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301.771.51
Case Studies in Communicating With the Media

Course Status
Cancelled

Location
Washington, DC
Term
Winter Institute
Department
Health Policy and Management
Credit(s)
1
Academic Year
2017 - 2018
Instruction Method
TBD
Start Date
Friday, January 19, 2018
End Date
Friday, January 19, 2018
Class Time(s)
Friday, 9:00am - 5:30pm
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
One Year Only
Description
Public health professionals are often tasked with communicating with the news media about health threats. This may be during an emergency situation, or to explain research and advocate for policies. Take this course to learn from real-life examples—both good and bad—and gain practical skills for effectively sharing your message with the media in the era of “fake news.”
Provides techniques and guidelines to understand and handle the media during both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics include: and overview of the media needs in a crisis, the essential elements of crisis communication plans, tips and techniques for spokespersons, common pitfalls to avoid, audience psychology, non-verbal communication and techniques for communicating complex information to the lay audience. Students review videotapes of news coverage and participate as spokespersons in videotaped simulation exercises.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. understand the challenges involved in communicating health information to the media and the techniques to improve their communications effectiveness
  2. explain the media’s perspective in the health communication process to improve the likelihood of success in communicating to the public via the media
  3. explain and demonstrate strategies for giving news media interviews and preparing talking points
Enrollment Restriction
Graduate students only
Special Comments

This course will be offered for 1 day in the JHSPH Winter Institute. Students are required to complete readings prior to the start of the course. The final assignments will be due no later than February 2, 2018.