Public Relations Writing

1. Public Relations Writing Who do I Write for and What is my Venue?

2. Media for Internal Publics • Aim to increase understanding, teamwork, commitment by employees in achieving bottom-line results • Need to build a stronger manager-communication network, information should not only include job related information but key business and public issues affecting the total organization

3. Printed Words • Organizational Publications - upwards of 1 million produced including newsletters • All organizational publications satisfy the organizational need to go on record with its positions and communicate information essential for achieving organizational objectives

4. Internal Publications • Letters - not replaced by faxes • Bulletin Boards • Inserts and Enclosures • Reprinted Speeches, Position Papers and “Backgrounders”

5. Internal Publications • Printed Words do not replace face-to-face, spoken words: • the grapevine • meetings speeches and speaker’s bureaus • CCTV • Other Spoken forms: • teleconferencing • videotapes, film and slide presentations

6. External Publications • Printed Publications • Newspapers • Wire Services and News Syndicates • Magazines • Broadcast • TV • Radio • Cable TV

7. PR Writing • Fundamentals • Idea Must Precede the Expression • must relate to the reader • must engage the reader’s attention • must concern the reader • be in the reader’s interest • Remember - must involve the reader! • Utilize the Drafting Process • Simplify, Clarify and Aim

8. Flesch Readability Formula • Write the way you speak! • Target the LCD • avoid big words • avoid being verbose • avoid clichés • be specific • be simple • be short • be organized

9. The News Release • When writing news releases the key is to generate interest and coverage • Problems occur when they are: • poorly written • lack of localization • not newsworthy (you must sell the story!)

10. Spacing - double-spaced, typed Paper - cheap! Identification - who are you? Release Date - timeliness Margins - leave room for comments Length - get to the point quickly Paragraphs - here it’s OK for it to be a single sentence Slug lines - use shorthand with directions Headlines - grab attention early! Proofread Format for the News Release

11. News Releases - Styling • Remove potential sexual bias, if possible • don’t refer to someone as the “lady” lawyer • avoid terms like man-made material, etc. • If not possible, use traditional terminology

12. Styling (cont’d) • use down style - only capitalizing important words • Be careful of inappropriate or incorrect abbreviations • Spell out numbers <10 • Punctuation should clarify

13. Content of the News Release • This is what sells the story! • The content of the release should be tempered with the appropriate tone of the release • Should always include the vital facts

14. Guidelines for Working with the Press to Aide Visibility • Talk from the viewpoint of the public’s interest - not the firm’s • make the news easy to read and use • if you don’t want a statement quoted - don’t make it! • state the most important facts first • don’t argue or lose your cool with the reporter

15. Guidelines (cont’d) • if the reporter asks a direct question - answer directly • if the spokesperson doesn’t know the answer to the question - say so - but offer to immediately get back with them • tell the truth - even if it hurts • do not call the press conference unless you have what the reporter would consider news