CHAPTER 15: RADIO AND TELEVISION
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter students should be able to:
1. Write radio news releases and video news releases.
2. Prepare public service announcements (PSAs) for broadcast.
3. Understand the components of radio media tours and satellite media tours.
4. Know the procedure for booking a guest on a talk show.
5. Understand the strategy of product placement on television shows.
SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter is to acquaint students with a number of visual and audio-visual tactics—and
give students enough information to actually write and produce materials like scripts for
television news releases and slide presentations. Future practitioners will be challenged to
be more media-versatile, including print, broadcast, and online, in order to succeed in the
24/7 news environment.
1. Have students write a radio PSA (in varying lengths) for the campus radio station.
The PSA should promote the public relations major for students who have not yet
declared a major.
2. As a class project, students should write a simple television news release
incorporating four to five slides in their script. The copy should be written, double-
spaced, on the right side of the page. Accompanying slides should be numbered and
briefly described on the left side. The students may select any topic, or the
instructor may give them the assignment of writing a television public service
announcement for a nonprofit agency.
3. Show public service announcements from various nonprofit organizations.
4. Compare and contrast elements of the “ad” including use of celebrity, music,
“talking head” or testimonial of an expert, and “direct action” elements (including
toll-free phone number and/or URL address). If possible, locate PSAs that vary in
time (15 and 30 seconds) to note how the spots were edited, and if the core message
of the ad remained evident.
5. The text discusses product tie-ins with Hollywood movies and entertainment shows
on television. Ask students to watch a popular television show and note how often
that a product name or easily identified product brand is used. For example, the
chase scene with Ford autos can be counted as a possible product tie-in, but a phone
with no brand name on it shouldn’t be listed. Students should share their findings in
class.
6. Show at least one video news release in class. Note key elements, including
scripting, B-roll, visuals (charts/graphs), suggested anchor lead-in and closing, and
use of talking heads/experts. Then discuss how a local network affiliate station
might use that VNR and try to edit and localize the piece to fit the target audience.
7. Discuss the tactics of booking and planting with regard to a specific local radio or
television talk show. Ask students how they might “pitch” a best-selling book
author and what shows are a good fit with their client.
8. Ask students to keep a product placement journal for a week, recording every time
they notice the placement of a product for publicity reasons. Have students record
where the product was placed and what the product was. At the end of the week,
lead a discussion on the prevalence of product placements and the benefits of using
television programs, movies, music, and video games as publicity opportunities.
CASE ACTIVITY: GETTING BROADCAST TIME FOR PEANUT BUTTER
Here, students must consider the most compelling visual angles that can be emphasized in
the Jif story. With a client such as Jif and the peanut butter sandwich contest, they should
be ample. A video news release (VNR) announcing the contest and playing up its most
interesting aspects is the logical starting point. The VNR and B-roll might feature factory
footage showing how Jif peanut butter is produced, packaged and distributed to store
shelves and family tables. The VNR and B-roll should also include interviews with contest
organizers and “behind the scenes” footage of contest preparation. In any case, the VNR
and B-roll must contain fast-paced, visual-oriented footage. A satellite media tour (SMT)
could showcase the above ideas for journalists who cannot be on site to see it all for
themselves. Here, contest organizers should be available for satellite interviews. In
generating ideas for product placement, students should be encouraged to be as creative as
possible. What are the media habits of the target audience? Which TV shows are they most
likely to enjoy and trust? Equally important, students should select shows and scenes that
best lend themselves to a realistic portrayal of Jif peanut butter being used in everyday
situations.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
1. Why should public relations personnel consider radio and television as major
tools in reaching the public?
2. Radio news releases must be tightly written. What is the general guideline for the
number of lines and words in a 30-second news release? What other guidelines
should be kept in mind when writing a radio news release?
3. How does an audio news release (ANR) differ from a standard news release?
4. Review the audio news release on pages 398-399 from Cigna Health Care
Systems. What aspects of this release illustrate good guidelines for writing an
effective release?
5. What is a public service announcement (PSA)?
6. What is the advantage of a radio media tour (RMT) or satellite media tour (SMT)
to the organization and journalists? Are the any disadvantages?
7. What are some guidelines for a successful SMT?
8. List four ways that an organization can get its news and viewpoints on local
9. What are the format and characteristics of a video news release (VNR)?
10. What is a B-roll? Why are they increasingly used?
11. What is a news feed, and how is it used in public relations?
12. What makes an ideal radio or television talk show guest/spokesperson?
13. Television programs and films are now major platforms for product placements.
What do you think of this trend?
14. How can a public relations person work with radio and television stations on joint
promotions?
15. What is the concept of brand journalism, also called content marketing?