Edward (Ed) Belkin is a leading strategic communications and public affairs expert with extensive experience providing counsel to C-suite executives and high-level government officials. With management experience at the broadcast network and local station levels, in government, at global public relations agencies, and at major trade associations, he specializes in media strategy, public affairs, issues and reputation management, and crisis communications.

Mr. Belkin has coached numerous senior-level executives and government officials for effective news interviews, Congressional testimony, and public speaking engagements.

 

Mr. Belkin’s media coaching workshops provide the vital skills to engage reporters, producers, editors, and social media bloggers effectively to handle the range of interview and news conference situations and to build ongoing, trusted working relationships. This skill set also translates for outreach to other external and internal stakeholder audiences including U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives Members and staff, state and local officials and other policymakers, government agency heads, regulators, Board members, and employees, among others.  Web-based training and consultations are available.

 

Mr. Belkin’s workshops equip participants to:

 

• Be proactive

• Drive the conversation

• Be opportunistic

• Advance your agenda

 

During workshops, Mr. Belkin shares the tools and techniques to:

 

• Embrace “communications discipline”

• Take control during news interviews, Congressional meetings, and public speaking engagements

• Effectively convey compelling messages

• Remain mindful of body language

• Re-frame and answer questions without appearing defensive, especially during a crisis situation

 

Mr. Belkin’s confidence-building, role-playing exercises feature hard news print and broadcast interviews and deskside briefings followed by a critique. On-camera recordings and playback help wordsmith and bring a critical eye to every aspect of engaging the news media.

 

Mr. Belkin tailors media skills coaching workshops to meet your organization’s needs. He conducts workshops one-on-one as well as for small or larger groups with break-out sessions. To discuss your needs, contact Ed Belkin directly at edward.belkin@gmail.com or 202.309.4651. Or you can call the offices of ProMedia Group, LLC at 609.465.4390.

 

Mr. Belkin’s Experience:

 

            As a Senior Vice President at global public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton, Mr. Belkin’s clients included EgyptAir following the Flight 990 crash, the Government of Ontario, Canada during the SARS outbreak, the International Olympic Committee in the aftermath of the Salt Lake City scandal, Boeing during the McDonnell Douglas M&A, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines during a “poison pill” dispute. He also counseled the Tennessee Valley Authority, Louisiana-Pacific, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Tyson Foods, and the governments of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Botswana, Germany, and Japan.

 

As a Senior Vice President at Levick, a strategic communications firm based in Washington, D.C., he counseled clients during major data breaches, nationwide food recalls, and controversies in local communications, among other high-profile crisis situations.

 

During his tenure as Vice President for Communications & Public Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Mr. Belkin helped advance the industry’s advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels and enhanced strategic relationships with key stakeholders. He also directed outreach for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a nationwide corporate social responsibility initiative that helped millions of uninsured patients get access to information on programs that provide medicine for free or nearly free.

 

Mr. Belkin previously served as the Senior Director of Communications for U.S. Senator David Durenberger (Minnesota), providing counsel on media strategy on health care reform and other public policy issues.

 

As Managing Editor at the NBC Radio Network in New York and Washington, D.C., Mr. Belkin directed national and international news operations. He was architect of the network’s Custom Affiliate News Service, which provided stations with tailored one-on-one coverage of major news stories, and planned the network’s around-the-clock, live coverage of the first Persian Gulf War. He also served as Executive Editor and News Director at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia and produced award-winning coverage of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island and the outbreak of Legionnaires Disease.

 

Mr. Belkin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University, dual majoring in broadcast journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences.