Summer Boot Camp & Live Media Pitch
There’s an art and a science to crafting messages in a way that the media will hear and carry forward. On July 15, The Fair Media Council’s Summer Boot Camp provided an opportunity to learn tricks of the trade, avoid common errors and make sure your news reaches the right audience.
It was excellent. Where else do you get to receive expert pointers, and then pitch whatever you’ve got to eight journalists who truly care to give constructive feedback and help folks understand how best to reach them?
This event happens twice a year. Highly recommend catching the next one!
The Program
This year’s featured speaker was Jody Fisher of Jody Fisher PR. As a professional with a history of generously sharing his wisdom, Jody was quite effective at distilling best practices and practical advice into a brief and memorable presentation. You can catch a little bit of that on Jody’s Instagram.
The panel of journalists included:
- Jennifer Bisram, Reporter, CBS News New York
- Greg Cergol, Reporter, NBC 4 New York
- Kepherd Daniel, Editor, Patch.com
- Cecilia Dowd, Reporter, News 12
- Sheri Einhorn, Health & Education Reporter, Newsday/NewsdayTV
- Chantee Lans, Reporter, WABC-TV
- Peter Shields, Island Edge Business News
- Jill Conway, Secrets of Powerful Women Podcast
This event is designed to give attendees ample opportunity to land solid coverage and strengthen their relationship with the media. This year was clearly no exception. Not only were relationships forged, the attending journalists were more than generous with their constructive criticism and other guidance.
Personally, I got as much out of listening to the various pitches as I did the journalists. Among other things, I was reminded it’s Disability Pride Month, and that we are extraordinarily blessed with amazing people who wake up every day determined to make the best of things.
The Pitches
mong many highlights:
The Family Service League is celebrating 100 years! This multi-faceted human services organization offers over 60 programs across more than 20 locations. When asked to name two things she was particularly excited about, an attending rep mentioned their new Dash Intensive Crisis Stabilization Center, and a thoughtful, innovative, police initiated 911 diversion program.
Champions of two patient advocacy groups came to the event together. They have lots to share, including this: Did you know, unless you set up a medical proxy, once your kids turn 18 you can’t even get information from hospitals, etc., much less participate in decision making if something terrible happens?
Pal-O-Mine Equestrian shared its wealth of programming to harness the healing power of horses. Among upcoming events is a free Law Enforcement Family Fun Day exclusively for such families to honor service with fun, education and connection. Please share with officers you know!
Brightways Living, (formerly Developmental Disabilities Institute – DDI) has been comprised of “behavioral science experts supporting Long Island families since 1961.” Knowing my love of art, they were excited to share their Main Street Masterpieces art gallery in Smithtown. Beautiful!
Appreciation and Advocacy
There’s an “End of Life Doula” out there who will help you capture life stories. Another woman was intent that we look out for our seniors…she can tell you about this from hard experiences. An amazing, kind woman with brilliant ideas, who’s always among the most thoughtful in the room, shared something remarkable she’s creating to serve children with different abilities as well as their friends and families. Another woman there talked about how she spends her life sharing stories like that.
ACLD, which serves adults and children with learning and developmental disabilities, has much to offer but wanted to talk about something bigger. I didn’t get clarity on precisely what bit of policy was concerning her that morning. Honestly, there’s enough to worry folks in this sector that I wasn’t surprised when I asked several people if they remembered what the specific topic was, I got different answers.
Best we can say is, listen to these folks, will you? Particularly the really smart, thoughtful and deeply experienced ones…the ones who really are giving it their best to honestly, lovingly, come up with the best understanding and answers we can muster…They’re out there, they’re working their tails off, and they could use all the support they can get.
Human Connection
I was blessed to get to speed mentor some beautiful, fresh faces from Starflower Experiences. I’m sure I got more from them than they did from me. They wanted the world to know about the Repair Cafes they are working on and the amazing woman, Laurie Farber, who sent them.
The best part was time after with a dear friend who always has a lot to offer these events. There was much to discuss. Some we might even share here some time. We wished each other and everyone the best with all of it.
Occupying the Intersection of Media, Influence & Power
The annual Boot Camp is just one way that the Fair Media Council operates at the intersection of media, influence and power. For 45 years, they have been holding news and media accountable while working to create an informed, media-savvy society. The more time goes on, the more important, and broadly applicable their work becomes.
It’s about transparency, accountability, and credibility, as well as fostering the ability to both convey that and recognize it when we see it. The FMC offers clear eyed, informative commentary, and is known for quality, unscripted conversations with top influencers in news, business and technology. Members have access to a broad array of resources. Intimate educational events feature excellent presenters offering timeless wisdom and latest understandings of our constantly revolutionizing media ecosystem.
Whether it’s considering the current state of affairs or what to make of what’s coming, managing our brands, dealing with PR crises or simply learning how best to get a reporter’s attention, FMC offers thought provoking and practically useful programming.
