Writing for the media

❏ The news story❏ The media release

Friday, 7 January 2011They are one in the same.You are writing for the media and will have to get your release past a “gatekeeper”.You have to know to write a news story, because thatʼs what gets published. In essence, you are a journalist.More than 60 per cent of PR is about writing: proposals, plans, releases, e-mail.

While this is about writing news releases, you first have to be able to understand what makes news.

News is ...

❍ “newly received or noteworthy information, esp. about recent or important events”

❍ “information not previously known”❍ Significant❍ Something NEW

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About news

❏ What is significant?❏ Fresh angle > new?❏ Would it interest me?

Friday, 7 January 2011what is newswhat is significantwhat will interest their audience

how can work be presented with a fresh 'angle' that makes the story new

PR professionals also have to be aware of what makes news, and what is making news. If the media release isnʼt relevant (in many instances to current events) it wonʼt have a good chance of being picked up.Would it interest me?

The thing is, everyone has their own interpretation of what they consider to be news or newsworthy. Different news orgs have different interpretations, based on audience needs. Prestigious broadsheets like The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age have a different view of the world than trashy magazines. But both need readers to survive. Thatʼs the bottom line. Importantly for the PR practitioner, you have to be able to define your public and use the medium that public listens to or reads. You have to be well versed on all media. No easy task

Fickle nature of news

❏ Depends on your interest❏ Must have “wow” factor

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Friday, 7 January 2011* News can be hazy or vague. Something that is news for me may not be interesting to you.* But no matter who is receiving it, news must possess the ʻwowʼ factor. Without the ʻwowʼ factor people would

not be interested in buying newspapers. Or as US newspaper king William Randolph Hearst said ... news is: “Anything that makes the reader say ʻgee whizʼ!

Real news is ...

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Friday, 7 January 2011John B Bogart, city editor of the New York Sun came up with one of the most famous definitions of news: “When

a dog bites a man, that is not news because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, itʼs news.” Maybe thatʼs the most simple way to look at it.

The true skill

❏ Whatʼs not news?

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Friday, 7 January 2011Clearly a combination of all these factors is true.The challenge for you (and PR practitioners) is to develop an eye for is news, but more importantly what is not

news.Conley says: “Being able to recognise the difference between news and something that only resembles news is

the difference between a good journalist and a lousy one.”

Elements of news

❏ Telling stories❍ Beginning, middle, end

❏ Drama❏ Sound content❏ News values

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Friday, 7 January 2011• All news is about telling stories – they have a beginning, a middle and an end.

• Stories with drama – good guys versus bad buys or the ups and downs of celebrity individuals, companies, products or institutions – make news.

Good media releases must carry good stories. The content must be interesting, factual and well written.

News values/factors

1. Impact - the “wow” factor2. Conflict3. Timeliness4. Proximity5. Prominence6. Currency7. Human interest8. The unusual 8

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But the bottom line is that newsworthiness is determined by eight factors. A combination of all or some of these go into the mix to determine the difference between a good and a lousy story. These are the triggers a journalist feels for.These are:

1. impact – the wow factor. You want to keep reading, watching, listening. Eg, Twin Towers2. conflict – Stories about disagreement. From the Middle East to a punch up at the footy. Tabloid press, TV and radio love these

stories.3. timeliness – The when factor. News needs to be about now. People donʼt read old news. Whatʼs affecting us now. However, there

are elements of this factor, such as major anniversaries (eg, Bali bombings, flu season, Woodstockʼs 40th).4. proximity – Relates to locality. What makes news in WA not news in NSW (eg, daylight saving or shopping hours debate).5. prominence – How high profile is the person (eg, politicians, community leaders, film and sports stars. In reality it relates more to

the position and power of a person. Unfortunately, news judgements are subjective. Events can also be said to have prominence (sports events, religious events).

