Press Association

Course Overview 

This intensive course will give you a much greater understanding of how media organisations function, who the key decision makers are, and how editorial decisions made. By the end of the course you will understand what makes a story and how to create narratives that will be of interest to the media. You’ll be equipped with a range of tools and strategies to use the media to your advantage.

Who the course is for

Anyone interested in securing more media coverage for their business or organisation. PRs, marketing professionals, business executives and content creators.

Learning Objectives

  • What does the media want from you?
  • How the media works; understanding the editorial process
  • Getting the story clear
  • What makes news?
  • How to analyse media and their audiences
  • How to deal with the press; proactive and reactive PR
  • Shaping your story the right way for the media you’re targeting
  • Looking for opportunities outside the news agenda
  • Why drama and topicality are golden opportunities for coverage
  • Preparing your story for broadcast – what broadcasters want from you

Course Outline


What does the media want from you?
  • The media landscape
  • Understanding journalist’s mindset
  • Journalists view of PR

How the media works; understanding the editorial process
  • How newsrooms are organised
  • How the editorial decision-making process works

News as a creative discipline
  • The importance of targeting the right journalist

Getting the story clear
  • Why do you want media
  • Why traditional media is so powerful
  • Making your story stand out
  • Understanding narrative and the importance of ‘people’ stories

What makes news?
  • The four ‘W’s checklist
  • Change and relevance, what they mean for the storyteller
  • Understanding how PR works in the media
  • Tricks of the trade, survey-based stories, the pros and cons

How to analyse media and their audiences
  • Using the web to access audience information
  • The importance of media analysis
  • Matching your story to the media
  • Free resources to help with media analysis

How to deal with the press; proactive and reactive PR
  • Making contact with journalists
  • What journalists want from you
  • Common mistakes made by PRs dealing with the media
  • What makes a good PR operator in the eyes of the media?

Shaping your story the right way for the media you’re targeting
  • Understanding content
  • Creating compelling stories the media will want
  • How to engage the audience

Looking for opportunities outside the news agenda
  • Identifying opportunities to deliver content
  • Understanding how publications vary their content
  • Taking advantage of regular features, special reports and supplements

Why drama and topicality are golden opportunities for coverage
  • The art of newsjacking
  • What you need to be able to do if you want to be a ‘newsjacker’
  • Building drama and jeopardy into PR and news
  • Other qualities that will sell your story

Preparing your story for broadcast – what broadcasters want from you
  • The importance of planning in TV
  • Timescales and lead times – appreciating TV logistics
  • The need for eloquent, well-trained spokespeople

Our partners, Press Association Training will be delivering this course on behalf on Journalism.co.uk.


Getting there

This course will be held at Press Association 292 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 1AE



About Press Association

The Press Association (PA) is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland and a leading multimedia content provider across web, mobile, broadcast and print. For the last 147 years PA has been providing fast, accurate feeds of text, data, photos and video. Today the business is increasingly focused on the delivery of complete products for both digital and print clients. 

The Press Association Training courses are specifically tailored to ensure they include the very latest developments in the rapidly changing world of the media.

All of PA's trainers are working journalists or PR professionals with the most up-to-date knowledge who always shape courses to the individual needs of those attending.