Media Strategy for Policy and PRCornell

Certificate Program

In today's media environment, where platforms multiply and journalism models constantly shift, success hinges on building authentic relationships with your “Most Valuable Press” people, or MVPs. These key media influencers can amplify your message, but you first need to know how to connect with them effectively.

In this course, you will build meaningful connections with your MVPs by understanding what drives them, what they need, and how they work. Leveraging this information, you'll craft compelling media pitches that align with your MVPs' preferred topics, styles, and formats. Finally, assuming that the MVPs have picked up your pitch, you'll curate an interview briefing that delivers your message and meets your MVPs' needs.

Technical knowledge and data points alone rarely capture media attention in today's crowded news environment. Written pieces on impactful public initiatives often go unnoticed because they lack the elements that make readers stop scrolling through the noise to read your work.

In this course, you will apply persuasive writing techniques to capture media attention, engage your audience, and drive action. By focusing on readers' emotions, needs, and motivations, you'll craft clear, concise content using the four cornerstones of effective media writing: substance, surplus, sequence, and style. You'll tap into key elements of persuasion, including credibility, emotional appeal, and logical argument, while leveraging rhetorical devices and storytelling to create compelling narratives.

The course will guide you in customizing your writing for various media formats, such as press releases, op-eds, and newsletters, aligning with the needs and expectations of media professionals. By the end of the course, you'll understand how to consistently produce impactful writing that cuts through the noise, earns media attention, and drives meaningful action from your target audience.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Strategic Media Relations for Public Leaders

While you may have deep expertise in your initiative, effectively translating technical knowledge into impactful oral communications remains a key challenge for public leaders. This course will help you craft and deliver powerful spoken content that builds influence and amplifies your media presence.

You will adopt three essential mindsets to transform ordinary communications into compelling stories: connecting before you communicate, defining your 10% takeaway, and harnessing energy to drive engagement. By incorporating strategic storytelling and rhetorical techniques, you'll create emotional connections that go beyond data points, enabling audiences to visualize your message and driving lasting impact.

You will also refine your delivery system by writing specifically for the spoken word and mastering techniques for movement, voice modulation, and physical presence. These skills will empower you to command attention and deliver presentations that move audiences from attention to retention and, ultimately, to action.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Strategic Media Relations for Public Leaders
• Persuasive Writing for Public Impact

Even the most carefully crafted initiative faces a fundamental challenge: People tend to resist change. Those who benefit from the current system often push back the hardest, making the success of your initiative depend less on its content and more on your ability to build strategic support through effective communication. Media engagements are high stakes, requiring you to anticipate and address potential opposition. This course will help you strengthen your initiative by identifying challenges and preparing for media responses, including negative ones.

In this course, you will analyze stakeholder interests and motivations to uncover opposing perspectives and craft strategies to transform potential opponents into allies. Building on this foundation, you'll create a powerful network of validators who will strengthen your initiative in the media in four ways: Establish your credibility, refine messages for specific audiences, share powerful personal stories of impact, and create media interest through unexpected allies. Finally, you will weave your validators' stories into your media content to create a compelling narrative that addresses opposition and drives support.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Strategic Media Relations for Public Leaders
• Persuasive Writing for Public Impact
• Persuasive Speaking for Media