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PR Writings: Press releases
and conferences
Nora Nailul Amal
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PR Writers
You may be writing for a company Web site,
a blog, a social Web site, facebook, a live
chat, or the PR war room of a large company
facing a public relations crisis. In every case,clear, persuasive written communication, the
stock in trade of the public relations writer, is
the core skill that can be leveraged by eachnew technology and technique.
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Whether you are writing for newspapers, broadcast outlets, books, or public
relations purposes, the basics of good expository writing remain the same and
never go out of date:
Clarity
Accuracy
Vividness
Aptness of details, examples, and quotations
Correct grammar
A clear, varied style
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Any good writing is probably 20 percent writing and80 percent rewriting. In public relations, expect 90percent rewriting because a number of people willmake suggestions and changes during the approval
process. You have to be willing to work toward clarity. Even
with the pressure of instant deadlines, you mustinsist on making and then taking the time to create
readable prose that achieves your communicationsgoals. Then proofread, proofread, proofread! Onceyour writing is sent digitally into cyberspace, an erroris forever.
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When you become adept at writing newsworthy
press releases, informative biographies, fact sheets,
media kits, and stories that are specific to a
newsletter's target audience, you will find plenty ofnew challenges ahead: speeches, multimedia
presentations, broadcast scripts, event
presentations and time lines, as well as Internet
communications, editorials, opinion pieces, crisis
communications, and official statements.
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Whatever digital distribution channel you may
be usingyour main responsibilities as a
public relations writer:
Clearly understand your product, client,company, or message.
Know your target audiences.
Write clear, engaging prose that effectivelycommunicates your message to your
audience.
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News releases, press conferences, officialproceedings, and other nonspontaneous eventscontinue to make major contributions to newscoverage in newspapers large and small, with the
percentage of nonspontaneous material in smallernewspapers being even higher than in larger ones(Song, 2002). In other words, many journalists arereceptive when a story comes to them from
businessespecially if it is well written andparticularly if the reporter or editor has a priorrelationship of trust with the public relationspractitioner (Curtain, 1997).
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The media are inundated by dozens of newsreleases every day. If your release is to be read andconsidered for coverage, it must offer a newsworthystory, stated clearly and simply, long on information
and short on adjectives. A news release typically introduces a new product,
service, or idea; reports new findings from a survey;alerts the media to an upcoming event; announces astaff change; or simply presents new information.
Sometimes a release is the basis of an entire story.More often, an idea in it suggests a related story oraffects a story an editor or reporter already has inprogress.
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Before you write, ask yourself:
Is this story truly newsworthy, and will it interest the intendedaudience? Much has been written on the subject of what is newsand what should be covered. Some say news is anything peopledidn't know about yesterday or anything that affects their lives.The late newspaper columnist Walter Winchell used to say that
news is anything that protrudes from the ordinary. The debate about judging news value is sure to continue as long
as news is reported, but you can begin to measure the newsvalue of your story by asking if it offers any significant informationthat was not available before and whether anybody will care
about this information.
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Does this story answer all the questions it is
likely to raise?
Will this story, if covered, advance my client's
objectives?
Are all the facts and figures in the story
accurate? Has every name, date, and piece
of information been double-checked with areliable source?
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The Appointment Release
State the appointee's name and title, and attributethe announcement to an official from the company.Also state the name of the person to whom theappointee will report and when the appointment
becomes effective. (If this last fact is not included,it is implied that the appointment is effectiveimmediately.)
State the name of the person being replaced
(optional; it may be a touchy subject), or, if theposition is new, say that the subject of the release''has been appointed to the newly created positionof...''
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State the scope of the appointee's responsibilities
in relation to the company or client, and describe
the nature of the business. Sometimes a quotation
from the appointee's boss is used in this second
paragraph; rarely, however, is the quotation used
by the press unless it contains newsworthy
information about the company's new initiatives
and not just boilerplate praise about what a
wonderful person the appointee is.