6. currency – How much traction or credibiity does a story have. Often associated with trends. A story runs out of currency if it is overdone. What are some stories you can thing of that have been done to death?

7. human interest – Slightly ambigious news value. More linked to feature and background articles. Can be linked to news (ie, angle of a person thatʼs affected by a condition/decision, eg, Bernie Bampton and asbestos). Can range from hujmourous to tragic.

8. the unusual – The weird and whacky. Strange events and activities. UFOs, ghosts. But even some hard news stories can have strange side angles

Associated necessities

❏ The five Ws:

1.Who2.What3.Where4.When5.Why 9

Friday, 7 January 2011These are the basics that every story needs to answer, and they work in conjunction with those eight (often intrinsic) values, which we’ll now cover.

The news release

❏ Relevant❏ Lead: main point

❍ The big news ❍ The recent event

Friday, 7 January 2011So now that you have an idea of what makes news, the next step is to start writing it. The PR person should always be presenting news. There should always be something new about what youʼre saying. If youʼre promoting a series of concerts around Australia, itʼs no good pushing the same angle for each venue, as more often than not the material could have appeared. SO youʼll have to get fresh material. Thatʼs the publicistsʼ job.

• The first rule of writing a media release that has a hope of being used is to make it relevant and interesting for the journalist or media you are targeting. Know your market!

• The second is to give it a catchy first paragraph that is reflected in a good headline or heading.

It contains the most important information – the main point of the story, the big news, the recent event.

The inverted pyramid

❏ Important information first(summary)

❏ Information in descendingorder of importance

❏ Story tails off

Friday, 7 January 2011General structure of a news story is an upside down pyramid – most important information first. The story is summarised in the lead par.Story tails off at the end2nd, 3rd and 4th pars are backing up your lead, some providing backgroundSources introduced around 2-4th par, which we’ll look at in more detail nowNote that most news stories use ONE SENTENCE PER PARAGRAPH. News releases should do the same.This process allows sub–editors to cut the story from the end without losing too much important detail. The inverted pyramid is also useful in writing for the web.

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Friday, 7 January 2011An inverted pyramid lead places the essential information up front.This is the opposite of a traditional “storytelling” approach where one slowly builds the storylineMany readers will only scan through a story to get an overview of the topicLess important information appears at the end of the story and is subject to being cut by editors.If a story is written in inverted pyramid format, the editor can simply trim the story one paragraph at a time, going

from the bottom up, until the story is the right length.The editor can do so confidently, knowing that even though information is being cut from the story, it is being cut

in ascending order of importance. Here are three ways of looking at it.

When to use the

❏ When you have to getto the point

❏ Making news❏ In your PR release

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Friday, 7 January 2011If your story demands that you get to the point ASAP

Breaking news stories frequently use the inverted-pyramid lead

You will use the inverted pyramid in ALL news releases, because you’re competing in a tough environment and you need to get across you point quickly.

Lead rules

❏ One sentence only = maximum impact

❏ 35 words❏ Answer some questions❏ Be specific❏ Don’t overload

Friday, 7 January 2011ONE SENTENCE ONLY – as with all sentences in a news storyIntro should generally be no more than 35 wordsIt SHOULD answer some important questions about the story, such as who, what when, where, why, how – it should answer at least two or three of those issues. You should not cram all the facts into the lead paragraph. This only leads to wordiness and confusion for the reader.It must be written as directly, and as concisely, as possibleBe SPECIFIC in the lead – don’t say ‘massive damage’, say ‘$180,000’. ‘Massive damage" is subjective. So don’t make vague references to ‘massive bills, massive damage, huge problems’ etc – say what they are directly.The lead is immediately followed up with the relevant details of who, where, and when.The second and third paragraphs should back-up your lead, reiterate to the readers that the story is really important by giving detail that you couldn’t give in the lead.

Example

"Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning."

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Friday, 7 January 2011Example: "Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning."

