Public Relations Writing Writing for the Eye and the Ear 04 22 2013 Writing for the eye must be able to withstand the most rigorous scrutiny Listener only gets one opportunity to hear comprehend message Fool Proof 4 part formula for writers 1 The idea must precede the expression Writing requires ideas and ideas require thoughts think first 2 Don t be afraid of the draft 3 Simplify Clarify In writing the simpler the better They key to clarity is tightness each word passage paragraph must belong 4 Must be aimed at particular audience Flesch Readability Formula thru a variety of writing he staged a one man battle against pomposity and murkiness of writing believed anyone can write and that those who write the way they talk will be able to write better His 7 suggestions o Use contractions o Leave out that whenever possible o Use pronouns o When referring back to a noun repeat it or use pronoun Don t create eloquent substitutions o Use brief clear sentences o Cover only 1 item per paragraph o Use language the reader understands Ylisela Cornerstones of Corporate Writing Jim Ylisela says the reason most corporate writing is dull is cause writers themselves are fearful to express themselves forcefully Says secret is to make words count o Be specific o Use more words o Find better verbs o Purse active voice o Omit needless words o Embrace simplicity clarity o Tell a good story o Find interesting voices o Take chances o Rewrite The Inverted Pyramid journalistic writing style is the flesch ylisela approach in action Inverted pyramid the first tier or lead of the story is the first one or two paragraphs which include the most important facts From there paragraphs are written in descending order of importance with progressively less important facts presented as the article continues Lead is the most critical element usually answer who what when where and occasionally how o Ex Columbia pictures announced today that it has signed Britney Spears to a three film deal for 60 million each Therefore the inverted pyramid is more the selection and organization of facts than its an exercise in creative writing The News Release writing vehicles Valuable but much maligned device The granddaddy of PR The first recorded one was by Ivy Lee as a Statement of the Road offering an explanation from client Penn Railroad about that month s crashes that killed 50 ppl PR professionals swear by it because everyone uses the news release as the basic interpretative mechanism to let people know what an organization is doing there is no better clearer more persuasive way May be written as a document of record to state an organizations official position ex in a court case or announcing price change but more frequently release have one overriding purpose to influence a publication to write favorably about the material discussed Why do some editors and others describe news releases as worthless drivel According to researcher Linda Morton 1 Releases are poorly written Usually written in a more complicated style than most news paper stories 2 Releases are rarely localized Newspapers focus largely on hometown or regional developments The more localized a news release the greater the chance of it being used However Morton PR actioners may not want to do the additional work that localization requires Research indicates that a news release is 10 times more likely to be used if its localized 3 Releases are not news worthy What determines whether something is news Morton says Impact major announcement that affects an organization its community or society Oddity an unusual occurrence or milestone such as the one millionth costumer being signed on Conflict a significant controversy Known principal the greater the title of the individual making the announcement prez the greater the chance of the release being used Proximity how localized the release is or how timely it is relative to the news of the day Beyond these human interest stories which touch on an emotional experience are regularly considered news worthy News Release Content o the cardinal rule in release content is that the end product must be newsworthy o must be objective o all comments and remarks must be attributed to organization officials News Release Essentials Rationale should be relevant to readers and viewers Focus each release should speak only of one central subject Facts most important thing to a journalist No puffery hyperbole Nourishing quotes Limit jargon Company description Brevity Spelling grammar punctuation Headlines Clarity conciseness commitment o Best releases are straightforward understated confident Writing Internet news releases majority of journalists prefer to receive news release via email brevity and succinctness are paramount reading from a screen is more difficult than paper therefore internet news release writing must conform to the following limit subject line headers limit to 4 6 words one reporter per to line in email boldface FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE right above date hammer home the headline email headline should be boldface 10 words or less limit length should be shorter than print Avg print release is 500 words so less observe 5W format no attachments link to the URL accompanying info like photos bios backgrounders etc should be linked in the email to the organizations URL Remember readability use devices that make the release more eye friendly and scannable i e bullets lists Writing for the eye and ear 04 22 2013 Writing for the eye traditionally has ranked among the strongest areas for PR professionals The key to writing for listening is to write as if you are speaking I Writing for the eye 1 The Media Kit extraneous material so with news release in media kits less is more journalists have little patience for being overwhelmed with Biography o Straight Bio lists factual info in straightforward way in descending order of importance with company oriented facts preceding personal ones o Narrative Bio more informal Gives spark and vitality to the bio and therefore makes the individual come to life becomes like a speech The Backgrounder o Provides additional info generally to complement the news release can embellish announcement or they can discuss the institution making the announcement or any appropriate topic that will assist a journalist in writing the story o As long as it catches the interest of the editor any style is permissible Fact Sheets Q A Photos etc o Info that will help journalist tell a story without beng delayed with
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