The National Media Training house party is an innovative, 2-hour training taking place all over the country on Thursday, January 17th. The training is organized by the Center for Progressive Leadership Action Network and leading progressive organizations, including MoveOn.org Political Action, True Majority Action, and ProgressNow.

The house parties will be easy to run and fun to attend. 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 10-15 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 practice. 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-up coverage

7:33 – 7:50       Video Discussion - Go around and have everyone say one thing they thought was interesting in the video. (The host should also use this time to make sure the webcast is ready to go.)

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 a reporter and trying to get them to cover an effort or issues

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.

You will also have a chance to meet and connect with all the other Media Impact Training participants in your area and across the country.

• Read about the responsibilities of being a host