Public Relations Writing is intended for students who plan to work as public relations practitioners. The fundamentals of “Writing” is emphasized above all else and the author provides instructions on organizing releases for everything from broadcast radio to Twitter.

Preface xiii

CHAPTER 1 Writing for Public Relations 1

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS? 2

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING? 4
Uncontrolled Information 4
Controlled Information 5

TOOLS OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITER 5

THE PROCESS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING 6

KEY TERMS 7

CHAPTER 2 Ethical and Legal Issues in Public Relations Writing 8

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF PERSUASION 9
Logic Fallacies 9
Other Tactics 10
Unethical Language Use 11
Ethics and Ghostwriting 11
What the Public Relations Society of America Has to Say 13

THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING 15
Defamation 15
Privacy 16
Copyright 16
Copyright and the Internet 19
Users’ Risks—The Bottom Line 21
Trademarks 22

KEY TERMS 23

CHAPTER 3 Planning and Research 24

DEVELOPING AN ISSUE STATEMENT 25

RESEARCHING THE TOPIC 28
Evaluating Internet Resources 30

ANALYZING THE TARGET AUDIENCE 32
Conducting Target Audience Research 32

AUDIENCE DEFINITION WORKSHEET 38
Anticipating Audience Expectations 39

SETTING OBJECTIVES 39

EVALUATION 40

TIMELINE 41

BUDGETING 41
Constructing a Basic Budget 43
Do You Need a Contract? 44

KEY TERMS 45

CHAPTER 4 Choosing the Right Message and Medium 46

THE PROCESS OF PERSUASION 48

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL 50
Things to Note about the Elaboration Likelihood Model 50
Practical Advice for the Persuader 51

PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES 51
Compliance Strategies 52
Argument Strategies 53

CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE MEDIUM OR MEDIA 56
Advantages and Disadvantages of Media Selections 58

NEGOTIATING MEDIA BUYS 61
Evaluating Your Media Buys 65

LEARNING TO ADAPT 65

KEY TERMS 66

CHAPTER 5 Media Relations and Placement 67

WHAT IS NEWS? 68

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA 69
Get to Know Journalists’ Jobs 69
Get to Know Journalists as People 69
Guidelines for Dealing with the Media 70
Guidelines for Interviews 71
Guidelines for Correcting Errors 73

MEDIA PLACEMENT 73
Deciding Where to Place Your Message 73
Getting Your Message to the Media 76
Fitting Your Information to Your Outlet 77

PRESS KITS 80
Cooperation Is the Key 83

KEY TERMS 83

CHAPTER 6 News Releases and Backgrounders 84

WHAT IS A NEWS RELEASE? 85

WRITING A NEWS RELEASE 86
The Lead 86
Quotations and Attributions 88
Local Interest 90

NEWS RELEASE FORMAT 91
Timing and Dating Releases 93
Datelines 93
Exclusives and Specials 94

TYPES OF NEWS RELEASES 94
Product Releases 94
Event Announcements 104
Personnel Releases 104
Tips/Hints Releases 104

WRITING NEWS RELEASES FOR BROADCAST 109

PITCH LETTERS AND MEDIA ADVISORIES 112
Pitch Letters 112
Media Advisories 113

BACKGROUNDERS 117

FACT SHEETS 118

KEY TERMS 124

CHAPTER 7 Design, Printing, and Desktop Publishing 125

DESIGN: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MIGHT BE GREEK TO YOU 126

DESIGNING PUBLIC RELATIONS MATERIALS 127

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN 130
Balance 130
Proportion 131
Sequence and Emphasis 133
Unity 137
Grids 140
Alignment 140
Type and Typefaces 142

WORKING WITH PROFESSIONAL PRINTERS 146
Printing Processes 146
Paper Choice 148
Ink Choice 151
Binding 152
Swipe Files 153
Computer Layout Preparation for Printing 153
Print Order Preparation 154

A WORD ON DESKTOP PUBLISHING 155

PRINT SCHEDULING AND BUDGETING 157
Scheduling 157
Budgeting 158

KEY TERMS 160

CHAPTER 8 Controlled Publications 161

NEWSLETTERS 162
Types of Newsletters 162
Why a Newsletter? 163
Content 166
Objectives 167
Scheduling and Budgeting 167
Articles 167
Story Ideas 169
Researching Stories 171
Design Considerations 171
Style Sheets 172

MAGAZINES 172
Content and Format 175
Types of Articles 176

TRADE JOURNALS 177

FEATURE WRITING FOR NEWSLETTERS AND MAGAZINES 177
Feature Style 178
Writing the Feature Story 181
Common Types of Features 187

EDITORIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISPLAY COPY 188
Writing Headlines 188
Writing Subheads and Crossheads 194
Writing Captions 194
Writing Pull Quotes 194

EDITING YOUR ARTICLES 195

EVALUATION 196
Methods of Evaluation 196
Evaluating Your Production Schedule 196

BROCHURES 205
Planning Your Brochure 205
Fitting It All Together 208

ANNUAL REPORTS 226
Audiences 228
Contents 228
Writing for Annual Reports 230
The Nonprofit Annual Report 232