The verb "destroyed" expresses the main "what" of the story. "Destroyed" is the lead's second word -- a position that puts "destroyed" well in front of "Street," the lead's

seventh word. There are no other verbs in front of "destroyed," so "destroyed" is the lead's first verb. Following this rule will force you to quickly tell readers what the story is about.

The lead's first verb -- the same one that expresses the main "what" of the story -- should be active voice, not passive voice.

Passive v active voice

PASSIVE:A house was destroyed by fire on Monday morning

ACTIVE:Fire destroyed a house ...

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A verb is passive voice if the verb's subject had, is having, or will have something done to it.

Multiple-element leads

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Friday, 7 January 2011If there are multiple elements that are all equally significant, then you might use a multiple-element leadTo pull this off, you will need to construct a clear, simple sentence that captures the highlights of these multiple

developments. We wonʼt be trying to do this.

The headline

❏ Short❏ Active (with verb)❏ Lowercase❏ Donʼt underline (just bold and

two points larger, ie 14pt)

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Friday, 7 January 2011In this unit we need to get three things right.

1. The headline2. The introduction, or lead3. The layout

Sources, etc.

❏ Interview❏ Quotes❏ Introduce around 3rd-4th par❏ Sources provide:

❍ Credibility❍ Evidence❍ Opinion

Friday, 7 January 2011If you don’t use a source in your lead – which you often won’t – you need to introduce sources somewhere in the body of your storyAll news stories rely on opinion and quotes from people you have interviewed – every story (media release) you write [for this course[ MUST include an interview with someone, and MUST include direct quotes from someone.You should introduce your source around the 3rd or 4th par of a news story. Sometimes it will be earlier – in the lead or 2nd par – but it should be no later than the 4th.You will always need to back up what is being suggested in the intro, and in the first few pars of the story, with evidence and opinion from a source.･All major information should be attributed unless it is commonly known or unless the information itself strongly implies the source.･Donʼt dump a string of direct quotations on the reader.･Direct quotations should be no more than two sentences long.• Direct quotations and their attribution should be punctuated properly. Hereﾕs an example:”John did not go with her,” he said.･Elements of a direct quotation should be in the proper sequence, as in the example above: direct quote, speaker, verb.

Tips

❏ Accuracy❏ KISS

❍ Keep it short & simple❍ Keep it clear & concise

❏ Make the lead count❏ Maximum one page - always❏ Revise

Friday, 7 January 2011Pay attention to detail.Spelling and grammar are important. Get a dictionary and a thesaurus. Use the spell-check on your computer. Go over your story at least three times to make sure that it makes sense, that it flows, that you can substantiate all facts, that you have told both sides of the story and that you have explained all the relevant points.

Keep it short & simple.Use short, simple words: no Latin roots, no complex constructions, no jargon, no long words when a short one will do and no showing off. The point is to communicate simply, clearly and effectively. 'Expenditure' is hard, 'spending' is easy. Simple sentences… when it gets too complex, with too many clauses, break it up. One point per sentence. One idea per paragraph. About 25 words to a paragraph.

Keep it clear & concise. Be direct, local and personal. Use active not passive verbs and short, 'bouncy' sentences that actively engage the reader. Point out how the story affects the reader. You are not writing for a uni lecturer – you are writing for your mum or sister or best friend. Direct communication reassures the reader that you have them in mind.

Make the lead (or first paragraph) count.This is the only paragraph likely to be read so it should carry the key message, preferably in a strong image that will stay with the reader. It should rivet the reader’s attention so they want to know more. Then build an 'inverted pyramid' with further important information first and dispensable detail later in the story.

Maximum one page – Five to six paragraphs should get across the information. Save the rest for your backgrounder (which the journo may ask for).

Revise – revise – reviseContinue to review your work. Get someone else to look at it and let you know what they think.

Release layout

❏ Heading❏ Date (embargo?)❏ Name❏ Address❏ Phone❏ Email

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