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State the appointee's professional and educational history,covering the most recent position and accomplishments firstand working backward in time. This conforms to the inverted
pyramid news style of summarizing the most importantinformation at the top and supporting the lead with, first, themost relevant or important details and, then, details of lesserimportance.
The inverted pyramid allows the story to be cut to any length; if
only the first paragraph is used because of space limitations,the whole story is still conveyed. You may also offer a fewpersonal facts, such as his or her place of residence, place oforigin, and, sometimes, marital status. Although such detailsare rarely covered in a news article, they are helpful forindividualizing the appointee and establishing common ground
between the appointee and someone who later accesses therelease from your company Web site.
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Include your client's approved company
description, also known as boilerplate
including trademark, registered, and
copyright designations, as well as thecompany's Web site address.
End with the name, telephone number, and
e-mail address of the designated mediaspokesperson.
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The Product Release
Lifestyle, Trend, and Survey Releases
Quotations
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Barack Obama, Russell Simmons, B. B. King, Harry Belafonte andIsaac Hayes Lend Their Voice to AOL Black Voices Celebration ofBlack History Month
January 30, 2006
AOL Black Voices, the premier site for African-American culture andcommunity, celebrates Black History Month with an interactive look atthe lives, stories and contributions of significant African Americans inhistory (http://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_month). Through a partnership with The HistoryMakers, the nation'slargest African American video oral history archive headquartered in
Chicago, IL, users can watch video interviews from significant figuresincluding Senator Barack Obama, Russell Simmons, B.B. King, HarryBelafonte and Isaac Hayes, among others.
''As one of the most comprehensive news organizations bringing Blackculture and information to millions of people each month, AOL BlackVoices is thrilled to focus a six week campaign looking at thecontributions of Black Americans,'' said Nick Charles, Editor in Chief,
AOL Black Voices. ''Through video, audio and exclusive articles, we arebringing our community closer together to debate and rejoice in the richhistory of black people.'' [AOL 2006]
http://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_monthhttp://0-blackvoices.aol.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/black_news/black_history_month7/29/2019 PR Writings
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Photos, Samples, and Review Copies
Whenever appropriate, you should state that a photo or colorslide, a sample, or a review copy of the subject of the release isavailable on request or downloadable from a specified Webaddress (if it is not already enclosed with the release).
Music critics complain that publicists will call and ask if they want
to interview band members. If a music critic has never heard theband, has no idea what the group sounds like, and has notreceived a compact disc, been directed to a sample on a Website, or been invited to hear the band perform, there is no chancethe reporter will know if he has an interest in writing about it, let
alone whether he wants to do an interview.
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Make it as easy as possible for the journalist to
experience firsthand the subject of your press
release. If the release is about a speech, attach acomplete text of that speech. If the release is about
a new fabric, attach a swatch.
When a sample cannot be enclosed, invite the
reporter to a place where the subject of the newsrelease can be viewed or encountered.
Make full use of the capabilities of the Internet to
provide compelling photographs, video, and audio to
help tell your story and for the media to use asbackground information or as content for their
stories.
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News releases style and form
All news releases must have four key elements: Date and embargo. Include a date indicating when
the release is issued and another date indicatingwhen it should be made public. Any restriction on
when the information may be used is called anembargo. An embargo is usually used when issuinginformation that can be released to the public onlyafter a specified date and time. Embargoes can betricky and should be used cautiously. If one member
of the press ignores the embargo and breaks thestory early, others will probably follow. If yourrelease has no time restrictions for going public,mark it ''For Immediate Release.''
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Contact. Include the name, telephone number,and e-mail address of the person to whom
inquiries should be directed. For breaking stories
of great urgency, you may also want to include a
cell phone or home phone number if media may
need information during nonoffice hours.
Headline. The headline at the top of the releasesummarizes the story and catches the reader's
attention. When the story is complicated, use a
subhead as well. Headline information is drawn
from the body of the release, because the release
must hold up as a complete thought without the
headline.
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News Conference
Perhaps the most common public relations
event is the news conference. To hold a
news conference essentially means to gather
the media at a designated place and time sothat they can hear a significant and
newsworthy announcement and ask
questions. This is one of the most
straightforward methods of generating
publicity.
