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| Media training price? | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 5 2009, 06:01 PM (3,047 Views) | |
| darcyg | Feb 5 2009, 06:01 PM Post #1 |
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I was curious on how much on how much one should expect to pay for news media training. I've seen prices that were very cheap and others that were unbelievably expensive. Is there a standard price range I should be looking at? An industry standard price of media training if you will. Also, I'm interested in getting the most value out of the training. Some trainers say they will do groups of 50 and others only 8. What size of class should I be looking at? Thanks for your help. |
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| Steve Wilson | Feb 9 2009, 03:58 PM Post #2 |
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How much does media training cost? You're right about media training pricing. Fees for media training are all over the ballpark, basically from a few hundred dollars to more than $10,000 per session. The industry "standard," if you will, is probably close to the middle -- say in the $4,000 to $7,000 range for group sessions excluding any travel expenses. Now that I've said that, let me qualify it. There is some truth that you get what you pay for. So, before going with any firm on price alone, take some time to examine exactly what you are buying. First, take a look at the firm's experience. How long have they been doing media training and is it their primary business, or is it a sideline? Who are their clients? Have they ever done training for a company like yours? Can they provide references? Who else have they done training for and how current is their client list? Who will be doing the training? What is their experience? Do you go to them, or do they come to you? This can make a big difference on additional expenses. What's included in the price? Does it include the camera and camera operator, workbooks, travel time, prep time, etc.? If these expenses are additional, that can increase the price quickly. How long is the session? Is it a half-day, one day, or more than one day? The size of the class is also an important factor. While many firms offer individual training, the class size can move upward to 50 or more. Again, it depends on what you want from the training and what you are willing to pay for. A class of five or six students is likely to get a lot more individual attention and on-camera time than a class of 20, 30 or 50. On the other hand, the price-per-student is far less with the larger classes. Another factor involves the whole reason behind the training. Are these plant managers who are being trained because there is a "chance" they could be interviewed in a crisis? Or, are you preparing one or two of your key people for an interview on 60 Minutes or Fox News? In any case, you probably don't want to purchase an "off-the-shelf" media training program. The firm ought to have a protocol in how they approach media training, but the class ought to be tailored for your particular organization. The bottom line is that if media training is important to you, then it's important that you take the time to select the firm you feel will do the best job within the budget you have available. What is it that you want to get out of media training and which firm can deliver it? The most expensive media training firm may not necessarily be the best, but the least expensive firm may not be able to deliver what you want. |
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| darcyg | Feb 10 2009, 06:05 PM Post #3 |
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Thanks for you explanation on the price range of media training. I was also curious on what the ideal class size might be. We have many people to train and I need to keep the per-student cost low. |
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| Steve Wilson | Feb 10 2009, 10:24 PM Post #4 |
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There is no "perfect" class size that I can suggest. It depends on the end result you're looking for. If you're training someone for 60 Minutes, or anything even closely resembling 60 Minutes, I'd suggest individual training, possibly broken down to two or more sessions. If you're training people to be designated spokespersons for their facility in the event of an emergency that would attract media attention, i.e., a fire, explosion, etc., you can go with group training. While the size of the group will vary among individual media training firms, I usually recommend a class size of 6-8 individuals. This allows for multiple, on-camera interviews and critiques and less "down time" for the students while they are waiting to be interviewed. If your budget is a problem, you can stretch the size of the class, but realize it will cut down on the amount of individual attention offered students and the final result may not be all that you wanted. Hospitals (and certain other organizations) often have various spokespersons based on their particular position or experience. I typically try to keep these classes fairly small with no more than two, three or four persons. We often provide individual training for executives with the hospital. The very large classes - say 20-50 or more students - are primarily intended for providing the basics of how to deal with the news media, but generally offer very little - if any - on-camera experience for the majority of students. I would not suggest large group sessions for people who are intended to be designated spokespersons for an organization, unless it is followed up later by more rigorous training. Classes can run anywhere from two to three hours to three or more days. Most of our classes are one-day sessions, although some of our clients prefer the additional on-camera interviews that a two-day session allows. A lot of this depends on how much time the client - and students - can free up for the training. Finally, there is what many instructors would probably call "media coaching." This is where you typically work with an individual to help prepare them for a scheduled or likely interview. This type of training is often handled by the organization's own PR department or PR firm. In many cases, however, the organization opts to hire an outside media trainer. The bottom line: talk to your media trainer. Tell them what you want to get out of the training and how many people you ultimately want to train. Ask them if all students will undergo multiple, on-camera interviews and critiques. Ask them what type of program they would suggest, and why. |
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| Dstevens | Mar 18 2009, 02:32 PM Post #5 |
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How often should potential spokespersons undergo media training? I've heard that some people go through it almost annually while others do it once every 10 years or so? I'm not sure what the correct answer is, but I'm guessing once a decade is not often enough. Seems like you'd forget everything you had learned by then. I'd be interested in knowing if there is any kind of recommendation for repeat training or refresher media training. |
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| Steve Wilson | Mar 19 2009, 04:32 PM Post #6 |
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I'm not sure there is any secret formula for how often potential spokespersons should go through media training. Most of our clients try to repeat it every two to three years it seems, although some do it more often for critical spokespersons. I agree that going through training once a decade is about the same as not going through it at all. I wouldn't want to be on an emergency response team that only trained once every 10 years. |
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| Mike Barnes | Aug 24 2009, 04:31 PM Post #7 |
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Is it just me, or are there more media training firms out there than ever today? Are there that many news anchors and reporters out of work? How, if any, is that impacting the price for media training? Or, in this economy, is anyone contracting for media training, anyway? |
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| CrisisMan | Sep 1 2009, 02:09 PM Post #8 |
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I think there has been some pull back on prices for some firms, but overall the fee structure is about what it's always been. Some firms charge a lot and others charge less. I can't speak for everyone, but I think there's always been a bit of "wiggle room" on media training fees to allow some degree of negotiation. But, as far as fire sale prices on media training; I don't think you're going to see that. At least not on a major scale. The point is that fees are based on several factors, including the quality of the program and the cost to produce it. Some programs cost more to produce and are simply worth more. When you start comparing prices, you have to compare apples with apples. A "media trainer" that comes in with a $300 camcorder and no real program obviously has less overhead than someone with a professional videographer, camera, workbooks, etc. |
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| kellyM | Oct 8 2009, 01:30 PM Post #9 |
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In response to the query about the rising number of media trainers, I just Googled the phrase "Media Training" and got no less than 135 million hits. Albeit, a lot of those are not the kind of media training we're talking about, but it does go to point out that the market is a bit flooded right now. I wonder is there really that much demand for media training in the world? Or, has the current economy contributed to the numbers due to unemployed reporters and news anchors looking for a new line of work due to cutbacks at newspapers and TV stations? |
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| Ron Higgins | Nov 17 2009, 04:01 PM Post #10 |
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Can anyone recommend anything other than media training every couple of years or so to make sure you're on your toes and ready for the media? Nothing against media trainers, but going through the same thing every year or two can get kind of boring. Is there any way to make it more interesting and hopefully more valuable to those who are required to go through it? |
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