CWEC Media Training

Canadian Women Economists Committee (CWEC) of the Canadian Economic Association is excited to once again offer women economists in Canada the opportunity to attend free media training. We will be hosting a training which consists of five one-hour long sessions with Shari Graydon from Informed Opinions (https://informedopinions.org/). See the event poster.

Who: Any women economist (graduate student, faculty, or professional) *

Why: Women experts are invited to comment less often than their male colleagues, and they decline more often. As a result, women’s professional research interests and life experiences are often absent from many of our public conversations and the policies they inform. 

What: This workshop provides practical tools to enhance women's comfort level and capacity to turn media interview requests into education or advocacy opportunities. Participants emerge having become:

- more familiar with journalists' contexts and expectations; 

- better equipped to apply strategic communications tools to their preparation process; 

- able to translate complex issues into memorable ideas and insights;  

- more effective at controlling interviews by bridging to key messages; 

- more confident in the value they add by saying "yes" to opportunities. 

Dates:  June 08, 10, 15, 16, 17: 12-1 pm EST (All attendees are expected to attend all five sessions.)

Signup here: https://forms.gle/JdoPJyGK5kzTDMg78

Want more information? Email cwec.cfec@gmail.com

*This training is intended for significantly female identified people. CWEC uses an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female” and we welcome trans women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who are significantly female-identified.

Session 1 – Context and Incentives - June 8, 12:00pm EST

• 30-minute presentation by Shari Graydon providing research context regarding the

under-representation of women as experts in the news media, the consequences of

their absence and the incentives for addressing it.

• This will be followed by 30 minutes of interaction among participants regarding the

obstacles and opportunities.

• Homework: Participants craft a two-sentence “impact introduction” that describes in lay language what they do and why it’s important, and audio record themselves delivering the introduction in under 30 seconds.

Session 2 – Preparation and Delivery Strategies- June 10, 12:00pm EST

• An introduction to journalists’ context to deepen participants’ understanding of their

formatting needs and expectations;

• A review of basic communication principles and some concrete tools and strategies to

enhance their effectiveness at controlling interviews and delivering priority messages

in an engaging, persuasive and impactful way;

• Homework: Participants identify a topic on which they’re likely to be interviewed,

develop at least two key messages, and test the accessibility and engagement value of the

messages on at least two non-experts (Do they understand? Does it seem relevant and/or

pique curiosity? Can they easily repeat the message?)

Session 3 – Interview Formats and Opportunities - June 15, 12:00pm EST

• An overview of the different kinds and formats of interviews and relevant

approaches to and/or nuances for each;

• A facilitated conversation between two economists who frequently say “yes” to

interviews about their experiences, plus Qs and As

• Homework: Participants refine key messages, identify bridging strategies and submit

topic and three likely questions to facilitator.

Sessions 4 and 5 – Mock Interviews - - June 16 & 17, 12:00pm EST

(number of attendees can be unlimited, but time constraints will necessarily restrict the

mock interviews to no more than 7 per hour session)

• Participants have the opportunity to do a 4-minute practice interview on a topic of

their choice in a supportive, no-risk environment, receive real-time feedback from

facilitator and colleagues, and review a recorded version of the interview on their

own afterwards;

• Previous workshop attendees’ flag this as the most valuable aspect of the training

and say they learn as much from watching their colleagues respond to questions as

they do from their own interviews.