Public relations writing

Many hats, important job

A use-use relationship

The relationship between journalists and PR folks is often like the one between parents and teen-agers: they often disapprove of one another but there’s a lot of mutual need. Also, teens become parents, but parents don’t return to being teens (not literally, anyway). Journalists may leave to go into PR, but rarely is the reverse true.

Nicky … the “good” Hilton sister

Anchor learns Nicky isn't a Mrs. anymore

WCCO-TV's morning anchor Karen Leigh would like to annul an interview reference to Nicky Hilton's marriage.

Hilton was in the Twin Cities at malls and on TV promoting Chick, Nicky's sportswear collection. "You recently got married ... congratulations on that," Leigh said.

"No," Hilton responded. Oops!

Unhip to the Hilton sisters' antics, Leigh was unaware that Nicky had her Vegas wedding to Todd Meister annulled in fewer than 90 days.

Leigh has a great excuse for the gaffe. "In the press folder that they gave us, the first article in there is from the Fashion Wire Daily and it talks about her being married. 'Mrs. Todd Meister, otherwise know as Nicky Hilton, launched her collection of ready-to-wear casuals ...' " Leigh said.

From whom did Leigh get this info? "Whoever the press people are."

The packet came from PMK/HBH public relations with offices in Hollywood and NYC, according to WCCO spokesman Kiki Rosatti.

"I don't even know that that was in there," said PMK's Victoria Harvie, who declined to spell her name when reached in L.A. "Fashion Wire Daily is online; they could have looked that up. We sent them all the clips that have run on Chick. They should [ask] questions relevant to the line and not be delving into her personal life."

Leigh said, "That's what I went on. didn't realize that was the big no-no. I felt awful.”

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

old hands that turn red, white and blue may be patriotic,

But they can be an early symptom Of an autoimmune disease calledScleroderma.

On The Patriotism Angle,Carrying It a Little Too Far:

C

Opening sentence / lead in a news release from the Scleroderma Foundation, sent to news agencies just before July Fourth (My thanks to the Chronicle’s Burke Watson)

A former student of mine …George Carlton Deutsch III was a press officer of the United States space

agency NASA. He was appointed to the position by George W. Bush, having previously worked in the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign "war room." Deutsch gained notoriety in February 2006, when it was reported he ordered the adjustment of NASA Web sites mentioning Big Bang to include the word "theory" afterward. His comments in the internal NASA email quoted by the New York Times raised concerns because of its religious overtones. Deutsch wrote: It is not NASA’s place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator... This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most.

He was also connected with Dr. James Hansen's allegations of censorship of global warming and other science reporting within NASA.

Source: Wikipedia. Also note that his email handle was MRBIGSAC

Public relations: a definition

Public relations is the discipline that looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain good will and mutual understanding between a business (*or organization or person) and its public(s).

-- PR consultant Renee A. Prejean-Motansky

* Additions mine

Public Relations (PR)

Today’s PR professional wears any number

of hats. In fact, PR encompasses a number of

specialties:

Media relations -- dealing with media questions and needs, seeking publicity

Government affairs -- no, not Monica. Communicating with legislative and regulatory bodies and doing some lobbying

Public Relations (PR)

Industry relations -- dealing with other firms in the industry and with trade associations

Investor or financial or shareholder relations -- working to maintain investor confidence and good relations with the financial world.

Public affairs -- engaging in matters of public policy, writing position papers

Public Relations (PR)

• Crisis manager -- handling internal and external communications during a crisis. Knowing what to do when you get a call and are told “60 Minutes” is in the lobby … or that the Bonfire stack has fallen and kids are dead.

• Community relations – being the intermediary between an organization in the public, often involved in charitable work

Public Relations (PR)

Because of the variety of hats the PR person has to wear, the term “strategic communicator” has become the in vogue descriptor as an umbrella term for what they do.

PR professionals are also faced with a variety of tasks that are much broader than those of a general assignments reporter at a newspaper or broadcast station.

Public Relations (PR)

They have to do much more than simply put out news releases. They also:

– Supervise photography and graphics, assist the Web site– Handle media questions, needs and requests– Screen charity requests– Set up news conferences and similar programs– Do research and evaluate the effectiveness of programs– Contribute to corporate decision-making– And then take care of publicity in their spare time

Public Relations (PR)

What they have to write:

– News releases, the most popular way for an organization to deliver its message to the media. (Video news releases are also common now.)

