Minski, Nicky10 December, 2012Exam 3 Book Notes Chapters 15, 16, and 19I. Chapter 15: Public Relations WritingA. Writing for the Ear and the Eye1. Writing for a reader differs from writing for a listenera) Reader can scan material, review passages, and check up on factsb) Listener only gets one opportunity to hear and comprehend message, requiring writing to grab their attention immediately B. Fundamentals of Writing 1. Four-part basics of writinga) The idea must exceed the expression. Think before writing. When coming up with clever ideas, it is better to borrow old ones than creating news ones. Ideas must satisfy four criteria:1) They must relate to the reader2) They must engage reader’s attention3) They must concern the reader4) They must be in the readers interestb) Don’t be afraid of the draft. Organization should be logical, leading the reader in a systematic way through the body of text. This can not be achieved without drafting and revising your work.c) Simplify, clarify. The more people who understand what you’re trying to say, the better your chances for stimulating action. The key to clarity is tightness: each word, sentence, paragraph must belong d) Writing must be aimed at a particular audience. Must have a target group in mind and tailor the messageto them, sometimes sacrificing the understanding of other audiencesC. Flesch Readability Formula and Yilsea Cornerstones1. Flesch’s seven suggestions to making writing more readable:a) Use contractions such as it’s and doesn’tb) Leave of the word that whenever possiblec) Use pronouns such as I, we, they, and youd) When referring back to a noun, repeat the noun or use apronoun. Don’t create eloquent substitutionse) Use of brief clear sentences f) Cover only one item per paragraphg) Use language the reader understands2. Ylisen’s Cornerstones of Corporate Writing: a) Be specificb) Use more words, as in a variety of vocabulary not longersentencesc) Find better verbs, more action-orientated verbsd) Pursue the active voice. PR writers should write “subject/verb/object” sentencese) Omit needless wordsf) Embrace simplicity and clarityg) Tell a good story. Use examples, illustrations, anecdotes,and personal experiences to make your pointh) Find interesting voices or people to quotei) Take chancesj) RewriteD. Beauty of the Inverted Pyramid and the News Release1. Inverted pyramid: climax of newspaper story comes at the beginning so that if a reader decides to leave news article early, they have already gained the basic ideas; first tier, or lead, of story is in the first one or two paragraphs, including the most important facts. From there, paragraphs are writtenin descending order of importance2. Lead is the most important element, usually answering questions concerning who, what, where, when, why, and how3. First news release was issued by Ivy Lee, called “Statement from the Road,” protecting reputation of a client’s railroad crash4. News releasesa) Most important PR writing vehicleb) Basic interpretive mechanism to let people know what the organization is doingc) Can be used to state organization’s official positiond) Main purpose is to influence a publication to write favorably about material discussed in releasee) Typically not used verbatim but rather used to stimulate editors to consider covering the story5. Linda Morton’s reasons to why news releases are described as “worthless drivel”:a) Releases are poorly written. They’re often complicated and difficult to understandb) Releases are rarely localized. The more localized the release, the better of a chance it has to be usedc) Releases are not newsworthy. 6. Five requisites to be considered news: a) Impact: major announcement that affects organization, its community, or even societyb) Oddity: unusual occurrence or milestonec) Conflict: significant dispute or controversy d) Known principal: greater the title of individual making the statement – president versus vice president – meansthe greater chance of being released e) Proximity: how localized or timely7. Human interest piece: touches on emotional experiences; considered newsworthy E. News Releases News Value and News Release Content1. News releases ought to include the following elements:a) Have well defined reason for sending the releaseb) Focus on one central subject in each releasec) Make sure subject is newsworthy in context of organization, industry, and communityd) Include facts about product, service, or issue being discussede) Provide facts “factually”f) Rid release of unnecessary jargong) Include appropriate quotes from principals but avoid inflated superlativesh) Include product specifications, shipping dates, availability, price, and all pertinent information for telling storyi) Include brief description of organization at end of release – what it is, and what it doesj) Write clearly, concisely, forcefully2. When news release is newsworthy, it must be clearly written in proper newspaper style, mean: it must get focus out earlyand answer the six questions; from there, it must follow the inverted pyramid structure until conclusionF. News Release Style and News Release Essentials1. Writing style must be flexible and evolve as language does 2. Typical style rules for news releases:a) Capitalization. Use down style, capitalizing only the most important wordsb) Abbreviations. Abbreviate month with date (Dec. 10, 2012) or spell out month when alone (December). Spell out organizations name at first mention and then abbreviate it throughout rest of storyc) Numbers. Spell out zero through nine, and use figures for 10 and up d) Punctuation. Less rather than more is the goal1) Colon introduces listings, tabulations, and statements; takes place of “for instance”2) Comma is used before connecting words, between two words or figures that might be misunderstood, and before and after nonrestrictive clauses3) Resist exclamation points4) Use hyphens carefully5) Double quotations makes enclose original quotation, whereas single marks enclose quotation within a quotatione) Spelling. Use dictionary and the first recommended way of spelling3. News releases must include several time honored essentials to get considered for print: a) Rationale. Releases should answer: What’s new? And so what? Subject matter of release must be relevant to readersb) Focus. Speak about only one subjectc) Facts. Who, what, where, when, why, and howd) No puffery. Avoid taboo termse) Nourishing quotes.
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