Southwest Florida FPRA Members Sharpen Skills with Media Training

Members of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Southwest Florida Chapter improved on their media relations and interview skills on July 14th in Fort Myers at a media training day organized and led by Susan Bennett, APR, CPRC.

The first portion of the day was spent at The News-Press and enjoyed a tour of The News-Press led by Business Editor Steve McQuilkin, including the news room, art department, online media, and printing presses. Attendees also learned interview techniques, participated in discussions of ethical dilemmas faced by journalists, and had a voice in the morning news meeting with a group of editors.

Waterman Broadcasting hosted the second portion of the day, which began with a working lunch and discussion with NBC-2 Executive News Director and Manager of Marketing and Promotions Darrel Lieze-Adams and Florida Weekly Assistant Managing Editor, Osvaldo Padilla . Attendees also heard from Executive Vice President Steve Pontius who provided a tour of the NBC-2 and ABC-7 studios. The afternoon also included interview techniques as attendees were given a case study and went on-camera with NBC-2 Anchor Jamie Yuccas for mock interviews. To cap the day, the group watched the 4 p.m. news live from the studio.

Photo Credit: Thank you to Ginny Cooper, APR, CPRC, for taking all the photos. Additional photos can be found on the SWFL FPRA Facebook Album, click here to view them all!

Mark your Calendars! All upcoming chapter events in one list.

Here are some upcoming Southwest Florida FPRA events:

March 2nd: Mary Briggs, APR, CPRC and Kara Winton, APR, CPRC, have scheduled a sessions to help APR candidates prepare for the Readiness Review. Let Mary or Kara know if you are interested!

March 8th: Monthly Business Meeting - "Building Bridges for Mutual Benefit" presented by Jack Levine, a communications and public policy consultant and founder of 4 Generations Institute. Mr. Levine was a featured speaker at the FPRA annual conference in 2009.

March 11th: Submit your local Image Award entries by 5 p.m. today.

March 16th: Planning session for candidates to learn more about the remaining part of the APR process and to give their input on the best meeting day/time for the study sessions, which will begin soon. Contact Mary or Kara for more information.

March 23rd: Judging takes place today for the local Image Awards.

March 26th: 2nd Annual Pro Bono Day  from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lee County Elections Center, 13180 S. Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers, FL 33907. Especially useful for non-profits or small businesses who may or may not have a full time PR professional on staff. Chock-full of tips and advice! Register at http://www.fpraswfl.org/. Cost: FREE.

April 14th: Image Awards banquet.  Location TBD.

May 4th: Monthly Business Meeting - "Bridging Politics and Public Relations: Trends & Strategies that Can Make or Break a Campaign" presented by Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall and Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington.

May 12th: FRPA-AdFed Mixer event is in the works. More details to come.

June 8th: Monthly Business Meeting & Media Breakfast. Details coming soon.

July 13th: Monthly Business Meeting & FPRA Annual Meeting.

July 14th: FRPA Media Day - Open to the first 25 FPRA members to register (watch for details). This event will feature a full day of training and interaction with news executives from both The News-Press and NBC-2.

August 3rd: Monthly Business Meeting - "Bridging Yesterday with Today: Lessons Learned from a Rutbuster" presented by Myra Daniels, founder, chairman and CEO of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts and the Naples Museum of Art. Myra will also bring copies of her book for sale.

August 8th – 11th: FPRA's Annual Conference. The Association's Most Anticipated Professional Development Events of the Year. Held at the Naples Grande, in Naples Florida. Registration Fee: $595/pp

For four days, FPRA members, as well as other PR professionals around the region, join together for one common goal — to enhance their career through professional development seminars led by nationally recognized speakers and networking opportunities.

By offering experts on a variety of industry-related topics, FPRA’s goal for Annual Conference is to present tools, tactics and strategies that its members can immediately apply and implement in their jobs.

September 7th: Monthly Business Meeting.

Register by visiting http://www.fpra.org/.