Does just the thought of calling a journalist make you sweat? And what about actually doing the interview? What will you say and how will you prepare for difficult questions?
Rest assured that journalists are actively seeking stories and actually welcome your ideas. But, they are being pitched stories from all sides. With careful planning your story idea will grab a journalist’s attention.

Learning Objectives

• Themes that make good media stories
• How to handle a media request step-by-step
• Top tips for doing interviews, including pre-negotiating and responding to tough questions
• Examples and more examples

Who Should Attend
Your organization’s public spokesperson—often a member of the communications team, the Executive Director and/or the Board President.

Instructor
Heather Badenoch believes in the value of not-for-profits to support our most vulnerable people and animals. She provides strategic communications planning and implementation, public relations, social media engagement, and training across Canada.
Heather is a board member with Volunteer Ottawa and the past Vice President and Membership Chair of the Canadian Public Relations Society Ottawa-Gatineau chapter. She is a volunteer with Community Veterinary Outreach, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre annual Christmas Tree sale, and has been a volunteer foster parent with dog rescues since 1998.
She received the 2014 Outstanding Contribution Award from Volunteer Ottawa and the 2005 City of Ottawa Civic Appreciation Award for Community Activism (Group) along with the HOPE SummerFest planning team.
Born and raised in Ottawa, Heather is a proud alumna of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and Merivale High School.
She and her husband, Paul, can often be found walking their rescue dog, Abbey, or taking on yet another house project.