CHAPTER 14: PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE MASS MEDIA
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter students should be able to:
1. Write a standard or multimedia news release.
2. Recognize the components of a good publicity photo.
3. Prepare media kits, media advisories, and fact sheets.
4. Use proven techniques to “pitch” a story to a journalist.
5. Understand the structure of an organization’s online newsroom.
6. Organize media interviews, news conferences, and media tours.
SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter gives students practical information about the range of written materials that
are prepared by public relations staffs. A common thread running through the chapter is
the role of publications in accomplishing organizational objectives and tailoring
communications to specialized audiences. This chapter also stresses the use of multimedia
news releases and online newsrooms.
1. Provide a copy of standard news release for students to review. By using the
example news release, go through the major components including the contact
information, release date, headline, dateline, lead, boilerplate, and journalese.
Discuss the reasons for each of the components.
2. Have students bring in an online news release from an organization, which can
usually be found at the organization’s website. Then, as a class, explore how the
format and writing style are similar to or different from what is described in this
chapter. Ask the students why they think it was done in this manner. What, if
anything, might they do differently?
3. Divide the class into teams of two or three and send them to the website
www.pitchengine.com to learn how multimedia news releases are produced and
distributed. Have each team locate one example of a successful multimedia
news release and present it to the class. Students should be prepared to discuss
how the format and writing is similar to or different from what is described in
this chapter.
4. One premise of the chapter is that daily and weekly newspapers often rely on
news releases and other information from public relations practitioners to cover
the news. Have students analyze the contents of the local newspaper and mark
those articles that probably came from a public relations source. Articles based
on the comments of the White House press secretary or the information officer
from the highway patrol should be counted, as well as general announcements
of events and meetings in the city. Students can prepare a paper summarizing
their findings or merely discuss what they found during class. Specialized
sections of the newspaper—sports, business, living, real estate, travel, etc. are
particularly rich in material derived from public relations sources.
5. Get copies of a company’s annual report and distribute one to every member of
the class. Walk through the report with the students so they have a better sense
of what an annual report contains. Note the mix of splashy art and graphics
versus text/content. What are concerns of jargon, especially in companies with
“high– tech” or complicated subject matter not easily understood by the lay
audience?
6. Ask students to write a pitch letter about their favorite professor. In order to
identify an angle for the pitch, the student may have to conduct a short interview
the professor. Advise students to target their pitch letter to the most appropriate
media outlet for the article’s angle.
7. The class should discuss the pros and cons of corporate advocacy advertising.
Many corporations believe they have the right and obligation to express their
point-of-view, since the mass media often distort the company’s perspective in
regular news stories. There is also the factor of employees wanting to know how
company management feels about specific issues.
8. Provide several different media kits for students to review. Discuss the
materials that are commonly included in a media kit as well as the purpose of
the media kit. Then have students develop a creative media kit idea for the
university/college.
CASE ACTIVITY: PROMOTING THE OPENING OF A NEW LBRARY
This documents generated through this activity will differ for each student; however, all of
the activities should follow the expected genre and format of a press release, pitch letter,
and media alert. In developing these documents, it is important to keep in mind that this
news story has local and national news potential. With that said, each media target may
require a different angle. For example, the J.K. Rowling angle is key for national media,
whether it is tailored to arts/literary publications or stations, or just general news media; the
Harry Potter series has made her one of the most recognized authors of the last century and
because she is so famous, you must establish ground rules (for instance, she may only be
available for interview on a given day). For the pitch letter, remember that mentioning
several newsworthy (local) story angles/topics should be suggested in the pitch,
demonstrating the benefit of covering the new facility in a series of features. Story angles
included in the pitch could be the additional resources that the library will bring to the
community, the commissioned works of art, J.K. Rowling’s involvement in the opening,
and the significant features of the library (technology savvy facility).
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
1. What is the basic purpose of a news release?
2. What are the basic components of an online news release?
3. What are the characteristics of a multimedia news release?
4. What is SEO and why is it important?
5. Why is it a good idea to include a photograph with a news release? What are the
six aspects of a good publicity photo?
6. What is a mat release? How is it different from a regular news release?
7. What’s the difference between a media advisory and a fact sheet?
8. What’s a media kit? What does a media kit typically contain?
9. Before pitching a story to a journalist or editor, why is it a good idea to first do
some basic research on the individual or the publication?
10. What are the capabilities of an electronic news service?
11. What are the characteristics of an online newsroom?
12. How should you prepare for a media interview?
13. What are the mechanics of organizing a news conference?
14. What’s the difference between a media tour and a press party?
