Media Training for Sharper Green Advocacy
Wednesday, Nov 01, 2023 | By: Amanda Barnes
Demand for broadcast media training from environmental groups has increased of late as organisations find they need to sharpen up their media performances. Mainstream media has been devoting more coverage to climate change and other serious green issues.
However, positive environmental stories rarely make dramatic news. Many environmental groups find that, although scientifically-based solutions are available, their advocacy requires better media presentation if they are to break out of specialist journals and news sites into the mainstream.
Oxford Global Media has developed broadcast media training packages in on-line formats as well as on-site. Recent clients have included:
- the Royal Forestry Society, a charity promoting environmentally responsible woodland management
- the 3 Keel Consultancy, an independent group of sustainability researchers committed to making food systems, supply chains and landscapes fit for the future;
- the Nekton Foundation, a marine research organisation working in collaboration with Oxford University to protect the deep ocean
Environmental groups like these typically have extremely strong scientific and technical credentials in their diverse fields but, as usually their staff have had only limited media exposure, they are now finding they need to become more competent and confident broadcasters.
The Oxford Global Media broadcast media training can be fitted into the pressured schedules of environmental researchers and other staff by splitting the workshop into two half-day sessions which can be held on successive days or weeks. As well as practice in front of a camera and interviewers, the workshop includes exercises on composing sound-bites and tips for both live and recorded as well as on-line interviews.
Feedback received from participants has been almost universally positive as they appreciate the opportunity to hone their skills and work on their weak points in a safe setting. The workshop stresses the need for proper preparation ahead of a broadcast interview. With improved interviewee techniques comes greater confidence and authority in getting across green policy messages.