Media Training Legends

Published on Feb. 27, 2025, at 12:33 p.m.
by Isabella Avila.

In today’s face-paced, media-oriented world, the ability to communicate a brand’s image through media interviews is more critical than ever. Media training for public figures has been a basic component in the public relations industry but also acts as an unspoken necessity to avoid breaking the fourth wall.

But what is media training at the core? It is a way for organizations to prepare their representatives for interviews with media outlets. It allows the organization’s representatives to professionally communicate information effectively.

As industries like entertainment have grown, media training has become public knowledge practice. For example, in a 2017 episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” the famous sisters go to a PR specialist for media training on controversial subjects they may be asked about in upcoming interviews.

English boy band One Direction was also known to have some of the best media training to maintain a clean-cut and family-friendly image despite living the rockstar life in their 20s. Even though the band has been on hiatus for nearly 10 years, their media training is still talked about today.

While college sports programs have received the media spotlight for many years, the new era of NIL — name, image and likeness — has intensified the spotlight on college athletes and created even more of a demand to hear directly from the players through the ups and downs of the seasons.

The University of Alabama is world-renowned for its excellence in athletics, with 21 varsity teams, coining the term “The Bama Standard” to represent the pursuit of greatness and tradition within programs.

For Alabama Athletics, media interviews are just a part of the week, and athletes can usually breeze through pressers. But how? The answer is second-to-none media training with an Alabama twist focused on consistency, tradition and conversation.

Insight from the Alabama Athletics offices: Jen Smith

Jen Smith is a University of Alabama graduate who now serves as the assistant director of communications for gymnastics, track and field, cross country, and rowing. From the time Smith started with Alabama Athletics as a student assistant, she has witnessed media training sessions with Alabama student-athletes but noted that it varies at other institutions. Smith explained that at schools like UNC Pembroke, the media training process was “different, because there weren’t really any normal press conferences.”

While all teams she oversees have interviews and press conferences, gymnastics is the sport that keeps up a consistent need for media training. “We have our weekly meeting on Tuesday, so Monday evening I’ll send over some pointers, such as ‘these are some talking points, [and] these are some buzz words to remember [for this week].’”

Smith takes a one-on-one, conversational approach with her athletes when discussing interviews and press conferences to keep from overwhelming them, especially incoming freshmen who have never experienced public speaking as a Division 1 athlete.

Insight from the Alabama Athletics offices: Alex Thompson

Alex Thompson accepted the role of assistant athletics director of communications for Alabama football in the past year. It is clear from his previous experience in sports communication for Alabama that he knows exactly what is needed to keep the Crimson Tide players in the best shape when handling themselves during interviews.

“We have multiple layers [to conducting media training],” Thompson said. “We talk to freshman classes when they first get here about conducting yourself appropriately on social media, interview etiquette … and how to build their brand in terms of personally, not only NIL, but also how that affects them after.”

The University of Alabama claims to be “Where Legends are Made,” and Thompson emphasized that no matter where an Alabama Athletics graduate may go, they will stand taller and speak clearer because of their experiences at Alabama; and that includes the media training they partake in and practice.

Additionally, football coaches and staff often bring in outside speakers and training to support lecture-style media training through August to prepare for the upcoming season, all while conducting media training in a 1:1 setting, similar to other sports like gymnastics, Thompson noted.

Consistency in media training

When asking these athletic directors why they believe media training to be so important in shaping the Alabama Athletics brand, consistency was among the first words of their responses. Smith specifically touched on gymnastics’ current theme of “culture,” which is centered around family, excellence and service. Smith also referenced past themes and how media training includes roping in other departments like social media and marketing to ensure authentic consistency.

“Everything you hear about tradition, hard work, intensity, drive, all those words that you hear all the time preached, it stays consistent across the board. So, I think it helps present the football program year after year as one of the top programs, because we provide these kids with consistent messaging to keep the program going in the same direction,” Thompson said regarding media training within not only football but all teams at Alabama.

Relationships with the media

Building relationships with local and national media contacts is crucial to spreading a message that lives up to the Bama Standard, and communication from the athletics directors’ offices to journalists is a part of every day. For example, Smith referenced conversations with journalists between interviews while fixing technical things like lighting or microphone levels as a way to maintain a casual and positive relationship. Smith also talked about how there are difficult questions that media training can aid in making the situations less uncomfortable and more professional.

Thompson named collaboration with the media as one of his top PR priorities. Pitching stories, responding to requests for comment quickly (when possible) and explaining why a story is important are all part of a collaborative effort, and effective media training makes that effort easier for both parties. Thompson noted that coaching staff, including Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, participate in weekly interviews with the media, reinforcing how Alabama Athletics maintains positive relationships with the media.

Building a legendary legacy

Next time you’re watching your favorite sports and seeing athletes like Jalen Hurts winning a Super Bowl or Luisa Blanco on the beam at the Olympics, you may recognize a level of professionalism and articulation athletes from The University of Alabama are able to achieve, a standard that began in media training that prioritizes tradition and consistency. Although such training is now described as conversations touching on topics for the week or positioning oneself as an athlete, it is building a legacy that can be emulated but rarely replicated.