Communications Affinity Group Online Learning Workshop Series | Workshop 2: Media Training

In democracies, elected officials from all orders of government depend on information from civil society to help them make good public policy. Similarly, Canada’s media relies on information from the public and a range of expertise from across society to ensure accurate, interesting, and comprehensive reporting.

Canada’s non-profit and charitable sector operates for the public interest and common good, and more than any other sector, understands the evolving needs and issues of the most vulnerable. Without our sector’s active engagement, our government, the media, and the communities they serve are poorer for it.

What’s more, as foundations and other funders look to advance the issues they care about, and to find creative ways to proactively assist the work of their grantees beyond donations, participating in government and media relations is an obvious way to contribute.     

Our sector has enormous insight, expertise, and perspective to offer in ensuring that public awareness, policies and resources are aligned with the needs of our communities, and we require the knowledge and confidence to be able to do so strategically and effectively.

This two-part training workshop, as part of PFC’s Communications Affinity Group 2023 programming, represents a modest, but practical intervention designed to increase capacity.  

• Workshop 1 – Government Relations Training – October 19, 2023 – 1-3pm ET
• Workshop 2 – Media Training – November 16, 2023 – 1-3pm ET

Media Relations Training

Media informs Canadians about issues that affect them. In delivering information to the public about what is news and what people need to know about, the media has enormous impact in framing issues, and in influencing the public’s attitudes, opinions, and behaviour. And without our sector’s active engagement, the media, and the communities they engage, are poorer for it. It’s our sector that operates for the common good, and more than any other sector, we understand the evolving needs on the ground and across key public interest issue areas.  

Workshop Facilitator and Content

This special two-hour online workshop will be delivered by a media and political veteran. With experience leading and advising a range of charities and non-profits from across Canada, Siri Agrell is a Toronto-based communications strategist, who has been a journalist at some of the country’s most esteemed newspapers, and has served in the executive offices of political leaders from a range of political stripes, including the premier of Ontario and two big-city mayors.   

Participants will learn about how the media works from the inside, getting the right message in front of the right people, improving interview performance, and how charities and funders can improve their media communications.  

Registration

The registration link (also below) is the same as for all regular Communications Affinity Group sessions, except that both October 19 and November 16 workshops will last two hours rather than one. If you already registered, we recommend you register again, to receive another calendar file reflecting the new timing.

Gratitude

We are grateful to PFC member The Weston Family Foundation for their generous support of this sector learning initiative.