Running a Press Office

​​​​​​Running a Press office takes a great deal of research which means having to sort out facts from fiction. Honing these skills allows for accurate campaign building, allowing for the correct information to get out into the public.  Participants will learn what exactly goes on within a press office, from technical process to general daily life. This course will dive into how to run an effective press office by looking at case studies and iterative practice.

This press office training will give participants insight into the principles, functions and processes behind the operation of an effective press office. The course will outline examples of successful press offices while also demonstrating – through real-world examples – how core principles and practices can be adapted to work in a multitude of challenging scenarios.

Running a Press Office is from our Information, Digital & Data Management series. At the Civil Service College, we tailor our courses to each attendee’s role and organisations, ensuring that each delegate gets the most out of the training. Our courses and trainers are continuously updated and evaluated to ensure that we are always delivering the best service possible.

Key Training Features

Who Can Attend

Learning Outcomes

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Key Training Features:

• What is the role of a press office? Why is it useful? (depending on the audience, this element will also include a short exploration of the information environment participants can expect to be operating in)
• Key principles:
  • Organisational: empowered press office heads
  • Messaging: Always prioritise the human factor
• “Digital-by-Default”. The UK’s approach to media relations since 2013
• Key functions of an effective press office: Reactive (monitoring, lines to take) and proactive (pitching, relationship management). Participants will also learn the relative merits and disadvantages of dividing reactive and proactive functions between different individuals
• Earned coverage, purchased coverage and owned coverage. How to use each effectively within an overall plan (introducing the concept of a grid)
• The key tools of any press office; coherent narratives, coordinated grids and shared lines. Participants will be guided through the process of generating these key tools
• Practical exercise: participants are shown real-world examples of poor performance and asked to devise alternative approaches

Who Can Attend:

UKCS staff at SCS1 and SCS2 level, as SEO and HEO level who are going into media management roles. E.g. diplomats with postings covering media responsibilities, non-UK officials looking to establish or run effective press office functions.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will leave with a firm understanding of the processes which are needed to run an effective press office. New skills will be developed in conjunction to social media, research, press release creation and data interpretation, analyses and presentation.