Critical Communications
Media and Presentation Training, Crisis Consulting

When it comes to strategic communications, the only thing that hasn’t changed is the need to be prepared. MediaWorks Resource Group provides industry-leading media coaching, presentation training, and crisis consulting for clients worldwide.

Led by CNN veteran Mark Bernheimer, and calling upon two decades of media training expertise, we specialize in highly practical communications coaching solutions designed to educate, inform, and empower.

Our Clients

Wells Fargo

“Mark brought the credibility, wit, wisdom, honesty and direction our team sought. The message development workshops were big hits and achieved exactly what we needed. I especially appreciate that his commitment continued well beyond the training day. Mark has become a trusted partner and adviser to our Wells Fargo management team.”

Julie Green-Rommell
Julie Green Rommel
Wells Fargo

UCLA Health Logo

“As anyone who has worked with busy doctors or hospital administrators can tell you, PR training is not necessarily a priority for them. Mark’s valuable media coaching, however, became a true favorite program that resonated with our doctors, researchers and other staff members to help explain complicated medical firsts, unique patient stories, or important study results to the public. MediaWorks was always a key value-added offering from our media relations office.”


Roxanne Moster
UCLA Health

NVIDIA logo

“I have worked with Mark throughout my career to help ready executives for investor, analyst and media opportunities. At NVIDIA, he has helped our spokespeople deliver clear, concise messages in an easy to understand way. From VR to artificial intelligence to gaming, Mark sorts through the complicated technology to help us convey how our work is at the center of the most consequential trends in technology.”

Gail Lauguna
Gail Laguna
NVIDIA

WD 40 Logo

“Mark is a great sparring partner to get you into shape for media interviews and major presentations. Like all the best teachers, he will give you a couple of key things to focus on and keeps things beautifully simple. As a new CEO, I’ve found Mark’s support invaluable.”

Steve Brass, CEO WD 40
Steve Brass
CEO, WD-40

Amgen

Caesars Logo

Hertz Logo

Johnson and Johnson logo

Mitsubishi Electric logo

UFC logo

DoubleTree logo

Chanel logo

Skechers Logo

Johnny Rockets Logo

honda logo

Kawasaki Logo

Riot Games

Waterford Crystal logo

Cisco Logo

Media Training Services Customized Exclusively for You

Never just a “class,” we offer clients an intensive, immersive workshop that helps communicators better understand the news media, and trains them to deliver their messages flawlessly. Our reality-based media coaching technique provides the tools necessary to communicate to any target, not just traditional reporters. Whether you reach your audience through webinars, social media, or internal corporate videos, we will help you do it effectively.

Learn from the Masters,
Avoid the Disasters

A cornerstone of effective training is offering real-world examples of noteworthy media strategy. We show clients the success stories as well as the cautionary tales. In fact, we share them with non-clients, too.

You’re in the Right Place
for World Class
Media Training

Looking for Presentation Training?
CLICK HERE

Our Team

MediaWorks Resource Group was founded in 2001 by an award winning CNN news veteran, who still conducts most of the company’s media coaching today. He is assisted by some of the best and brightest specialists of the news and PR industries.

Mark Bernheimer, Media Trainer

Mark Bernheimer

MEDIAWORKS
FOUNDER

Nina Irani

Nina Irani Surya

EXECUTIVE
PARTNER

Francisco Raposo

Francisco Raposo

DIRECTOR OF
PHOTOGRAPHY

Working Seamlessly With our PR Industry Partners

Michael Smart

MichaelSmartPR Logo

“I hired Mark (twice!) as a media trainer for my team at BYU, and he knocked it out of the park. I was amazed at how thoroughly he understood complex issues facing our organization, that I hadn’t even briefed him on. Since then I’ve started a consultancy and been in a position to refer him out many times. Every single time (10, 15, I’ve lost track) the client has thanked me profusely. There’s never been a mismatch.”
– Michael Smart

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

MediaWorks is a boutique communications training firm that coaches executives on gaining the expertise and self-assurance to convey their messages powerfully, leading to successful brand and reputation management with stakeholders.

We are the communications trainer of choice among both Fortune 500 and emerging company C-suiters, called upon to prepare executives for their highest-stakes communications needs.

Executives trained with our proprietary, immersion methodology quickly and effectively develop the talent – and techniques – of the communication masters of our time.

We’ve honed our training protocol over two decades, evolving with the times and customizing each session for the client. Instead of generic lectures and antiquated corporate slide shows, we engage clients with relevant real-world case studies, and hyper-realistic on-camera interview drills designed to test messaging skills and reveal any individual communications challenges.

MediaWorks Founder Mark Bernheimer

Priorities in a News Interview

How to Speak “Reporter-Friendly” Language

NEVER Say This to a Reporter

This is What Modern Media Training Looks Like

Our flagship service offering, MediaWorks media coaching is custom-tailored for each individual client. Equally suitable for communications novices and seasoned media pros alike, our training is designed to help clients anticipate reporter behavior, avoid common traps, and focus confidently on the message. No two training sessions are ever the same, but every session includes:

Orientation/ introduction to the media landscape
Interview best practices
Lessons in anticipating reporter behavior
Message development, testing, and refinement
On-camera drills with immediate feedback and critique
Post-training follow-up support from the media trainer

LEARN HOW WE DO EACH OF THESE

On-site communications training shouldn’t be a “hit and run” proposition. We offer a YEAR’S WORTH OF FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT after the training is over. Among other things, that means clients may submit clips of their post-training interviews and presentations for feedback and ongoing skill development.

Media Training Tips

Need some quick help for an upcoming interview?

Read through our curated list of “Incredibly Useful Media Training Tips.”

