Cup O Code

Mike Ferlazzo - Building Critical News Media Relations to Tell Your Story
2026-06-24 13:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York)
Special Guest Speaker Mike Ferlazzo will speak from 2-2:30 p.m.
How to Get Your Important Message Out Through Your Regional News Media

You have a story to tell for your business and/or organization, but how can you get the traditional news media to tell it? In this session, you’ll learn media relations 101 with a crash course in some of the public relations tools of the trade that you can use, and how best to go about building critical relationships with people in the news media who can tell your story.
We’ll talk about how to:

Write the classic news release
Develop media pitches
Compile a tip sheet
Make the phone/elevator pitch
And how best to engage the news media

You should learn enough nuts and bolts media relations information to allow you to engage the news media about your story moving forward.
Mike Ferlazzo brings nearly 40 years of media relations experience from Bucknell University, Geisinger, Susquehanna University, and the national higher education media relations firm Dick Jones Communications, among others. He has experience in successfully writing, pitching and placing stories consistently with local, regional and national news media outlets, and has overseen successful media relations programs that have won numerous awards from professional organizations.
A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Communications, Mike has led previous media relations workshop sessions for Leadership Clinton County, Leadership Columbia County, Bucknell’s Management 101 class, and various professional conferences.

Abby Fertig - The power of the client experience in business
2026-07-29 13:30 - 15:30
Special Guest Speaker Mike Ferlazzo will speak from 2-2:30 p.m.
The power of the client experience in business. This will include building trust prior to your client reaching out, operating authentically, creating a brand voice, and what your business is saying when you aren’t directly talking about. (Media presence, reviews, and brand.)
