PR Final Exam Study Guide 04 27 2015 Class Notes Intro Writing Lecture Notes from 4 13 15 If you cant write you cant make it in public relations PERIOD All the functional parts of PR that we mentioned in chapter 1 involve some type of writing and without writing skills you will not succeed in the profession The Inverted Pyramid All press releases and newspapers have the same type of format Think of an upside down triangle o It starts with the Summary Lead and then information is given in descending order of importance o The Summary Lead This is the most important aspect of the article Can be the Who What MOST of the time it is the what Depends on audience Where When Why How CNN and USA Today are prime examples of this o This method is generally used for two reasons 1 In today s society where the 6 second video rules the internet it is key to appeal to short attention spans It is better to have a large amount of people with at least some knowledge of the event than a small amount of people with all the knowledge 2 So that the story may be edited to fit available space by cutting off the end of the story Nothing of significance is lost Print Vs Electronic Media Leads Hard Print Lead o Simple sentences and in Active voice For example John threw the ball is four words The ball was thrown by john is six words This paints a better picture for the reader o Must be 22 25 words maximum This is why it is vital to use simple sentences and active voice because those two words count when you are at the 20 25 word range Soft Electronic Lead o Simple sentences and Active voice For the same reasons mentioned in the Hard lead o However 18 20 words maximum Research shows that the first two or three words are throw away because people often flip through channels and miss the beginning of the segment Class Example Who Alpha Gamma Delta What fundraiser for Juvenile with Diabetes Research Foundations Where Heritage Grove Apartments When Sunday April 19th 2015 from 12 4pm Why To raise money for JDRF How Teams pay to compete in various water related activities Good Example of Hard Lead o Remember to put the most important information FIRST o In most leads the most important information is the WHAT o BUT it may sound awkward to start with the what the fundraiser as the beginning but the WHO as the beginning makes it sound better Good Soft Lead Example o For our specific example I would argue that the HOW teams pay to compete in water activities is the most important Key Takeaway o Whatever it is that you are doing always start with your AUDIENCE effective From there you can tailor you lead to be the most For instance if Obama was going to speak on campus the most important aspect would be the WHO because he is the president Usually used because it is the fastest easiest and most News Release effective Format for News Release 1 Spacing o Typed o Double Spaced 2 Professional usual color 3 Identification o Standard page either white or same color of your company s Must be professional looking is the key o Need to know who you are Ie Telephone number or address 4 Release Date Embargo Date o Think about when the event is o Run the release on the best day to cater to your audience o If you can try to get it on one SINGLE piece of paper 5 Normal Margins 6 Length 7 Paragraphs o Easier to read o Breaks up the content o Makes easier to comprehend 8 Slug Line paper o This is used when you have to use MORE than one piece of o At the bottom of the page is where you insert the slug line o More This is placed at the bottom of the page is placed at the top of the next page to indicate the start of the next page 30 This is placed at the end of either a 1 page document or at the end of the two page document to signify the end of the News Release 9 Suggested Headline o Sometimes you need to be a little clever NOT CUTE o This draws in the reader o You could also just use a Straight Headline 10 Timing o You have to know when things are due o That way you can get it into the paper in the correct time o THIS IS CRITICAL o These are typically done ahead of time so knowing and being aware of the correct timing is crucial 11 Using the Internet o In this day and age of technology it is crucial to know to know how to effectively use the internet o Can make you lose credibility when grammar mistakes are 12 Proofread o OVER and OVER again o Don t just depend on spell check May say hear instead of here Media Kits Examples of what might be in a kit 1 Biography of Key people involved made o Must be Straight Bullet point format Narrative Paragraph typically a story 2 Backgrounder o Knowing what s going on in the background may help to know what s going on in the current situation 3 Feature 4 By Liner o Story written by someone but who didn t actually write it o Example The CEO of Hewlett Packer writes a story But someone just took his thoughts and wrote them down in a story format for him 5 Memorandum o Helps us understand who we are o It s a memo 6 Pitch Letter o Letter to News paper pitching about a certain idea of problem that should be in the paper o Paper can chose to accept or deny 7 Fact Sheet o Series of bullet points that tells you enough pieces of information about the person 8 Round up Article 9 Position Paper o Takes a particular point of view Shows bias o Example NRA wrote position paper about how all students in schools should be armed so that they can defend themselves in dangerous situations 10 Standby Statement o You write down what you know you are about to be in trouble for in order to prepare for the worst 11 Speech o Make sure it s professional and well written News Conferences 1 Location o Held where it best suits the media unless the location itself is what s newsworthy 2 Be Mindful o Be mindful of media deadlines o Know when things are due o Traffic and other conditions 3 Major Events o Hold news conferences ONLY for major important events Example The mayor of Tallahassee held a news conference that was supposedly important and major So out came all of the major news stations and But all that the mayor said that there was going to media be a sponsored 5k THIS is an example of a POORLY chosen news conference It angered the News station because they …
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