TORONTO -- Participants in a media training workshop for residents of an east-end Toronto community rocked by a shooting last week at a community barbecue had little to say to reporters following the 90-minute session.

The workshop was held Friday in a vacant Toronto Community Housing townhouse, and one freshly media-savvy participant said there were about 10 to 12 attendees.

"We actually just talked about the media presence and how actually helpful they are, in some ways," said Cheryl, who declined to give her last name.

"And talked about how much it's important for the media to be around, how you guys are doing your job," she said.

Other residents were skeptical about the community's need for media training.

"We don't need to know how to speak to the press. We are not stupid people around here. It's just we had stupid people come in that caused stupid problems," said Shelley Dupuis.

"I think they need to be focused more on what they can do to help the community get back to normal."

Although he didn't attend the workshop, 15-year-old Jordan Spences-Lee said media training is a good idea because many residents aren't used to talking to reporters.

"It's usually not like this. It's new to get all the reporters coming into the neighbourhood."

For others, it wasn't so much about talking to reporters as about avoiding the cameras.

"I feel really bad that people won't listen if my mom says she doesn't want to be on camera," said nine-year-old Brianna Dupuis.

A photo of Dupuis was on the cover of a Toronto newspaper, which she said brought some unwanted attention in the neighbourhood.

"One person said to me, 'did you enjoy your 15 minutes of fame?"'

Scott McKean of the city's community crisis response program said residents in the Danzig Street area requested the training after finding their neighbourhood swarmed with reporters eager to interview them, and that some were upset with the way the media portrayed their community.

"The media's making the area look bad but it's not bad, it's just certain people that had problems, it's not like everybody in the community," said 19-year-old Jemall Jefferson.

Adam Vaughan, a Toronto city councillor and a former journalist, said the training is a great idea.

"This neighbourhood has been traumatized, and since the shooting has seen an unprecedented influx of media," he said.

"I think this is a really responsible way to respond to the media spotlight that this neighbourhood has been thrust into and letting them understand how to protect their best interests as journalists go about their work," Vaughan said.

Some residents and other councillors, however, have questioned the purpose of the training, saying the community has more pressing needs.

Friday's media training session is one of several workshops and services the city is providing the community to help it recover from the July 16 shooting, McKean said. The incident left two people dead and nearly two dozen injured.

Vaughan notes that it's not about hiding information from the media, but rather getting residents comfortable with the onslaught of questions coming at a time when many people may be grieving.

"It's not like we're hiring sort of a Bay Street specialist to train them in how to spin the media," said Vaughan, referring to Toronto's financial district.

As police continue to search for suspects in the shooting, there are safety concerns that residents need to keep in mind when they talk to reporters, said Vaughan.

"Anything that's said publicly puts people at risk, puts the neighbourhood at risk of retaliation," he said.

One element of media training is understanding how what you say might be edited, said Vaughan.

"If you say 'this is a great neighbourhood, there are a few bad apples' what might get clipped is 'there are a few bad apples'," he said.

Alyn Edwards, a partner at public relations company Peak Communicators in Vancouver, said such training can help people understand how members of the media work.

"Somebody who hasn't received media training can be very easily led into saying things that they otherwise would not by persistent questioning through reporters who are very skilled in asking questions," said Edwards, a former reporter who now conducts media training workshops.

"I was one of them at one point and I used to be able to get people to say pretty well anything if they weren't schooled," he added.

Edwards teaches his clients to stick only to the facts.

"Don't speculate, don't answer questions that are hypothetical," said Edwards.

Toronto police have vowed to beef up their presence in at-risk neighbourhoods next month. Officers will face mandatory overtime, which will free up their colleagues to walk the beat in selected areas.