Sally Stewart
Media Training 101
A Guide to Meeting the Press
Wiley, 2003
What's inside?
If you are tempted to lie to a reporter, don’t. If you want to fudge the facts, don’t…and other verities of media life.
Recommendation
This book gives you the essentials about dealing with the media, starting with interviews and calls from reporters. Sally Stewart, former journalist and PR practitioner, delivers the nitty-gritty. Her advice to recognize reporters’ financial and emotional pressures is particularly useful. Reporters have two clear priorities, she says, to write good stories and to go home. If you want their good will, try a little respect, she suggests, although she displays considerable cynicism and negativity about them. Her lessons include getting reporters to pay attention and which reporters to contact and how, be it by phone, e-mail or fax. Stewart tells you how to deal with unexpected calls from the press, and how to decide whether or not you want to be part of a story. If you do, here’s how to make the most of it. And if you don’t, this book tells you how to extricate yourself, if possible. Along the way Stewart explains how to dress for a television appearance. If this paragraph mentions any core skill you don’t already have, getAbstract.com has a newsflash for you: get the book.
Summary
About the Author
Sally Stewart is a former news reporter at USA Today and a commentator for CNN. Since 1996, she has worked as a communications consultant. She heads SA Stewart Communications of Santa Monica, California.
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