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The most important part of a news
conference is the announcement being
made. Regardless of how much hoopla
accompanies a news conference, if theannouncement is not newsworthy, the
coverage will be minimal at best. Even worse,
the media will be angry that you wasted their
time and left them with an empty news hole
that they had budgeted for your big story.
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Covering a news conference consumes about fourhours of time for the reporter, plus camera andsound crew for broadcast (travel, setup, one-hour
event, additional interviews and B-roll, breakdown,and travel).
What the media want in exchange for thiscommitment of time and staffbesides strong
coffee, fresh pastries and bagels, and orangejuiceis something beyond the story they would getby saying, ''Just send us the press release.'' This''something else'' is the challenge for publicrelations. You'll be asked, ''What else do you have
for me?'' or, more likely, you'll be told, ''That's oldnews. We've done that story already. What else yagot?''
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At the minimum, press events should be designed togenerate interesting photographs for the print mediaand great video footage and a sound-bite that thebroadcast competition doesn't have. In addition tothe speeches, copies of which you will thoughtfullyprovide in the media kit that the press will receivewhether or not they attend, the journalists expect''something else.'' A Q&A itself can be the''something else'' (news), when a free give-and-takeallows reporters to ask hard-hitting questionsforexample, when a normally publicity-shy CEObanters with the press and gives answers thatseemingly are off-the-cuff.
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Of course, before the event, you anticipate
the most obvious or troublesome questions
and provide the speaker with possible
answers. You probably also help thespokesperson rehearse answering reporters'
questions in a relaxed style that seems
impromptu. If your speaker is not willing to
take reporters' questions, don't call your
event a press conference.
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The checklist
Invitation listpress, celebrities, politicians, and others Time and date: possible conflicts
On-site arrangements Venue rental
Parking location and validation
Security
Menu
Green Room location (a backstage area for speakers and guests) andrefreshments
Stage: Company logo, dais, podium, microphones, teleprompter, ice water
Press needs: Sight lines, sound plug-ins, electrical, Internet
Audiovisual, computer, Internet hookup, duplicate program media, and other
electronic equipment Signage
Staff communication devices
Sign-in book
Name badges
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Invitations Media alert
Photo opportunity alert
Book your own photographer and videographer
Hire a media monitoring service
Callbacks to invited press members to firm up attendance
Associated Press Daybook
Media kit Speeches Main announcement release
Technology release Executive bios
Company backgrounder/fact sheet
Photos/captions (see Chapter Two)
Event time line, emcee self-introduction, speaker introductions and talking points
Possible questions from the media and drafted answers
Staffing assignments
Rehearsal The PR Newswire and the Business Wire
Follow-up
Postmortem
http://0-library.books24x7.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/viewer.asp?bkid=18034&destid=29http://0-library.books24x7.com.library.newcastle.edu.au/viewer.asp?bkid=18034&destid=297/29/2019 PR Writings
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More on Media Relations
Media courtesy
Media visit
Media gathering
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More on PR Writings
Writing biography
Financial writing
Write the crisis crisis releases
Program writings selling your concepts
Responding to critical articles
Web sites, corporate blogs
Corporate brochures, congratulatory letters
Etc.
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Next assignment
Pelajari materi PR writing, release dan conferences. Bekali diri anda dengan informasi mengenai:
LBPP Lia Surakarta
RSUD Dr. Moewardi Surakarta
TA TV Surakarta PT Tyfountex Indonesia
Figure out how you can build positive relationship aseffective as possible with the media.
Anda bisa memulai dengan memunculkan isu2 yangpotensial untuk mendapatkan mediacoverage/publisitas sehingga meningkatkan citraperusahaan.
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Kelompok akan saya bagi dalam focus group
discussion.
Materi UK akan berkisar PR Writing, release
dan conference.
Sebagai pengayaan, isu publisitas dan media
relations berkaitan dengan perusahaan
terpilih di atas akan didiskusikan. Prepare the knowledge in your brain, see you
on the exam!