Public affairs students participate in media training

Five public-affairs reporting students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha participated in media training exercises for the Nebraska Department of Human and Health Services on Sept. 22.

Emily Johnson, Zak Davis, Mark McDonald, Andrea Ciurej, Holly Fredrickson and Tim Kucera (left to right) are pictured at the Eastern Nebraska Veteran's Home in Bellevue, where the media training was held.

Students Emily Johnson, Zak Davis, Andrea Ciurej, Holly Fredrickson and Tim Kucera participated in the media training exercise, which was held at the Eastern Nebraska Veteran's Home in Bellevue. Each student represented an Omaha publication or TV station to prepare the department's CEO and other colleagues for real media scenarios. The students participated in three press conferences and TV interviews for the training.

Mark McDonald - director of Vox Optima Public Relations, Western Region - organized the media training.
He said a colleague directed his attention to Maverick PR adviser Karen Weber and the work of the UNO Public Relations Student Society of America chapter.

McDonald said the media training is beneficial to both the trainees and the students involved.

"For a journalism student or a PR student...we like them to see a realistic scenario with the type of people that would be involved in a press conference or a media interview and give them some hands-on experience that will be valuable to them as they progress...," McDonald said.