Public Relations Writing

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 YOU126
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
OTHER INFORMATION PIECES 219
Flyers 219
Posters 221
Booklets and Hybrids 223
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