It can happen to anyone. Recall the story of Roselyn Bakeries? A member of the news media acquired footage of a rat near one of the bakery facilities of this once popular Indianapolis institution. The news was reported, and while the pest wasn't even inside the Roselyn facility, the connection to the business was drawn and the public response caused Roselyn Bakeries to cease operations within days.

What went wrong? Media training experts would tell you that the family-owned Roselyn Bakeries had no idea how to handle the media’s coverage of the incident. It had no media plan in place to combat a crisis. No leaders were prepared to face the questions the public and the press were demanding answers to. Ultimately, Roselyn Bakeries, a multi-location, family-owned business, folded for lack of a spokesman or statement.

It may not have happened that way if Roselyn had been prepared to deal with the media. Companies of any size need to consider media training, according to Chris Jefferson, director of business development for MillerWhite, LLC.

“Anyone who answers a phone, in any size organization, ought to go through at least one media training session,” Jefferson said. “From the CEO to department heads, all the way to the receptionist at the front door, it’s important for anyone who may come in contact with the media or the public in a crisis situation to know how to handle these vital communications.”

Integrated marketing firms like MillerWhite consider media training an important product to offer their clients. A good media training experience will include how to prepare for an interview and how to get your message across, no matter how the interview is going. It will cover crisis communication plans and prepare you, ideally through practice sessions, to interact with the media in a crisis. And it will also prepare you to be proactive with your communications – learning to get the media on your side, generate positive news and gain some control over news stories.

Jefferson said media training can help a business develop a media communications plan, a procedure the company should follow when the press calls, either for a routine interview or when something goes wrong. A plan can help you buy time, prepare a position statement and respond well in all situations, he said.

Turning a difficult situation into a positive opportunity through the print media, radio and television can help you get your message across to the right audience, Jefferson said. Your message, appearing in the context of news, carries more weight than it does in an ad or commercial. The value of a neutral or positive news item has been estimated to carry three to 10 times the value of an ad. Public relations professionals call this “earned media,” and it can be very influential in creating the public’s image of your company, even in times of crisis.

Media training is an investment that will help you strengthen your position in the marketplace. By establishing a media plan and building positive relationships with the media, you can create a safety zone between your business and any crisis. When the unexpected happens, you will have the opportunity, and the skills, to tell your story before it turns into a disaster of Roselyn proportions.

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