Integrate Network Communications Workshop: “Engaging with Media”

Do you want to find out why journalists tend to take certain perspectives when it comes to how we use our forest? Why do they echo specific voices while others remain unheard? Do you want to learn how to communicate better with the media and what makes information newsworthy?

In our second Integrate Communications Workshop, we will focus on “Engaging with Media”. Together with science and environmental journalists, we will learn how media mechanisms work and what they are seeking to hear from policymakers, practitioners and researchers. Jointly, we will also discuss the language to use when communicating with media, and how you can “pitch” your narrative and engage better with the journalists.

Ahead of the meeting, you will be asked to develop a short verbal narrative to share with a journalist and the group. The selected participants will receive an instruction ahead of the meeting. The training is part of a series aiming at bringing together a diverse group from forest policy, forest practice, nature conservation stakeholders, researchers, and journalists to jointly improve their communication skills, exchange perspectives and learn from each other.

The workshop will be closed-shop to enable a safe space for interpersonal interaction. Therefore, we will only allow 21 participants to register. To make a complementary selection and guarantee we can rely on your participation please send an email with a short “application” (explanation of why you would like to join the workshop and what you are aiming at learning, ca. 1/2 page) to gesche.schifferdecker(at)efi.int. Before applying, please consider that this workshop will focus on the European context.

Schedule:

What you should know about today’s journalism and media
10:30-10:45

A day in the life of a feature editor – a fireside chat with Josh Howgego, features editor at New Scientist
10:45-11:15

Discussion: Why this narrative works better than the other?
11:15-12:00

Break
12:00-12:30

Practical Exercise: What do journalists think about your narrative?
12:30-13:30

Reflection and the exchange of experiences
13:30-14:00