Media Relations Summit :: 2009

Two and a Half Days: May 17-19 • New York • Crowne Plaza Hotel

Sessions in Detail

Improve your results at one of four intensive workshops
(Note: Separate fees for these events: full-day workshops $995 for Media Relations Summit 2009 attendees,
$1,395 for non-attendees; half-day workshops $545 for Media Relations Summit 2009 attendees, $695 for non-attendees.)

1. How to Think and Write Like a Veteran Journalist — and Double Your Press Coverage This Coming Year

In this session, you’ll get an inside look into the mind, craft and idiosyncrasies of journalists. This is an intensive, hands-on, interactive experience—come prepared to learn, write and critique and you will leave with a whole new way of working with the media.

How journalists are writing differently in a Web 2.0 world—and how you can help them
How to stop writing press releases—and start telling compelling stories
What really motivates editors and reporters to cover a news story
How to create "win-win" relationships with your target journalists
The top 10 things you can do to create solid, credible, long-term relationships with the media
What to say—and not to say—in the first 10 seconds of your phone pitch
How to establish yourself as a "source," instead of a "flack"

Presented by: Jon Greer, President, MediaBridge.
Jon is a former journalist and PR executive and is currently a media trainer and top-rated Bulldog presenter who delivers stimulating, highly interactive workshops.

2. Social Media Strategies for PR: Intensive Hands-On Bootcamp

Social media is clearly the biggest opportunity—and challenge—facing PR practitioners today. Social networks, like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, plus search engine optimization for websites and news releases, plus corporate blogs and relations with industry bloggers—they’re all turning our profession upside down. This workshop will not only make you your company’s expert on social media, you’ll also come home with a complete social media strategy outline for your company or client.

Discover which social networks PR pros should take part in—and how to get started now
Learn how to monitor social media and blogs cost-effectively, so you know when you’re mentioned (or maligned)
Secrets of “organic” search techniques—how to double, even triple your visibility without spending a cent
Insider’s tools you can and should use to plan your search strategy
How to cost-effectively take part in social media sites . . . without getting burned
Dozens of free tools you can use to evaluate and implement social media programs
Detailed case studies highlighting best practices you can emulate

Presented by Sally Falkow, APR,
President, Expansion Plus
Sally is the industry’s highest rated speaker on technology topics for Bulldog Reporter. She’s the expert on the wide range of PR 2.0 topics, but especially on social media—and she knows how to make technology crystal clear. She is also a prolific blogger (“The Leading Edge”), trainer, counselor and public speaker.

3. Ultimate Corporate Spokesperson: Advanced Media

Learn to handle even the toughest interview with total confidence and powerful message focus. Discover techniques for creating memorable messages, retaining them under fire, and delivering them with credibility. You’ll also learn to create quotable sound bites every time you speak to the press. Finally, you’ll gain valuable skills you can teach to your top executives. Includes “on air” video practice and review.
You’ll specifically learn:

Rules for anticipating your interviewer’s questions
Use the “Power of Three” in crafting your platform
Giving the media the message they (and you) want most
Nine kinds of sound bites and how to remember them
When “I don’t know” is the absolute best answer
When it’s permissible to rewrite the reporter’s question
Why negative answers are always wrong—and how to avoid them
What should be on the “cheat sheet” you take into every interview

Presented by TJ Walker, President, Media Training Worldwide.
TJ Walker is the world’s most widely published and produced media trainer, bringing more than 22 years experience training CEOs, authors, and experts. He’s also the top-ranked media trainer at Bulldog Reporter’s Media Relations Summits.

4. Media Pitching Master Class: Guaranteed Techniques for Placing Your Organizations in Top Media

In just eight hours this workshop will transform your pitching skills. Learn the proven ingredients of successful pitches, both online and in traditional media, as well as how to get through to busy journalists, how to build rock-solid story foundations and creative new ways to package your story. Above all, you’ll come away with a plan for securing coverage for your organization in the nation’s highest-circulation, most prestigious media. You’ll specifically cover:

How to leverage your local story into a national blockbuster
How to get journalists to call you when they need nformation
The most common mistakes PR people make when pitching
Five critical ways pitching blogs is different than pitching “old” media
Seven subject cornerstones of successful stories
Three reasons why even your best pitch will never be good enough—and what to do about it
How to create super-concise, can’t-miss “elevator pitches”

Presented by Michael Smart, Principal, MichaelSMARTPR.
Michael has trained practitioners from Frankfurt to Tokyo. Above all, his workshop participants get results—respect from top journalists and placements in major media—guaranteed. No wonder that for four straight years he has been Bulldog Reporter’s top-rated speaker.