R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press During a mock press conference that was part of the Delta Force Leadership Program’s “Media and Communications Day,” student of the program Robert Yin and other participants listen to the questionable statements of a zany character and consider how to turn the tale into a news article.

ESCANABA — Participants in the Delta Force Leadership Program, organized by the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, completed the final portion of the program on Thursday. “Media and Communications Day” was the final day of field trips and discussions for the adult students who themselves fill various roles in the community.

Thursday’s agenda included meetings and tours with staff from local news outlets. “The Art of the Introduction and Public Speaking,” “Telling Your Story in a Digital Way,” “The Art of Writing a Press Release,” “A Look at the Weather” and “Tips and Tricks to Telling Your Story” were titles of some of the day’s presentations delivered by staff from Radio Results Network (RRN), WZMQ 19, the Daily Press and WJMN TV3.

In the newsroom of Escanaba’s local paper, the history of which dates back over a century, Delta Force students gathered around Daily Press Editor Brian Rowell. At other points in the day, they heard from RRN’s Jay Fisher, Jesse Huff, Mindy Wills and Mike Daniels; Daily Press’s Sarah Maki and Ilsa Minor; and WZMG 19’s Lily Simmons. By the time they reached Rowell, it was afternoon; almost all of their syllabus had been completed, and the students were stepping into their roles as temporary journalists.

After introducing himself as the editor of the paper and briefly describing how the rest of the session would go, Rowell armed the Delta Force class with reporter’s notebooks and transformed into an alter ego and delivered a whimsical mock press conference.

As “Herman Hoate,” the man spoke to the “reporters” for about a minute and a half to tell them about “an amazing new product” he would be producing. He described an outlandish, fictional scenario that involved stumbling upon a peculiar-smelling pool of water while searching for Bigfoot, discovering that the pool was the Fountain of Youth, and using it to brew beer.

“This marvelous brew will be made right here in Delta County,” said Rowell-as-Hoate. “I’ll now take some questions from you.”

As the group inquired about where the beer would be produced, side effects, FDA approval and more, the character was deliberately cagey about his responses. After about an eight-minute question-and-answer session, the students were sent off to desks in the newsroom.

Each Delta Force student was asked to write an eight-inch news article about what they had just been told. The assignment was under deadline, and the group was bombarded with distractions that real reporters have to contend with every day — phone calls from the public, the chattering of the police scanner, and interruptions by the editor, who had magically reappeared to pester them.

Finally, when time was up, a group discussion followed. Some students had further questions about how reporters handle delicate situations. Some expressed new appreciation for the work journalists do — which the staff appreciated hearing.

“In this profession, you can be thrown into a subject you know absolutely nothing about. In a very short period of time, you have to be enough of an expert that you can explain it simply to anybody who reads your article,” Rowell explained. “And that can be quite a feat, especially when you’re dealing with something that’s happening quickly like this. It takes a lot of discipline, a lot of determination.”

Delta Force participants shared their experiences on dealing with the media from the other side.

Dr. Robert Yin talked about the chaos involved when he worked in public health during the blastomycosis outbreak at the paper mill in early 2023. Inundated with calls from media outlets from near and abroad but without the personnel to handle them, Yin said that the decision had been made to restrict statements to only Friday afternoons, no exceptions. Rowell said he recalled that.

Abby Runkel said that she found Media and Communications Day and others in the Delta Force curriculum very interesting, explaining that even some of the topics that didn’t sound engaging at first ended up being fascinating — “Actually sitting down and doing it was very cool,” she said.

A desired takeaway from the students’ day in the life of the Press was that people would understand how important it is to tell stories honestly. Members of the community can help achieve this objective by being forthcoming and providing contact information when supplying press releases, in case reporters have further questions.

“Our main goal is to build the community and keep people informed, and to be a big history book of what’s happening in communities,” said Rowell.

After completing other days of instruction at various establishments around the community since early this year, the students of the Delta Force Leadership Program are ready to graduate. Apart from Thursday’s exploration of media and communications, they also dove into the worlds of health and human services, law and order, community leadership, history and culture, government, environmental awareness, education, and economic development.

“It has definitely expanded my leadership skills as far as learning different aspects of our community and different ways to get involved,” said Runkel, describing the program as a way to “learn the ins and outs of some of the things you don’t necessarily see on a daily basis.”