Peace Love & Sillyness

These are my Ch.14 notes from Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques

E-mail

• reduces the cost of employee communications
• increases the distribution of messages to more employees
• flattens the corporate hierarchy
• speeds decision making
• it is a good way for PR writers to send media advisories & news releases to the media
• it is not suitable for all person-to-person communication and should never be a substitute for face-to-face communication
• you can be somewhat informal in emails, but you still need to pay attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation, & sentence structure

Memorandums (Memos)

• is a brief written message, usually a page or less in length
• it can ask for information, supply information, confirm a verbal exchange, ask for a meeting, schedule or cancel a meeting, remind, report, praise, caution, state a policy, or perform any other function that requires a written message
• hard copies of memos are usually distributed even if it was sent via e-mail
• should be specific & to the point; the subject line should state exactly what the memo is about
• every memo should include 5 things:

1. date
2. to
3. from
4. subject
5. message

Proposals

• are a management technique to consider new programs and policies
• the purpose is to get something accomplished – to persuade management to approve and authorize some important action that will have a long-lasting effect on the organization or its people
• can be presented in a few or multiple pages
• proposals will be more compelling if these 4 things are included:

1. show a need
2. satisfy the need
3. show benefits
4. call for action

These are my notes on Ch.12 from Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques

• The media traditionally has the following characteristics:

1. it’s centralized, having a top-down hierarchy
2. it costs a lot of money to become a publisher
3. it’s staffed by professional gatekeepers known as editors & publishers
4. it features mostly one-way communication with limited feedback channels

The World Wide Web

• allows interactivity
• a website is literally a distribution system in cyberspace
• in a lot of cases, an organization’s website is linked to other web pages and information sources
• there are 2 basic concepts that are important when writing for the web:

1. there is a huge difference between how people read online & how they read printed documents
2. the PR writer needs to know the basic difference between linear and nonlinear styles of writing

• when writing online you should limit line length to fewer than 60 characters
• you have 10-12 seconds to “hook” a viewer onto your site otherwise they’ll click on to something else
• if you want to attract visitors to your site you must give a lot of directional signage, which includes hyperlinks & search engines
• page view/page impression – refer to the number of times a page is pulled up
• unique visitor – means first-time visitors to a site
• cookie – a file that is placed on your hard drive by a website you have visited
• return on investment (ROI) – you compare the cost of the website to how such functions would be done by other means

Social Media

• according to wikipedia “social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.”
• blogs are the most dominant, but social media also includes MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, etc.
• conversation is not organized, controlled, or on message, BUT is vibrant, emergent, fun, compelling, & full of insights
• in 2007 there were 112 million blogs, with 120,000 being created every day
• corporate blogs are usually written by an executive & represents the official voice of the organization
• 70% of Americans 15-34 were currently actively engaged in some form of social network in 2008

Podcasts

• is a digital media file or series of such files that is distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players & personal computers
• 3 major advantages:

1. cost-effectiveness
2. the ability of users to access material on a 24/7 basis
3. portability

• organizations use podcasts to provide news about their company, in-depth interviews with executives & other experts, features giving consumer tips about use of products & services, and training materials for employees
• the ideal length is 10-20 minutes

These are my Ch.11 notes from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques

• media relations is the core activity in many PR jobs
• 2/3 of journalists say they don’t just PR people, but 81% say they need them anyway
• PR materials save the media time, money, and effort of gathering their own news; no medium has enough reporters to cover all the available news
• the relationship between public relations and the media is based on mutual cooperation, trust, & respect
• the excesses of hype and promotion have caused many journalists to openly disdain PR as nothing but covert advertising, deception, & manipulation
• a survey found that 82% of executives feel that news coverage today reflects the reporter’s personal opinions & biases
• most media are dependent on advertising revenues for survival
• if the public increasingly takes a skeptical view of what they read/hear, the value of media as an objective & independent source of information is compromised
• Media interviews: (some common questions)

1. who are you?
2. what is the story about?
3. why did you call me?
4. what are you looking for from me?
5. who else are you speaking with?
6. are you going to use my comments in your story?
7. when is the story going to run?

• news conference – where many reporters ask questions; it is called by an organization when there is important & significant news to announce; should be well organized, short, & punctual
• junkets – a variation on the press preview is the press tour
• fam trips – (familiarization tour) is similar to a junket but is within the travel and tourism industry

Here are my Ch.10 notes from PR Writing and Media Techniques

Reaching the Media

• the basis of all distribution channels is an up-to-date media database
• media databases may vary, but all usually provide the following:

1. names of publications and broadcast stations
2. mailing addresses
3. telephone & fax numbers
4. e-mail addresses
5. names of key editors and reporters

• one major directory is Burrelles/Luce, which claims to have listings for 76,000 media outlets in North America
• print & CD directories are still used, but online databases have an advantage because they are always up-t0-date
• online databases allow you to get a detailed media list together quickly or print mailing labels, email/fax your news release directly to a reporter
• editorial calendars = certain issues have a specific editorial focus; trade publication and business periodicals tend to operate on these.
• tip sheets = weekly newsletters that report on recent changes in news personnel & their new assignments, how to contact them, & what kinds of material they’re looking for

Distribution of Materials (tips for selecting a distribution channel)

• E-mail – good for suggesting story ideas to journalists/editors, answering media questions, & sending news releases
• Online newsrooms – good for distributing news releases, media kits, features, corporate background info, & high-resolution photos/graphics. distribution is enhanced by sending e-alerts & having journalists sign up for RSS feeds from the online newsroom
• Electronic wire services – best for financial news to large newspapers & major broadcast outlets; ideal for multimedia news releases. Includes internet search engines, bloggers, & other social networking media
• Feature placement firms – good for reaching suburban newspapers & small weeklies. distribution can be done in many formats
• Photo placement firms – best for high-resolution publicity photos on an international basis
• Mail – common method for distributing routine materials to local & regional media
• Fax – good for sending media advisories & alerts and late-breaking important news
• CD-ROMs – best used for background material (corporate profiles, executive bios, & product info sheets)