KEEPING YOUR COOL WHEN AN INTERVIEW HEATS UP

Read this before you even think about losing your temper with a reporter.

MOVING THE “GIVE-A-DAMN” METER

Think you have great media skills? Content matters too! Here’s how you can get a reporter to pay attention (and it works on live audiences too!)

3 ATTITUDES THAT RUIN A NEWS INTERVIEW

Sometimes your boss or client is the only thing standing between you and a successful PR strategy. Here are the 3 most common “anti-media” attitudes & how you can address them.

THE PREDICTABLE PART OF CRISIS

When the news is bad, reporters tend to behave in a predictable way. Here’s how you can anticipate their toughest questions and stay on message.

What Our Clients are Saying

“MediaWorks did an outstanding job of preparing me for my network interviews. Tommy Bahama is a distinctive company with an equally distinctive media message. I now have the skills and the confidence to tackle any media encounter.”

Terry PillowTerry Pillow

CEO, Tommy Bahama

Sanrio Logo

“The media coaching MediaWorks has provided for our clients has been amazing. Their direct, focused approach combined with Mark’s news background provides invaluable insight into how the interview works from both sides of the camera. As media trainer, Mark’s sense of humor and friendly demeanor help our clients forget the camera and focus on the message.”

Orsi LogoJanet Orsi

Orsi Public Relations

“Mark’s pragmatic approach to media training instilled great confidence in members of our leadership team and subject matter experts. They walked away with a new appreciation for staying on message and getting their points across in short, crisp soundbites.”

Elizabeth PecsiElizabeth A. Pecsi

San Diego Humane Society

NextGen Healthcare

“Best media coaching in my 25+ year PR career!”

Colleen EdwardsColleen Edwards

NextGen Healthcare

Recent Tweets

If you ever find yourself screaming at fellow passengers from the front of an airplane, make an apology video like the one Tiffany Gomas made.

Sinead O’Conner, Mitch McConnell, UFOs, interest rates, Hunter Biden, Kevin Spacey, and the crane. Most newsrooms are lamenting those layoffs today.

Sports coverage, like all beat reporting, has become a vanishing species in many news outlets

Media skills are useless without messaging

If I could make one change to Twitter, I would want more sponsored posts featuring ingenius inventions

Something like this would have been unthinkable even a year ago.

#New: NPR says it’s going to stop using Twitter.

It will pull its 52 accounts off, because “we are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility…”

For once some real fake news

Other than the fact that the shooter was a woman, there are no insights to be gained by watching coverage of the latest school shooting; nothing we haven't heard over and over again, in too many shootings to remember. It is the worst kind of autopilot (and reporters hate it too).

Such a class act

Frequently Asked Questions

What distinguishes MediaWorks from traditional media training companies?

MediaWorks is a boutique communications training firm that coaches executives on gaining the expertise and self-assurance to convey their messages powerfully, leading to successful brand and reputation management with stakeholders. We are the communications trainer of choice among both Fortune 500 and emerging company C-suiters, called upon to prepare executives for their highest-stakes communications needs.

We are large enough to have a time-tested command of the industry, but small enough to provide our clients with uncommon responsiveness. Some of our most loyal clients came to MediaWorks following less successful experiences with traditional media trainers.

Do you do conference/tradeshow presentations?

Principal and head media coach Mark Bernheimer can customize the perfect media training presentation. Using vivid, informative video clips of actual reporter encounters, Bernheimer calls upon years of network reporting experience to help your audience better understand the inner workings of the news media. We will tailor a presentation specifically to your industry, with a focus on any number of areas.
Learn more here

Do you cover dealing with social media?

The reporterless world of social media is a high risk/high reward pursuit, replete with its own rules, quirks, and pitfalls. When our clients’ communication strategies take them into the realm of social media, MediaWorks is there with the same expertise and innovation employed in our traditional media training.
Learn more here

What about your rates?

Our rates are highly competitive. In some cases, we are able to offer a special introductory fee structure for new clients. Ask about these rates when you contact us.

Is the MediaWorks training method appropriate for new media and non-media communication?

Absolutely. Our innovative, reality-based training approach is perfectly suited for social media, direct-to-camera client-created content, and general messaging strategy. Clients come to us for coaching on analyst briefings, congressional testimony, customer relations strategies, and commencement speeches. In short, we help our clients create and deliver ideal messages to any audience under any circumstance.

Where do you conduct your training sessions?

Most of our training is conducted virtually. For clients preferring onsite solutions, we offer training at our Los Angeles headquarters, or at your location, anywhere in the world.

What kind of follow-up do you offer clients?

Communications training shouldn’t be a “hit and run” proposition. For most individual and small group training, we offer a year’s worth of follow-up support after the session is over. Participants may submit clips of their post-training interviews and presentations for review and feedback from their media trainer.
Learn more here

How far in advance should I book my training?

Although we always try to accommodate last-minute requests, we recommend booking 4 to 6 weeks in advance for optimum availability. In order to simplify the scheduling process, we provide new clients online access to our booking calendar, which offers immediate and ongoing verification of our availability.

We are a hospital/healthcare company. Do you have any special expertise?

MediaWorks Resource Group is the nation’s only boutique media training agency with a specialty in healthcare. We’ve helped many of the nation’s major hospitals, healthcare systems, and biotech/pharma companies cut through the clutter with profoundly successful media strategies and training.
TAKE A LOOK HERE

Do you offer private instruction or group sessions?

Both. We train individuals, and groups ranging from 2 to 200. However, because effective media coaching often involves the disclosure of proprietary client information, we do not offer public classes or pre-scheduled seminars. Every training session is client centric and highly customized.

More Resources

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