KEY TERMS 236

CHAPTER 9 Television and Radio 237

REACHING BROADCAST AUDIENCES 238
Video News Releases 238
Radio and Television Tapes and Actualities 240
Interviews and Talk Shows 240
Corporate Advertising and Public Service Announcements 240

WRITING FOR TELEVISION 241
Basic Concepts 241
Writing for the Eye 243
Television Scripts 243

WRITING FOR RADIO 256
Types of Radio Announcements 257
How to Get Your Public Service Announcements on the Air 259

KEY TERMS 263

CHAPTER 10 Speeches and Presentations 264

TYPES OF SPEECHES 265

MODES OF DELIVERY 265

PREPARATION AND WRITING 266
Specifying Your Purpose 266
Analyzing Your Audience 266
Organizing Your Speech 267
Supporting Your Ideas 270

DELIVERY 270

THE QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSION 271

PRESENTATION MATERIALS 271
Preparing Audiovisual Materials 272
Scripting for Audiovisuals 274

KEY TERMS 276

CHAPTER 11 Writing for Web and Social Media 277

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE 278
A Quick Word about Writing for Web Sites 279
OK, Let’s Get on with Web 2.0 281

BLOGS AND BLOGGING 282
What to Blog About 283
Writing Blog Posts 284
How to Write Comments on Blogs 285
Micro-Blogging and Twitter 288
How to Write Twitter Posts 288

THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESS RELEASE 290
Standard Release Format 290
Search Engine Optimized Releases 291
Social Media Release 292
How to Write a Social Media Release 292

CREATING AN ONLINE NEWSROOM 298
What to Include in Your Online Newsroom 299
Online Newsrooms to Study 301

KEY TERMS 303

Glossary 305

Index 317

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Summary

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

CHAPTER 1 Writing for Public Relations 1

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS? 2

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING? 4Uncontrolled Information 4Controlled Information 5

Uncontrolled Information 4

Controlled Information 5

TOOLS OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITER 5

THE PROCESS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING 6

KEY TERMS 7

CHAPTER 2 Ethical and Legal Issues in Public Relations Writing 8

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF PERSUASION 9Logic Fallacies 9Other Tactics 10Unethical Language Use 11Ethics and Ghostwriting 11What the Public Relations Society of America Has to Say 13

Logic Fallacies 9

Other Tactics 10

Unethical Language Use 11

Ethics and Ghostwriting 11

What the Public Relations Society of America Has to Say 13

THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING 15Defamation 15Privacy 16Copyright 16Copyright and the Internet 19Users’ Risks—The Bottom Line 21Trademarks 22

Defamation 15

Privacy 16

Copyright 16

Copyright and the Internet 19

Users’ Risks—The Bottom Line 21

Trademarks 22

KEY TERMS 23

CHAPTER 3 Planning and Research 24

DEVELOPING AN ISSUE STATEMENT 25

RESEARCHING THE TOPIC 28Evaluating Internet Resources 30

Evaluating Internet Resources 30

ANALYZING THE TARGET AUDIENCE 32Conducting Target Audience Research 32

Conducting Target Audience Research 32

AUDIENCE DEFINITION WORKSHEET 38Anticipating Audience Expectations 39

Anticipating Audience Expectations 39

SETTING OBJECTIVES 39

EVALUATION 40

TIMELINE 41

BUDGETING 41Constructing a Basic Budget 43Do You Need a Contract? 44

Constructing a Basic Budget 43

Do You Need a Contract? 44

KEY TERMS 45

CHAPTER 4 Choosing the Right Message and Medium 46

THE PROCESS OF PERSUASION 48

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL 50Things to Note about the Elaboration Likelihood Model 50Practical Advice for the Persuader 51

Things to Note about the Elaboration Likelihood Model 50

Practical Advice for the Persuader 51

PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES 51Compliance Strategies 52Argument Strategies 53

Compliance Strategies 52

Argument Strategies 53

CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE MEDIUM OR MEDIA 56Advantages and Disadvantages of Media Selections 58

Advantages and Disadvantages of Media Selections 58

NEGOTIATING MEDIA BUYS 61Evaluating Your Media Buys 65

Evaluating Your Media Buys 65

LEARNING TO ADAPT 65

KEY TERMS 66

CHAPTER 5 Media Relations and Placement 67

WHAT IS NEWS? 68

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA 69Get to Know Journalists’ Jobs 69Get to Know Journalists as People 69Guidelines for Dealing with the Media 70Guidelines for Interviews 71Guidelines for Correcting Errors 73

Get to Know Journalists’ Jobs 69

Get to Know Journalists as People 69

Guidelines for Dealing with the Media 70

Guidelines for Interviews 71

Guidelines for Correcting Errors 73

MEDIA PLACEMENT 73Deciding Where to Place Your Message 73Getting Your Message to the Media 76Fitting Your Information to Your Outlet 77

Deciding Where to Place Your Message 73

Getting Your Message to the Media 76

Fitting Your Information to Your Outlet 77

PRESS KITS 80Cooperation Is the Key 83

Cooperation Is the Key 83