– Newsletters, to employees or special interest groups.– Pamphlets, brochures, manuals to convey facts about an

organization’s history, operations or policies.– Position papers, or white papers, to explain an

organization’s stance on an issue.– Byliners and op-ed pieces crediting an organization official

but actually written by a member of the PR staff.– Web writing – news releases, blogs, etc. – that allow PR

practitioners to bypass the media.– Speeches – to allow an organization figure to deliver key

talking points directly to interested groups

VIEW FILM

Similarities and Differences

Similarities and Differences

First of all, what journalists and PR

professionals have in common is a shared

need and appreciation for good writing. Your

writing skills will go a long way toward

determining your success level, no matter

which track you pursue.

Similarities and Differences

Additionally, to be most effective, journalists and PR people must place a high value on accuracy. That is essential to nearly all communications goals.

Thirdly, they all use the same mediums to get their messages out -- print, broadcast and the Web, so they share common ground in the advantages and disadvantages of each medium.

Similarities and Differences

There are some major differences between journalists

and PR professionals, and this is where the retort

about “enemy lines” comes in to play.

Both sides serve different masters:

-- Journalists serve the “public.”

-- PR folks serve an organization or a client.

Folks in PR are paid to put that client or product in the best possible light (spin). But they shouldn’t LIE.

PR vs. journalism

PR vs. advertising

A MATTER OF PERSUASIONPR writing is a form of persuasive communication. It can be the

soft sell of trying to get publicity for a charity’s upcoming fund-

raiser or the hard sell of laying out a political candidate’s stand on

the issues.

There are three root beliefs of persuasive communication:

1. People are essentially good. You need to believe that to appeal to their basic fairness and goodness.

2. People are intelligent or at least can be educated. Don’t talk

down to people and don’t assume you can trick or fool them.

3. People are changeable. You must not only believe that but also have the confidence that YOU can change them.

A MATTER OF PERSUASION

To be an effective PR communicator you have to establish and maintain your own credibility and that of the organization you work for. A sterling reputation takes a long time to build -- but can be destroyed in an instant.

In addition to the principles of news-gathering, persuasive writing etc. that a PR professional must know, they must also have an acute awareness of three other elements: the Message, the Audience and the Medium.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

1. The message: You have to know the signals or message your organization is trying to send out, the impression it is trying to make. A newspaper sends an explicit message in the content of the stories in publishes, but it also sends an implicit message with how the information is presented (story play), what is covered and what isn’t, what stories are left out.

In PR, you send an explicit message in how you conduct yourself and an implicit message in what organizations or products you choose to represent.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

2. The audience: Just as a newspaper or magazine must know all it can about its target audience, so must the PR professional. This allows the PR message to be directed with laser accuracy.

Now, “audience” in PR is divided into three sub-groups:

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

A. Publics -- In PR, there is no “general public.” It has to be a much more specific target to better refine the message. A “public” is a group of people who have a shared relationship with an organization (the client) but may have no demographic or other similarities. The relationship tries to meet the needs of both parties.

Students at UHCL or fans of a professional sports team, for example, are publics. They can be supportive or non-supportive of the organization. A fan or employee can be supportive; the contractor who supplies bottled water may be non-supportive but still has a relationship with the organization.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

B. Markets -- A very specific type of public. These are folks who are potential buyers, customers, patrons, patients, clients etc. In short, they are generally willing to spend money, but have a choice.

Think of publics vs. markets as family vs. friends; you have almost no choice on selecting your family members, but you do have a choice in selecting your friends. Your family has to support you (in theory, anyway) but your friends have a choice in spending money on you.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

C. Wide audience – Purveyors (readers, listeners and viewers) of a particular medium. Their chief commonality is the use of a certain medium.

They are generally passive, not really seeking the organization’s message. They’re just there, in the line of fire of the message despite a potential lack of interest.

Whereas, publics and markets allow the message to be significantly narrowed, this category utilizes the shotgun approach.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

3. The Medium: Once you have mastered the message and targeted the audience, you have to choose the medium that best allows you to achieve your goals.

– For a product that nearly everyone wants -- beer or soap -- you would probably choose TV because the product appeals to a general audience.

– Radio allows you to play a message over and over, and since radio listeners demonstrate loyalty to a station, that is a market you might aim for.

– Print is handy for more complicated messages, has a higher credibility image than other mediums and allows the consumer to return again and again to the message.

– The online audience is generally better educated and affluent, and the Web allows you to combine print, audio and video. But the consumer can click away a pop-up ad; it’s a bit more difficult to click away a TV or radio commercial.

MESSAGES, AUDIENCES AND MEDIUMS

In the end, defining the message, targeting the audiences and choosing the medium or media becomes part of an overall campaign or strategy. Your textbook (Page 178) outlines how to create an effective public relations plan:

1. Analyze the situation 2. Plan the strategy

3. Implement the plan 4. Evaluate the results

Such a campaign assumes that you can’t just tell an audience just once what your message is, that your goals will take time to achieve. Public relations writers have to be ready to adapt the message to the whole spectrum of media and to changing circumstances.

