Click the play button below to hear an interview with Eric.
Over a decade ago, Eric took his more than 25 years in the newsroom to the
corporate boardroom. In that time he's worked with hundreds of executives
in a number of the Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, Verizon, Comcast,
Lockheed Martin, The Coca-Cola Co., Southern Co., The Kroger Co., AT&T,
Merck & Co., Inc., Georgia-Pacific Co., Raytheon Co., Marriott, Mirant
Corp., and UK-based BAE Systems and GKN Aerospace Services, Inc.
During his broadcast news and programming career, he hired and developed two
well known nationally syndicated radio hosts, Sean Hannity and Clark Howard.
Also, future network anchors and reporters, including Forrest Sawyer, Louise
Schiavonne and Ed Gullo worked for him when he led what was at the time the
Southeast's largest and most highly honored radio news staff at WGST,
Atlanta. His news staff captured many awards, including the International
Programming Award, a national Sigma Delta Chi/Society of Professional
Journalists Award and several Radio-TV News Director Association Edward R.
Murrow Awards.
A graduate of the renowned University of Missouri Journalism School, Seidel
has worked in several top ten markets, including Atlanta, Washington, DC and
Philadelphia. In DC, his hometown, he was the U.S. Supreme Court
Correspondent for CNN.
He founded The Media Trainers, LLC®, a professional communications training
and consulting business, in 1997.
Eric and his wife reside in suburban Atlanta and have two grown daughters.
TMT’s Associates
Jed Nitzberg, APR
With two decades of professional communications experience, Jed brings extensive insights and lessons learned to bear when servicing his clients.
He ran the Healthcare Practice for Ogilvy Public Relations’ Atlanta office. Before Ogilvy, Jed served as Director of Communications for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, responsible for all aspects of the agency’s media relations, crisis communications and strategic communications planning on issues ranging from mental health to child abuse to online education campaigns.
Prior to DHR, Jed was with WebMD. This followed his work at the national headquarters of the Arthritis Foundation as VP for PR and then VP for Interactive Communications.
Jed also has been Director of Development Communications for the University at Buffalo (State University of New York), and a news anchor/reporter with WLNH-FM/AM (Laconia, NH). He’s received a number of public relations and journalism awards, and has been active in leadership roles for local chapters of the Public Relations Society of America.
Jed received a master's degree with honors in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a bachelor's degree in English and American Literature from Brandeis University.
Chuck Griffin
With experience in journalism and public relations, Chuck Griffin knows both sides of a media interview. As a journalist, Chuck worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers, UPI and American Lawyer Media, winning awards for stories on the 1992 Atlanta riot and the legal system’s effect on the mentally ill.
During his time in PR, Chuck worked for Atlanta-based Southern Company, the nation’s largest producer of electricity, then subsidiary Southern Energy Inc., which became Mirant. As Mirant’s communications director, Chuck developed expertise in handling “low–trust, high–concern” situations. In particular, he developed and executed successful communications strategies related to the environment, the California energy crisis, and the construction of new power plants in sensitive areas. He also worked closely with the media during power plant emergencies, where the public perceived lives and community health to be at risk.
Chuck holds a bachelor of science degree in communications from the University of Tennessee and a master of divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Andrew Dietz
Andrew is president of Creative Growth Group, Inc., and an associate of TMT. He brings extensive practical experience to the training environment as a former senior executive in several corporations.
Andrew co–conducts Executive Presence Workshops with Eric, and he developed the 7 Laws of Gravitas™ (see “Workshops and Consulting” page above) that are the benchmarks of these workshops. Previously was a consultant with Egon Zehnder International, a leading global executive search and human capital advisory firm where he assessed, selected and advised senior executives and board members for some of the world’s most successful companies. In that role, he formed a peer advisory organization focused on developing rainmaker competency in professionals. He continues to lead a series of such groups under the brand, The Rainmaker Councils.
Andrew helped to form, netWorth Partners, a private equity investment firm now wholly owned by Mellon Ventures; as a venture partner with the fund, he served as CEO of one of its portfolio companies, SideTalk. Previously, he was a founding member of BellSouth’s Internet service provider, BellSouth.net where he served as VP, Product Marketing and led the initial marketing launch of BellSouth’s DSL service. Andrew also has served as a marketer of advertising and market research services for leading national publishers such as Ziff–Davis, Cahners Publishing and American Consumer Index.
He graduated from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing. He received his Masters in Business Administration with honors from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business including a particular focus on services marketing.
The Media Trainers® Advantage
Over 25 years of local & network news reporting and management experience
Comprehensive knowledge of how media work and how to work with the media
Managed more than 50 people
Able to spot and develop talent
Hired and developed syndicated talk hosts Sean Hannity and Clark Howard and several news reporters who have gone on to network positions
Successfully molded and directed individuals into award winning broadcasters; more than 40 international, national, regional and statewide awards
An understanding of running a business
Managed a seven figure budget
Deep experience in customized training
TMT has conducted more than 450 workshops and consulting sessions with over 90 clients. Workshops are designed around the needs of each participant based on:
Their specific role inside the organization
Their available time for training
Their comfort level
Their level of experience dealing with the media
The type of interview(s) they will be doing
Depending on your needs, our training will include:
Media skills built around The Media Trainers® 10 Rules of Interviewing™.
Tough questions preparations focusing on the most difficult inquiries reporters are apt to make.
Message development that gets your team "on message" to avert a crisis, diffuse an issue or promote your company.
Role playing, mock interviews and video clips drawn from our extensive library.
Attention to detail
A Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company executive:
"A training program where somebody spoke our language, prepared materials that reflected our business needs, and gave us just the right amount of useful materials."
A Coca-Cola Company executive:
"I was significantly impressed by the pertinent and well-researched, well prepared questions. Much better than my Proctor & Gamble training."
A Southern Company executive:
"I believe that this training was right on target to what we needed. The trainer was well prepared, not only for our industry, but also our project subject matter. Thanks!"
A Georgia Power Company executive:
"Trainer obviously knows our business and was excellent in identifying the areas we may be presented with while dealing with the media."
A Mirant executive:
"I was very impressed with the prep work done by the trainer relating to our business. Our industry is complex and he quickly adjusted to our local (Canada) issues."
An AGL Resources executive:
"Your training is straightforward and completely accomplished my objectives. Thank you for the open, honest feedback and relaying real life experiences."
Exclusive Tools Transferred to You
Through hundreds of training sessions and constant refinement, we have developed a set of proprietary media and communications training tools that are fast and easy to use. Our kit creates message structure, and makes your communications tangible and focused on results. Proprietary communications tools include:
