On January 27, 2025, CMS hosted its first Media Training Workshop aimed at empowering our affiliates to effectively engage with the media and share their important research with the broader public.
The workshop gave affiliates valuable insights into crafting compelling messages that the audience will hear, understand and remember. The session covered key aspects of media engagement, including how reporters evaluate and tell stories, best practices for interviews, and strategies for handling difficult questions.
Key Takeaways
• Understanding the Media: Reporters seek timely, relevant, and compelling story ideas. Knowing how they frame stories—starting with the most newsworthy details before adding context—can help scholars position their research effectively.
• Crafting Key Messages: Strong key messages make research accessible to broader audiences. Participants practiced distilling their work into short, clear, impactful statements that resonate with the public.
• Navigating Difficult Questions: Handling challenging questions requires staying on message, acknowledging opposing viewpoints, and using bridging techniques to steer the conversation back to key points.
• Interview Best Practices: From preparation to delivery, attendees learned how to approach media interviews with confidence—being concise, avoiding jargon, and engaging in meaningful dialogue.
• Collaborating with UBC Media Relations: The team can evaluate media interest in your research, develop outreach strategies, and connect your work with key audiences. Through media training and support, they can help you navigate interviews and sensitive issues.
Resources
- Resources for Faculty: Learn more about the stories UBC Media Relations tell, how they distribute the news, and how to get your story in the news.
- Join the Expert Guide: Complete your profile to be contacted by journalists seeking your expertise.
- Online Media Training Course – Contact Sachintha Wickramasinghe at sachi.wickramasinghe@ubc.ca to enroll.
- Banulescu-Bogdan, Natalia. 2018. When Facts Don’t Matter: How to Communicate More Effectively about Immigration’s Costs and Benefit. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Workshop Presentation
For the complete workshop materials, contact us at comms.migration@ubc.ca.
