Writing, LECTURE NOTES: - Must be a good writer to be in Public Relations- The difference between PR and a Journalist is:o Journalist writes from the outside looking ino PR writes from the inside looking outo When a PR person sends in an article to a news place, the article won’t stay exactly the same…news people will probably edit ito The newspaper doesn’t have to print your article- Inverted Pyramid o Begins with summary lead: Answers 6 questions: who, what, when, where, why, how- Try to fit all of these questions in one sentence; usually the what is mostimportant and you lead with it- Print vs. Electronic media leads:o Hard lead (print) Begins with most important thing first- Simple sentences- Active voice – not passive voice (active is less words and more memorable) – talk about things that are happening now- 22-25 words maxo Soft lead (electronic) Simple sentences – it’s easier for the audience to hear short information Active voice 18-20 words First 2-3 words are throw-away (we have to assume that the audience missed the first 2-3 words)- Example of inverted pyramid:o Who: Alpha Phi Sororityo Why: Raise awareness about women’s heart healtho When: Saturday Oct. 21o Where: Tallahassee Civic Centero What: Red Dress Galao How: Auction to raise moneySummary leadMost import.2nd import3rdleast Summary Statement: Alpha Phi Sorority will host the Red Dress Auction Gala in Tallahassee Civic Center on Saturday, October 21, to raise money and Awareness about women’s heart health. - Format for news release: o Spacing: typed, double spacedo Paper: white, gray, off-whiteo Identification: identify yourself (writer) and contact info o Release date: (another term embargo) release date when its okay to run the storyo Margins: 1 ½ inch left, 1 inch righto Length: try to fit it all on one page – the more pages you have, the less likely it will be read – 2-3 sentence paragraphso Paragraphs: 2-3 sentenceso Slug line: -30- means more to read (dashes mean there is more), 30# means end pageo Suggested headline: should leave a suggested headline for news peopleo Timing: need to know deadlines for newso Using the internet: news is updated via internet constantly Important to know how the reporter wants to receive the article (personally delivered, email, fax, etc)o Proofreading: no substitute for proofreading Fog & Flesh computer program tells you what level of education your writing is in- Media Kits: can be in pocket folder (can be clever, not cute)o Bio (straight and narrative)o Background: background infoo Feature: not hard newso Case historyo By-liner: written by one person and signed by another (ex: PR person wrote it, CEO signsit, because they’re more credible to the public)o Memorandum: internal piece may help explain (rarely included)o Pitch letter: sales letter, about the story, why it’s of interest o Round-up article: about class of business, in general (ex: automotive industry instead of the ford industry)o Position paper: arguing a pointo Standby statement: written for if you get in trouble o Speech - News Conference: ruleso Held where it best suits the media unless the location itself is what is newsworthy Florida Press Center in Tallahassee is the best place in Florida to do news conferences- *he held his news conference at the horse place on FRIDAY, so there would be coverage over the weekend also (his personal news conference story)*o Be mindful of media deadlines – he held his conference at 10 am so news people had time to get there and back to the news stationo Hold for major events ONLYo If you can get the info to the media in a quicker, simpler way (ex: news release) then do it- Exclusives: news story given to only ONE TV Station, Radio Station, etco In general, don’t use exclusives (not good to use because it shows favoritism, or news stations will think you’re acting like you own them and they will stop covering your news)o An exception: news of limited interest might get coverage if given as an exclusiveo If you do exclusives, rotate with media by giving exclusives to different news stations each time- Talking Off the Record: organization tells the whole story/info but reporters can’t take notes or record, and the people speaking can’t be named directlyo Military uses this a loto In general don’t do it Reporters don’t like to do this because they can’t associate names with the information giveno If you must go off the record, establish the rules and offer the reporter something in return Make sure the reporter knows the conversation is off the record for the entire time and that the reporter commits YES to going off the record Nothing can legally stop the reporter from publishing the story anyway – the reporter ethically shouldn’t do it – give them something in return because they are doing you a favor Managing Crisis, LECTURE NOTES:- Crisis: any situation that can affect the well-being of an organization- Crisis vs. emergency: emergencies can happen all the time but aren’t always crisis’s (ex: fire alarm going off it an emergency; bomb blowing up is a crisis)- Timeframe of Crisis: o Shocko Angero Siege mentality: (called cacooning post 9/11; people stopped going out, stayed at home with families; this hurt the economy)o Adjustment: (people eventually went out again post 9/11)o Adaptation: (post 9/11 airports are extremely secure)- Types of crisis: o Fireo Explosionso Product tampering (ex: gerber baby food had small slivers of glass in it; Tylenol crisis: some Tylenol was poisoning people) o Law suits (tobacco lawsuits; lawsuits can take a business out)o Environmental damage (ex: EXXON BP oil spill)o Terrorism: terrorism just wants to disrupt things, sometimes lying about terror plans butthings are still disrupted because of it- Ramifications/Results of a Crisis:o Stock devaluationo Decrease in consumer confidenceo Loss of public trust- Types of Crisis: o Immediate: one that’s here now, and were in the middle of it (ex: school shooter)o Emerging crisis: not here yet but we can see it comingo Sustained crisis: crisis that does not go away, damage lasts a long time, people don’t forget (ex: EXXON is still dealing with BP oil spill)- Communicating during a crisis: - (more than half of the fortune 500 did not have a crisis plan – need to plan for crisis in advance)o Do not speculate on cause of crisis: if you don’t know the cause, don’t guess – say “we don’t
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