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Bridging the Gap:  Journalists and PR Pros Join Forces
by Greg Lefevre

Several years ago, while still Bureau Chief for CNN's San Francisco Bureau, Rhonda Silva, founder of Optimum Media Training, invited me to emcee the Northern California Compass Awards banquets, held by the Public Relations Society of America's Bay Area chapters. It's an evening ceremony where the best PR campaigns of the year were given their due. I thoroughly enjoyed my private look inside the public relations business.

Soon Rhonda was inviting me to talk at media breakfasts and luncheon programs sponsored by other organizations. We would reveal how the TV journalism business works and how the "J" (journalism) folks and the "PR" folks can best get along. We do need each other. Anyone denying that is fooling him or herself.

As my days at CNN were winding down in the fall of 2000, I mentioned to Rhonda that I would like to formalize these talks into a consulting practice. Overnight she emailed me a business plan with my name on it.

Rhonda liked my approach to "spin free" interviews. I liked her philosophy of "know your message and believe in it." Off we went.

We wrote and produced a media training curriculum adaptable to nearly every situation. We assembled a group of spokespeople from the Bay Area (consisting of clients and consultants), and conducted a day of media training with each. I enjoyed the experience, learning about clients' needs, requirements and objectives. Participants heard some hard truths from me about what the media might do with their story and how best to deal with it. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the sessions told us we were on the right track.

We tweaked the sessions further. Soon Rhonda had more clients lined up. We endured the post dot com slump and the post 9/11 doldrums.

Our media training sessions were rich with content and got effusive praise from clients. Some clients were prepping for airtime. Others were prepping for presentations to colleagues or to industry analysts. For each we adjusted the elements of the training to fit their needs.

Our clients are involved in meaningful events. Among others, we trained and coached doctors to educate the public about anthrax, steroids in sports, the flu epidemic, and proper weight control. We helped technology experts launch new products, and coached financiers who were pulling California out of its budget mess.

Rhonda Silva is tremendously successful in bringing clients the specific expertise they need. From my prospective, I am linked with clients who may find my consulting worthwhile. I have easily made the transition from broadcast reporter to media coach and trainer.

For more information on Greg Lefevre and the Optimum media coaching and training program, call 925-323-7774.

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