Crisis Communications Masterclass – 3: Owning the Agenda

We at BlackRook Media are offering the most in depth and detailed Crisis Communications Masterclass on Udemy.

We’ve focused our teachings into 5 specific areas that together make for a family of modules, providing a truly all encompassing understanding of how to handle a crisis and communicate with the media. Each of our 5 modules available here offer a combined duration of more than 7 hours, and present an unrivalled volume of content.

Your course leaders are Alan Rook and Mark Southgate who boast a combined 70 years of experience in the media industry. They are career journalists and media coaches who’ve held senior positions with a number of major organisations, including ITV and other international broadcasters Their consultancy work has continued at pace throughout the pandemic. All of the material they deliver is grounded in real world experience and expertise.

This third 90 minute module in BlackRook Media’s Crisis Communications Masterclass offers a guide on how to own the agenda and the media narrative in a time of crisis.

Get a handle on what strategies are most effective at gaining control and keeping it:

• Know Your Story – ensure you understand what you want to communicate

• Serve Multiple Audiences – realise why you need to tailor your message depending on who is hearing or reading it 

• Keep Control of Interviews – succeed at your media appearances by applying a set of tried and tested principles

• Reclaim the Narrative – learn how to be on the front foot and how to avoid always being reactive

• Opportunity From Crisis – develop the skills required to turn a bad situation into a positive one for your organisation

We present a vast array of good and bad real world examples, which provides the ultimate context for every principle we outline.

You, the student, will be provided with regular recaps so you can take stock as you learn with us.

You’ll hear from expert guests from the world of media and communications who have decades of experience and offer you their insights on the topics we cover.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

BlackRook’s courses are unique because our team works hard to:

• Pre-script all content

• Speak to guest experts for added value

• Work with real-life examples

• Provide easy to understand and complete explanations

• Pay attention to the visual presentation of the content we deliver

• Be there for you and provide support whenever necessary

If you recognise the value in this module, please check out the other parts of our Crisis Communications Masterclass; we also cover the themes Speed and Clarity, Tone and Language, Going on the Record and Closing It Down. 

Who this course is for:

• Business leaders, spokespeople, communications professionals and those at the very beginning of their career who might now, or one day, have to deal with a crisis. We’ve designed all of our modules across this masterclass series around our own hands-on professional journalism and communications experience spanning decades. We believe what’s offered here provides perspectives and specific learnings useful even to those who have a working knowledge and some experience of public relations and dealings with the media.