News Releases

News Releases

Novices and even seasoned veterans all use news

releases as a primary tool to get their message out. It’s a

fundamental method for trying to get publicity. Here’s

where all of your newfound writing skills come into play.

Here are some general guidelines:1. Know what news is and how to write it

2. Know the structure and operations of the news room (deadlines)

3. Know the news people and their jobs

4. Know the style of writing that fits the medium

Types of news releases

Why issue a news release:

1. Announce upcoming events, appearances or personnel matters/changes

2. Give information about worthy causes, blood drives, food drives, aid fund-raisers etc.

3. Give information about a breaking news event involving the organization

4. Publicize an anniversary or milestone

5. Release survey/poll results or statistical data

6. Alert the public about health/safety issues.

7. To introduce new products, services, facilities

Writing the news release The good ol’ inverted pyramid is the primary structure

used by the PR writer, largely because it speaks the language of news professionals. Some PR writers will take the IP to the extreme, using “who-what-when-where” subheads/categories in the news release.

The inverted pyramid is the place to start but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. You can jump outside the confines of the news summary lede with a colorful quote -- or perhaps use a short delayed lede. (See sample in handout)

Note that PR professionals often have to manufacture or “massage” quotes for organization officials.

News release preparation tips

1. Always include the name and address of the organization putting out the release

2. Always include contact information. Phone numbers, email addresses and Web sites

3. Indicate the release date. Any embargos?

4. Fit the style to the medium. Generally AP style.

5. Watch your length. Try to confine you message to no more than 2 pages or 500 words. Email news releases should be shorter than that.

More news release tips6. Avoid breaks. It’s a subliminal thing for the reader. Avoid

hyphenating at the end of lines and don’t break sentences between pages.

7. Write clearly, fact-check, proofread. Avoid corporate jargon and legalese. Get it right!

8. Remember the pyramid.

9. Beware of exaggeration/distortion. Especially avoid superlatives -- the best detergent ever! (Exxon Valdez example; now the Sea River Mediterranean)

10. Get it to the right person. Tailor the content in your release to the appropriate beat (business angle for business desk; lifestyle angle for features desk etc.)

More news release tips

10. Make it local.

11. Include visuals.

12. Attribute news to a person.

13. Indent the paragraphs. Another subliminal reader trick.

14. Headlines. If you can write good ones, use ’em. If

not, stick to what you know. (Headline: Good news Bears – Smith signs with Baylor)

Creating Kick-Butt News Releases (and Bonehead Mistakes to Avoid)

Even more tips (from PR Insider Web site)

The news release is your only chance to make a good first impression.

Sloppy, inaccurate, pointless releases are the first to hit the newsroom wastebasket or recycle bin.

To make sure yours isn’t one of them, avoid these seven deadly sins.

Seven Deadly Sins 1. Providing insufficient or wrong information.

Particularly telephone numbers. Releases must be complete, accurate and specific.

2. Writing too long. They should be no longer than two pages.

3. Sending it too late. Mail or fax it at least two weeks before an event, preferably three or four. Send them four to six months ahead for major magazines.

Seven Deadly Sins 4. Sending a release with no news value. News is

what happens that is different. If it isn't different, it isn't news.

5. Blatant commercialism. Avoid hackneyed words and phrases such as spectacular, incredible, the only one of its kind, breakthrough, cutting-edge, unique and state-of-the-art.

6. Omitting a contact name and phone number. At the top of the first, page in the left corner, let editors know who they can call if they have questions.

Seven Deadly Sins

7. Calling after you send a release. Questions like "Did you get my news release?" or "Do you know when it will be printed?" will brand you as a pest. Don't follow up with a phone call to see if the media got your release, unless you are absolutely sure that someone will check for you. Most reporters and editors don't have time.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD AND BAD NEWS RELEASES

SELECTED WEB SITES

1. PublicityInsider.com -- Contains info on effective news releases, PR resources and insider tips by PR professional Bill Stoller.

2. online-pr.com -- Helpful site for anyone interested in PR. A resource for numerous other Web sites

3. sonic.net/~cuclis/news.html -- Explains how to be newsworthy and provides a checklist on how to figure out your news angle

4. prsa.org -- general information about the Public Relations Society of America; includes the Code of Standards

SELECTED WEB SITES

5. prssa.org -- Site of the Public Relations Students Society of America; includes job listings

Helpful for new ideas and creativity

6. silveranvil.org -- Site for the annual awards given to PR practitioners.

7. prnewswire.com and medialink.com -- Help with distributing news releases online

One last writing exercise …

Edit and rewrite the following information (on the Web site or delivered to you electronically) into a usable news release. Remember to look over the “tips” and “sins” regarding news releases.

Remember to fact check.

Be creative with the logo/style, if you wish

Due next class