Faculty Media Training Workshop

How to Amplify Your Work through Media & PR

The 2025 and 2026 Media Training Workshops are open to all faculty in the College of Natural Science on a first come first serve basis. While priority will be given to faculty and administrators, staff and students are also welcome to sign up if they are planning to interact with media in the future. Details are below.

Media Training Workshop Description

As a scholar and researcher in the College of Natural Science, you help solve the world’s most pressing problems. To truly impact others, your voice needs to be heard more broadly to help create a more engaged and informed society.

Working with journalists gives academics opportunities to provide accurate, informative updates about events, projects, and research that are then communicated to the general public, decision-makers, funders, and other academics.

Workshop Agenda

The thought of working with the media can be daunting. The How to Amplify Your Work through Media & PR workshop provides tips and techniques for successful media interviews, including what journalists are looking for during an interview. Participants learned about:

• Developing and preparing your key messages using straightforward language.
• Staying on message and controlling the interview with media.
• Handling tough questions from TV, news, and radio journalists.
• Working with The Conversation, a media outlet that publishes faculty experts as authors.

Presenters

Presenters included experts from MSU University Communications and the NatSci Marketing Office.

• Sydney Hawkins, Director of Public Relations, MSU University Communications
• Emilie Lorditch, Public Relations Strategist, MSU University Communications
• Ryan Kilcoyne, Senior Marketing Officer, College of Natural Science