Media 101: Navigating the Unexpected During an Interview

Training 3 – Media 101: Navigating the Unexpected During an Interview on December 10, 2026 from 12:00pm – 1:30pm

Amplifying the community health center movement and the issues that impact our work through news media requires a strong relationship between health centers and reporters. Most journalists have honest intentions and are invested in maintaining positive relationships with the people they interview. Regardless, spokespeople must be prepared in case an interview veers off course to navigate difficult or sometimes hostile questions (this rarely happens!). In this session, attendees will learn how to pivot, bridge, and redirect conversations during an interview while staying calm, professional, and focused on their key messages.

Learning objectives

• Know how to respond to negative, or even hostile, questions
• Know how to redirect responses back to your key messages
• Know how to refocus an interview if the interviewer tries to steer towards an unrelated direction

Presented by Jay Geer, President, Miller Geer & Associates, and James Chisum, Vice President, Miller Geer & Associates.

Training is complimentary. 

Instructor Biographies:

Jay Geer, President, Miller Geer & Associates

With almost 30 years of consumer and trade healthcare public relations experience, Miller Geer & Associates, Inc. (MGA) is one of Los Angeles’ only public relations/marketing communications firms that specializes in the healthcare industry, providing communications services for hospital systems, medical groups (IPAs, MSOs and PPOs), Research and Development entities, medical device companies and healthcare associations.  

President of the agency, Jay Geer manages the firm’s accounts, specializing in client programming and media relations. Some current clients and projects include AltaMed Health Services, CalOptima Health, L.A. Care Health Plan, Hoag Orthopedic Institute and more.  

Jay is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and is the recipient of several awards presented by the Publicity Club of Los Angeles. Jay was recently recognized as one of the top 50 healthcare public relations executives in the United States by PR Week Magazine. He holds a degree in Journalism from California State University, Dominguez Hills and is a frequent lecturer on the subject of public relations. 

James Chisum, Vice President, Miller Geer & Associates

James Chisum is a healthcare public relations and marketing professional with nearly two decades of experience at a boutique, health-focused marketing consultation and media relations firm in Southern California. His career has centered on working with healthcare-related clients, including hospitals, health plans, clinics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, behavioral health, wellness services, physicians, and advocacy organizations.  

 He has managed multiple clients simultaneously and regularly oversees several multi-million-dollar organizations at once. His responsibilities have included increasing awareness, managing crises, driving sales, engaging target markets, and generating new campaign initiatives. He has also helped introduce medical devices to the marketplace, managed brand awareness campaigns for major health institutions, and directed public relations programs from conception to completion.  

His specialties include media relations, strategic message development, media training, public relations, social media management, and the creation of collateral materials. He has strong experience in healthcare and wellness communications and has worked extensively on behalf of hospitals, medical groups, payors, physicians, privately owned companies, CEOs, and other key personnel.