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One of the big challenges bosses and communicators are currently facing is the messaging around the return to the office.

If you have been on one of our media training courses before, you will know that in the UK it is not advised to ask journalists for their questions ahead of an interview. It is an approach that is likely to make journalists suspicious the spokesperson, and their organisation, has something to hide.

There’s probably never been a year where we spent so much time at home. Our kitchens doubled up as our offices, and our living rooms and bedrooms became classrooms.

Where can you find examples of brilliant writing? Books, newspapers or online and the obvious sources, but often it can be found as we go about our everyday lives.

When we talk about crisis communication, we typically think of incidents that are over relatively quickly. Yes, the overall aim of managing a crisis is to protect the long-term reputation of your organisation and its bottom line, but crisis incidents typically last a few weeks or maybe a month.

We like to keep a close eye on all the big stories at Media First towers. And, at the moment, they don’t seem to be much bigger than two of the nation’s best-known retailers slugging it out over a chocolate cake.

Just when you wondered if our divided nation could ever be united again, football found a way of bringing everyone together.

How much do we know about the way covid has changed the media landscape? We’ve all seen a change in the way news is brought into our homes, with remote interviews carried out on Zoom at least temporarily replacing face-to-face ones.

When your organisation is facing a crisis, good communication is crucial. Do it well and it can reduce fear and uncertainty and gain some control of the story. But how do you ensure your customers, stakeholders and the media see and hear what you have to say?

After a set of impressive annual results, you could be forgiven for thinking the Co-op would be basking in the glow of some positive media coverage. Yet, the reality is it has found itself facing some damaging headlines that have raised questions about its ethics and values.

Podcasts are going from strength to strength. There are now more than a million active podcasts and 30 million podcast episodes. And in the UK, podcasts now reach an audience of 15.6 million people.

When the covid pandemic first struck, everything moved online overnight. Meetings that would have been carried out in person were suddenly taking place on Zoom.

How many times do you watch or listen to a news report and find that the organisation at the centre of the coverage responds through a statement? It may not be as damaging as an adversarial “did not provide a response”, but it is not a good way to manage a negative story.

Leaking ceilings, black mould and risks of electrocution. These are just some of the living conditions highlighted by a series of TV news reports this week.

We have said many times in this blog that a crisis media management incident can come in different forms.

We’ve often written about the importance of preparing properly for any successful presentation. It is also something we stress during our presentation skills courses.

There is some advice we give far more often than others during our media training courses. One of our golden rules we discuss during almost every course is the importance of spokespeople not repeating the journalist’s negative language.

March is shaping up to be quite the month for crisis communication case studies. Already we have seen a high-profile horse racing trainer’s career disintegrate after a horrific picture emerged of him sitting on a dead horse.

We have written hundreds of blogs on media training. But searching through our back catalogue recently, it became clear we have written little about trade media interviews.

Few people without an interest in horse racing would have heard of Gordon Elliott until recently. But one viral image has ensured he is now known across the world.

We recently looked at some crisis management incidents in our crisis comms training that had been handled well. But what about those responses which were not managed quite so successfully?

You’ve just carried out a series of TV interviews. What do you want the viewers to be talking about? That crucial message you were aiming to get across?

Two meetings, two gaffes and two resignations. The Tokyo Olympics and KPMG have found themselves firmly in the media spotlight in the past few weeks after bosses made ill-judged comments.

Now, we could bring you our thoughts on the latest high-profile media interview. But then we thought it would be much better if we took a look at the story that got Britain talking – whether Weetabix and Heinz baked beans are an acceptable breakfast combo.

On our crisis communication training courses, we often look at examples of how others managed their time in the spotlight.

So, who had ‘town council meeting takes internet by storm’ on their 2021 bingo card? Just when you think things can’t get any more bizarre, footage from an obscure meeting went viral and resulted in extensive media coverage.

One of the benefits of the lockdown and working from home is I get to see and hear more media interviews. Not only does this help with inspiration for this media training blog but, with my headphones in, I can also largely ignore the home-schooling carnage erupting around me.

We love it when we hear and see excellent interviews we can highlight in this media training blog.

So, now we know what it looks like when a spokesperson effectively walks out of a remote interview.

Every time the Prime Minister announces he is holding a press conference on the latest pandemic developments, our social media timeline is filled with people playing ‘Boris Briefing Bingo’.