4. 4
Public Relation department can develop the image of
organization through the way of press only.
Press act as a bridge between the PR department and
the various publics.
PR
DEPARTMENT
Press
5. Press visits
Press visits are occassions when journalists / reporter visits
your organisation and describes something about your
organisation in the form of story.
First hand visit in the organization should be made by the
qualified journalists . That is one of the best vehicles for
getting feature stories.
To provide the press with a newsworthy hook. A firm should
personally reach out to their editorial contacts as well as
freelancers are working in the top-tier publications.
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6. A good news hook can be a renovation, a new
service, an event at the destination, or
anything else that will make the story
interesting and relevant. These trips can also be
tied in with trends, such as “India has become a
hot destination,” and providing data to back up
your angle.
Public relations firms should map out
itineraries
The itinerary should include a property tour
and trips to places of interest. Hosted meals at
popular local markets, for example, fit this
description.
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7. Press Coverage
A press coverage is a tool
designed to generate news – in
particular, hard news that can
advance the cause of your
organization
A press conference is an
additional media technique, for
special occasions, when you really
want to make an impression.
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8. Importance of press coverage
You can give more information than in a press release.
A press conference is interactive; you can answer questions from the
press, and emphasize points you might not otherwise have a chance to
make.
You can announce an important development, and explain its significant
local and wider implications.
Free Publicity – a spot on the 6:00 TV news, for instance – that you’d
otherwise have to pay a large amount for.
When many media representatives are present, it makes your coverage
seem really newsworthy -- the media presence itself adds to the
importance.
A successful media coverage can not only generate news, but can also
boost the morale of your own group -- that is, your group can take pride
in knowing that the press will really turn out to hear what you have to say.
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9. Steps to hold a press coverge
Define the message.
Define the key message(s) that you and your group are trying to
get out to the community. Your goal may be to introduce or shed
more light on your issue, to announce a new program or event,
to react to a news story or to a criticism of or attack on
your effort, or to draw attention to an honor or award your
effort has earned. Whatever the message, it should be
summarized in clear 3-5 key points to the press.
Schedule the date and time.
You and your group will need to determine a date and time for
the press coverage and make sure it doesn't conflict with
other press events or media deadlines. One way to find this out
is to check with the local media and the wire services, who will
know if your press conference conflicts with another. Here are
some other tips for scheduling your press conference:
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10. Pick the site.
Make sure you pick a location for the press coverage that has
adequate parking and is not too far away for reporters to travel.
Also, pick a site that provides visual interest and relationship to each
topic- where the activities you’re talking about are actually going on.
Other considerations include picking a location relatively free from
high levels of background noise (e.g., traffic, telephones, aircraft),
and one which has adequate electrical outlets and extension cords for
lighting, etc.
Select and train your participants.
At this stage of your planning process, you probably won't want to
have just anyone from your group participate in the press coverage.
You will want your participants to be knowledgeable and articulate
about the issue. They should be able to handle press questioning and
scrutiny as well. People with high credibility, such as local politicians,
the director of a local health promotion organization, or a physician
may make effective spokespeople. Firsthand testimony from people
from the community affected by the issue can be extremely powerful
and convincing.
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11. Contact the media.
The first step in contacting the media is to create a
comprehensive mailing list of assignment editors at television
stations, news directors at radio stations, and at major
newspapers, and editors at weekly newspapers. If your
organization has had occasion to work with the media before, you
should have personal contacts with a number of media
people. If you haven’t made those contacts, this is a good time
to start.
Follow up with the media.
After you and your group have mailed the press advisories to the
media, you will want to follow up your press advisory with phone
contact to the major media outlets. Give your press advisory
three days to arrive, then begin your telephone follow-ups with
the people you sent your press advisory to (if they say they never
got one, offer to bring or FAX one to them). 11
12. Develop a press kit.
A press kit is a folder of information to give reporters background information
about your issue or program. This kit is prepared by PR department and
distributed to media at special events. Press kits are very useful. Your press kit
should contain the following:
A list of press conference participants.
A press release, which should state your group's position on the issue,
highlights of the press conference, and a few quotes from participant.
Background information about the issue (i.e., statistics, historical background,
case histories, or reprints of news stories).
A few black & white glossy photographs (action photos are most interesting).
Short (less than a page) biographies of participants.
Related news stories from prestigious national publications (e.g., New York
Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.).
Prepare the room
Prepare the room where you are holding the press coverage 12
13. Feature stories
A feature story is an “evergreen”
story, meaning that its significance
won’t fade over time. Evergreen
feature stories can run at any time.
For the public relations professional,
feature stories are a great way to get
your client or employer exposure in
the media even when there’s no
breaking news to report. Or better
yet, a PR professional can get extra
mileage out of a newsworthy event by
promoting it twice – as a news story
and as a feature story.
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14. Writing the Feature Story
When it comes to writing your feature story, you can do it
yourself or you can hire a freelance writer to write it for
you. If you choose to write it yourself, keep in mind that even
when a feature story is related to breaking news, its appeal
comes from the fact that it is written as a narrative rather
than in the “inverted pyramid” news story style.
