Outline: Public Relations Writing

Amal El Yahcoubi
Com 4310 Public Relations
Dr. Ibahrine

Chapter16: Public Relations Writing

I. Writing for the Eye and the Ear:
The sad facts is that PR people, by and large are horrible writers.
The chapter explores fundamentals of writing:
1) discussing PR writing in general and news releases in particular,
2) reviewing writing for reading,
3) discussing writing for listening

. writing for a reader is different than writing for a listener
. a listener has only one chance to hear the message once

II. Fundamentals of writing:
. There are four-part formulas for writers, from the novice to the novelist:
1. The idea must precede the expression: think before writing. The trick in coming up with clever ideas lies more in borrowing old ones than in creating new ones
2. Don't be afraid of the draft. an outline should precede the draft
3. Simplify, clarify: avoid jargon, complex words
4. Finally, writing must be aimed at a particular audience: avoid imprecision, ambiguity

III. Flesh Readability Formula:
Flesch gave seven suggestions for making, writing more readable.
1. Use contractions such as it's or doesn’t
2. Leave out the word that whenever possible
3. Use pronouns such as I, we, they and you
4. When referring back to a noun, repeat the noun or use a pronoun. Don't create eloquent substitutions
5. Use brief, clear sentences
6. Cover only one item per paragraph
7. Use anguage the reader undertsands

In writing fro the internet or ny other medium, should remember their A’s and B’s
. Avoid big words
. Avoid extra words
. Avoid clichés
. Avoid Latin
. Be specific
. Be active
. Be simple
. Be short
. Be organized
. Be convincing
. Be understandable

IV. The Beauty of the Inverted Pyramid
. The climax of a newspaper story comes at the begining
. The lead of a story is the first one or two paragraphs: inverted pyramid
. The lead is the most critical element, usually answering the questions concerning who, what, when, where and occasionally how.

V. The News Release
. Releases are poorly written (difficult to read)
. Releases are rarely localized (it is used when it is localized)
. Releases are not newsworthy. What determines its worthiness? Impact, oddity, conflict, known principal, proximity, also human interest stories

The Product announcement:
The Management change: newspapers interested in that
The Management Speech

VI. News Release Style
Typical Style rules:
Capitalization
Abbreviations
Numbers
Punctuation
Spelling

VII. News Release Essentials
Rationale
Focus
Facts
No Puffery
Nourishing quotes
Limit Jargon
Company Description
Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation
Brevity
Headlines
Clarity, conciseness, committment

VIII. Internet News Releases
One reporter per 'to' line
Limit subject line headers
Boldface 'For Immediate Release'
Hammer home to headline
Limit Lengthh
Observe 5W format
No attachement
Link to URL
Remember Readability

IX. The Media Kit:
A calling card to introduce the organization to the media
The biography
Fact Sheets
Etc…

X. The Pitch Letter:
A sales letter, pure and simple

XI) Other Print Vehicles:
The case History
The Byliner
The Op_Ed
The Roundup Article

XII. Writing for the ear:
Every spokesperson possesses five main characteristics:
it is designed to be heard, not read
it uses concrete language
it demands a positive response
it must have clear-cut ibjectives
it must be tailored to a specific audience

XIII. The importance of editing:
An editor must be judicious, get rid of passive verbs, must be gusty enough to use bold strokes