The National Media Training was an innovative, 2-hour training that took place on Thursday, January 17th in house parties all over the country. The training was being organized by the Center for Progressive Leadership Action Network along with leading progressive organizations, including MoveOn.org Political Action, True Majority Action, and ProgressNow.

The evening uses a format called "Network Trainings" that is designed to place as little responsibility on the shoulder's of the house party hosts as possible. Each house party training includes three sections:

• Media Impact Training Video - A 23-minute video covering the core concepts of generating earned media using local events. Guests include Ivan Frishberg, Kweli Kitwana, Dan Manatt, Jamal Simmons, and others.

• Live Webcast with a National Expert - After the video, you'll join a 25-minute conference call (by phone or webcast) with a national media expert who will field questions about the fundamentals of pitching reporters.

• Practice Skills Session - In each house party, you'll divide up into small groups and practice delivering pitches to reporters using the skills and ideas that were covered in the video and conference call.

Each house party includes 10-25 attendees of varying levels of experience. The host of each house party will receive a detailed guide to organizing the night, including a training DVD, instructions for joining webcast, and packets for all the participants to join in the small group interactives. The schedule for each house party is:

6:45 – 7:00       Arrival

7:00 – 7:10       Introductions - A chance for all the guests to meet each other

7:10 – 7:33       Training Video - A 25-minute training video that features national experts and covers
                           the basics of earned media, reaching out to reporters, developing a pitch and getting
                           follow-upcoverage

7:33 – 7:50       Webcast Set-up - Few minutes for the host to set-up the webcast

7:50 – 8:15       Live Webcast with Guest Trainer - A live interview with a national media expert who
                           will talk through some of the details mentioned in the video, as well as
                           answer questions from the house parties

8:15 – 8:55       Practice Session - A practice session where all the participants get a chance to
                           practice giving a pitch to a reporter to get them to cover an event or issue.

8:55 – 9:00       Wrap-up

We will also provide a series of online post-training resources that will include a sample media advisory, checklist for preparing and running an event, summary of the core concepts from the video, list of resources for building a state-wide media list, and a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions about earned media and earned media strategies.

The online community will also give you a chance to meet and connect with all the other Media Impact Training participants in your area and across the country.