Many feature stories start with a telling anecdote rather than
all the facts. Also, unlike a news story, feature stories do not
have to be objective. It is fine to express an opinion in a
feature story, as long as the story does not try to deceive or
misinform.
Words of Caution
Once you have a completed feature story, submit it to the same
publications where you send your press releases. Though, unlike
with press releases, some publications might not run your
feature story if they know it is being considered by other news
outlets. Most larger and higher-quality publications require
exclusive material, and you will damage your relationship with
editors if they find that your content has been published with a
competitor as well.
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15. Business feature articles
This is also known as case histories or trade press stories are an
important type of publicity published by business , trade and
technical media and prepared by industrial firms to support their
marketing objectives. This article defines problems common to an
industry and describes solutions to these problems by a particular
concern that uses product of a company preparing the publicity.
Service feature articles
These are written to provide newspaper and magazine
readers with information , advice, suggestions on home
decoration , fashion , health, food ,travel, home management,
child care, beauty, gardening , books etc. Service publicity
staffs and counselors of manufactures of consumer
products.
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16. Press release, serves as a means to get news of an event,
product, idea, etc. to a reporter with the goal of being published.
Editors receive countless amounts of new releases each day not
only by traditional mail (dubbed “snail mail”) but also by email.
Sending news releases is very popular and is also a lot cheaper
than buying advertisements.
3 Steps to Aid in Making a News Release Rise Above the
Pile:
Follow a standardized formula
Provide information that will interest readers
Be timely
The Questions That a News Release Should Answer:
What is the subject?
Who is the target audience?
Who will care about this information?
How will readers benefit from this information?
What is the purpose of the organization?
Press Release
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17. Five Basic Types of PRESS Releases
Announcements- new products, promotions, sales reports, anniversaries
and the like.
Spot Announcements- informs public of a happening that affected the
organization.
Reaction Release- news of event or situation that has effect on
organization.
Bad News- can be buried in a news story so readers do not consider it
to be a “cover up” for a mistake. It is best to confront an issue
immediately in order to prevent the media from making up stories or
being informed of rumors. The worst thing that a PR representative can
do is to refuse to comment on a situation.
Local News- most common. Local releases are those which include
names of locals or contain information that is locally significance.
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18. Components of a PRESS Release
Letterhead- A section at the top of the release that includes
the name, address, phone number, fax number, and website of an
organization.
Contacts- Name, title, phone number, fax number, and email
address of the person who wrote the release.
Headline- Title of the news release. If the font size of the
body is 12 pt, the headline is usually 14 or 16 pt font.
Dateline- The name of the city in which the news is taking
place. Must be in all caps and is usually followed by the date.
Lead Paragraph- Basic details of the release. Includes the five
W’s and H, as well as the “so what?”
Body of Text- Written in inverted pyramid style so that the
editor can find the most important details quickly. 18
19. Press Note
A press note is an account of government view point
issued on important and urgent occasions. Newspapers or
electronic media have no choice but to publish or air it in
the same language and with the same contents. Hence, it
should be terse, brief, timely, understandable, concise,
and specific and should contain all relevant facts and
figures in their true perspective. It should be written in
the policy frame work of the government.
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20. Communicating with media
Good relationships with the editors, publishers editorial writers , columnists
and news broadcasters are vitally important to secure publicity . An
understanding of the job requirements and view points of news people is
essential in getting their coperation in fair and accurate reporting of the
fairs of the organizations. Good relations with the press are furthered by
observing a few simple principles as per the following , recommended to the
company personnel by the public relations department of the tidewater oil co.
Frankness and honesty must be cardinal principles . Don’t be evasive. Always
be available to the press.
Always assume you will be quoted and be careful and accurate when making
statement
Don’t discriminate or play favorites with the press.
Don’t complaint of minor misprints or error.
Don’t mislead a reporter ; if you can talk say so.
Don’t condemn the editor when a story is left out of the paper .
Don’t go over a reporters head to his superior with a complaint.
Anticipate a newsman's interest and have the facts ready in advance .
Be helpful with bad as well as good news . 20
21. Avenues of communication
Personal contacts
The principle method of communicating with the media is by calling on
publishers , editors of newspapers , magazines and news directors of
radio and television. Through such contacts publicity staffs deter mine
the needs of editors and news directors and became acquainted wiyh
the programs and columns which require feature material .
Press conferences
Mailing of news releases
News release are usually distributed by male .since the editorial
requirement of individual newspaper and broadcasting station vary
pictures and publicity should be send only to those editors and news
directors who are likely to use them .
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22. Media previews
Previews to which media are invited are desirable for
securing coperation when introducing new model or
opening new plants and facilities the day before the
official public showing the media are given a preview
Clip sheets
Clip sheets in which news stories and illustration are
reproduce in newspare format to show news editors how
stories and pictures will appear in print are distriobuted
by the publicity department to editors of daily and weekly
newspapers
Media kits
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