National Press Club Audience Gets the Lowdown on Media Relations Strategies

For immediate release                                  Contact:    Ed Barks
Friday, October 2, 2020                                                   (540) 955-0600

 

Even the most experienced media relations pros need constant vigilance to keep media relations skills sharp. That’s the guidance a National Press Club audience gained from Barks Communications President Ed Barks during his October 1 talk.

“It’s all about sustained professional development, whether it relates to message development and discipline, counseling the C-suite, handling various media interview formats, or understanding reporters’ shifting needs,” he said as part of his remote presentation.

He shared with his listeners the three words about successful media efforts that he kept in mind when writing his latest book, Reporters Don’t Hate You: 100+ Amazing Media Relations Strategies: Prepare. Perform. Profit.

He also emphasized that, despite the current popularity of Zoom for media interviews, longstanding best practices still apply. Zoom, he explained, is “just another tool, like email when it arrived in the 1990s and the fax machine in the 1980s.”

As with all of his talks, Barks served up practical strategies that communicators can use to advance their professional development. Among them:

  • How to build meaningful, beneficial relationships with reporters
  • Why sustained practice is so essential — and advice for how to do it
  • What it takes to handle the hottest of hot potato questions
  • How to avoid falling victim to reporter tricks and traps
  • Best practices for TV and Zoom interviews

Barks provides his services on a pro bono basis to certain non-profit, educational, and charitable organizations. He donates his time and talents to causes he believes in and organizations he views as effective advocates. Contact Barks to learn if your organization qualifies.

Ed Barks serves as an advisor to communications executives to improve their companies’ messages and how they deliver them, and to government relations executives who want to reach their public policy goals. They gain an enhanced reputation, more opportunities for career advancement, and achievement of long-term business and public policy goals. He is the author of three books: Reporters Don’t Hate You: 100+ Amazing Media Relations Strategies, A+ Strategies for C-Suite Communications: Turning Today’s Leaders into Tomorrow’s Influencers, and The Truth About Public Speaking: The Three Keys to Great Presentations. As President of Barks Communications, he has taught more than 5000 business leaders, association executives, and other experts how to succeed when they deal with the media, deliver presentations, and advocate before policymakers.

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