have been a high-profile interview was canned after she accidentally sent him her briefing notes.  The political journalist had been due to speak to him about his memoirs – called Unleashed - but posted on X that the “frustrating” gaffe “obviously means it’s not right fo...

What’s the aim of a media training course? Is it simply to help spokespeople avoid saying something damaging? Well, the hosts of a popular podcast believe it is. And we don’t like the sound of that.  To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Media First  are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trai...

While Oasis have been delivering a PR masterplan over the past week (until ‘dynamic pricing’ reared its head), the band’s long-awaited reunion has not resulted in positive coverage for everyone.   The cleverly orchestrated speculation and anticipation surrounding the estranged Gallagher brothers putting their differences behind them created a media and social media frenzy.   But as soon as the reu...

Imagine you are in crisis mode.   As the head of your organisation leaves your offices, they are greeted by reporters firing questions.   How would they respond? Could they calmly cope with the stressful situation?   Or would their reaction create a wave of damning headlines and social media posts?   To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here. Media First  are media...

The Paris Olympics are serving up plenty of thrills and spills. But amid the attention-grabbing action and heart-stopping moments, there has been a lot of apologising. We’ve seen apologies for country confusion, controversial comments, drone spying missions, advert backlashes and much more. What can you learn from it?  To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Med...

We all know the news cycle can feel bleak and depressing.  But are you aware it is causing record numbers of people to avoid the news? Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.  Click here to find out more a...

We’re a little late with this one. But we recently stumbled across a great example of brilliant business writing.  Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.  Click here to find out more about our writin...

The dust has started to settle on this year’s general election.   Labour has gained a historic win, achieved a sizeable majority, and Keir Starmer has begun to get to work in Downing Street.   Weeks of campaigning are now consigned to the history books.   But what media training lessons can you learn from them?   To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Media Fir...

Reputation is hard won and easily lost.   "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”   Warren Buffet’s famous quote is a stark reminder of how damaging crisis media management incidents can be.   But can reputations be rebuilt? And how quickly?   To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Media First  are media and communications tr...

Have you heard about the cow who escaped from a farm, swam across a river and ended up in the streets of a busy town? While that may sound like the start of a joke, there is no punchline. Instead, this was an incident that captured massive media and social media interest after footage showed the runaway cow being twice rammed by a police car. And those actions have put Surrey Police firmly in the...

Imagine a journalist describes your spokesperson’s interview as “ridiculous”. Then consider an adviser intervenes and brings the questioning to a halt. You don’t need us to tell you the outcome is not a good look. Yet, it just happened. To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Media First  are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years...

Was that news story you read on the way into work created by a robot journalist?  How about that traffic update you checked on that local news site covering your area?  AI can often feel like it is something still in the future. But it is already here and changing the news business. To read the original article this audio blog was created from, click here . Media First  are media and communication...

Your company is at the centre of one of the biggest data hacks in history. What do you do? How do you respond to the crisis comms incident? Do you stay quiet, hope the hack is not as bad as is being suggested and the media attention goes away? Or apologise, seek to reassure customers and let them know what action you are taking to protect them?   To read the original article this audio blog was cr...

It tends to be easier to find examples of media interviews that have gone badly wrong. But we don’t just want to share the bad and the ugly with you in our media training blogs.   We also want to highlight those spokespeople who excel and deliver compelling interviews.   And our expert media trainers have been captivated by two excellent interviews.   To read the original article this audio blog w...

That was the issue faced by Sainsbury’s over the weekend as it was plunged into crisis media management mode.   An overnight software update meant the “vast majority” of the supermarket’s online orders couldn’t be fulfilled on Saturday.   And the glitch also caused some stores to be unable to accept contactless payment, with customers having to resort to using a physical bank card or cash to buy g...

Formula One is back for another season. But the sport is embroiled in more drama away from the track and a crisis that shows no sign of slowing. Its dominant team has spent more than a month facing headlines on the front and back pages over allegations about the conduct of its leader Christian Horner. What can we learn from it about crisis communication ? To read the original article this audio bl...

Media First  are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.

Imagine making an error in a press release that is described as a '$2 billion typo'.    Well, that was the situation Lyft found itself in after a rogue zero was added to figures about its predicted financial performance.    And it ensured the ride-hailing company endured a bumpy journey with lots of headlines and media appearances.    To read the original article this audio blog was crea...

How would your organisation respond if a watchdog found “multiple instances of race discrimination” in the way it operated?   That was the position Pontins found itself in after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) concluded it had committed several breaches of the Equality Act.   The holiday park operator discriminated Travellers by drawing up a list of "undesirable" Irish su...

Imagine you work in comms for a premium car company. You are keen for your spokesperson to dispel the claim your vehicles are more often stolen than others. Probably the worst thing they could do in this situation is repeat the negative language used by the media. It is something we always highlight during our media training courses – it is a golden media training rule Yet, we continue to see spok...

Ever wondered just how important it is to have examples you can use in media interviews?   It is something we always stress during our media training courses. You will also have read us go on about it in these blogs.   And two interviews that saw a journalist repeatedly ask for examples to support a claim have received plenty of attention this week and act as a great reminder.   To read the origin...