Media Training at EDF General Assembly 2004 – September 18th 2004

The media is the one of the most influential sources of information and mass communication in the world and it is also one of the most useful channels of advocacy due to its high audience reach. One of the main difficulties that the EDF has is communicating that dystonia is a serious medical condition that is still widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed and that it is vital that we continue to educate both healthcare professionals and the general public through all types of media.

With this consideration, and the assistance of Allergan and their PR Agency Chandler Chicco the EDF organised media training for member organisations at the 2004 General Assembly in Basel, Switzerland.  It was decided that media training would be an important tool with which to provide members with hints and tips for interacting with the media and give ideas on how to use the media as a vehicle for raising awareness and building the profile of all types of dystonia.  The training was conducted by Gerry Griffin who heads Asparagus, Europe’s leading specialist healthcare media training agency.

Thirty EDF members from 19 member organisations attended the media training which was held at the Hotel Bildungszentrum on September 18th 2004.  Almost all member countries were represented at the three hour session.

The objective of the media training was to help members understand how to communicate with the media more effectively and participants were given a background to the media, a general overview of the media industry and how to approach journalists when you have an idea for a story. Also covered were media interview techniques, which explained how to get your message across to journalists and how to use the media to educate the public and healthcare professionals about dystonia, its symptoms, the experience of living with the condition and available treatments.

The member groups were asked to think of key messages they wanted to portray to the media.  One such key message they wanted to communicate was one of hope - that in most cases, dystonia is treatable. They wanted other people suffering from the condition to be able to recognise the symptoms in order to be able to get treatment.  We discussed ways to get this particular message across, and examples were given of media stories where this had been successful.  The discussion focussed around what makes an interesting story, which types of media to approach and how to grab the readers’ attention. 

 

Raising awareness of the treatment options available for dystonia was another message at the forefront of delegates’ minds.  For this reason, we discussed using well known brands such as BOTOX® to generate media interest around the condition.  It was agreed that providing case studies of patients treated with BOTOX® would be an effective way to tell their story, and there were delegates present who had been interviewed by the press for this very purpose.   Some examples were shown of how this has already been achieved in the UK.  Other areas of interest were included such as breast cancer and asthma.   

 

The feedback from the participants was very positive with all participants feeling more confident about the challenge of dealing with the press. The majority felt that they better understood how they could attract more media interest in their story and felt that they were now better equipped to communicate confidently with the media.

 

Didi Jackson commented afterwards: “…it was a good meeting and the Media Training certainly was a highlight. …I am sure the regional groups will improve their media approach.”

Alistair Newton said: “I am sure that the delegates took away plenty of ideas from a good session to start them on their way in the world of media. We are very keen to see the groups working with their local PR teams in the future”.

It is hoped that by training representatives from EDF member organisations, they can return to their local markets and share what they’ve learnt, culturally adapting it if necessary.  This can help more members realise how important it is to use media as an outlet for raising awareness of the EDF and dystonia and to encourage more member organisations to set up media training for their associates in their own languages.

Gerry Griffin said: “One of the most important things to understand is that journalists operate under enormous time constraints and have their own agenda.  By recognising this you can make your own time with the media more rewarding, enjoyable and beneficial”.

Some useful Asparagus tips for members to follow when communicating with the media:

1.      Make sure you contact the right media

·         Healthcare focused publication or journalists

·         Publication or journalist that has written a similar story, e.g. look to lifestyle journalists for real life stories

·         Media with high readership - you want as many people as possible to read/hear your story

2.      Be specific about what you want communicate

·         Pick the three most important points you want to make

·         Make them as concisely as you can

·         Make sure your message fits your needs and desired outcome

3.      Make it easy for your audience

·         Speak in headlines

·         Offer conclusions first briefly and directly

·         Don’t over answer – less is more

4.      Repeat

·         Don’t be afraid to repeat the points you want to communicate

·         Don’t be put off by difficult questions, ‘bridge’ your answer to a related point you want to make

5.      Maintain consistency

·         This is vital for credibility

·         Make the same points to all media in all circumstances

·         Don’t let false statements, facts or figures offered by the journalist go uncorrected, stick to your story

Alistair Newton, Executive Director of the EDF was interviewed the night before the training session in order to demonstrate some of the techniques.  Alistair’s interview was played back at the end of the session to analyse his answers.  Gerry Griffin from Asparagus used this opportunity to exemplify certain methods of deflecting difficult questions and highlighted the need to always emphasise your “key messages”.

The meeting was also a chance for the member groups to meet Heather Bell and Annabel Cowper from Allergans’ PR agency Chandler Chicco.  This was a great opportunity for both parties to exchange details so that the PR agencies from the relevant countries could get in touch with the member groups in order to work with them in the future to create media interest around dystonia.  It is hoped that the relationships built from the exchange of EDF/PR contact details will continue, so that we may continue to benefit each other.