Public relations is a lot about appearances and first impressions. This can (and often does) involve your writing. With public relations relying more and more on media, writing skills are needed to convey a message properly. It can easily deter a reader, potential customer, or employer if your writing skills are poor. With outlets to express ourselves and show off our writing abilities, anyone can easily see what you have to say and how you say it.

Media relations is a great profession.

On good days, I earn my living speaking to and learning from knowledgeable experts who ask for help in raising the profile of their cause through the media. In the past few years, I’ve worked with billionaire philanthropists, a Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist and a world famous actor. Mostly, though, I work with unknown but equally impressive professionals regarded as experts in their fields.

When I speak to them, I’m always listening for “the story.” Some of the time, the story is immediately apparent. But the most gratifying moments come when a story seemingly devoid of news value suddenly leaps out and surprises me.

Two years ago, for example, I was doing media work for a Washington DC-based environmental organization. Scientists from the group would regularly contact me regarding their latest field work, hoping I could convince a reporter to shine a spotlight on their project.

One day I met with a charismatic field biologist to discuss his project while sipping coffee in a depressing restaurant. As he told me about his project, I quietly became more convinced that he didn’t have much of a story. I felt bad, but suspected no reporter would bite.

The West African forest elephant, he told me, was in trouble. The problem was largely one of capacity – no West Africans had been formally trained in protecting the 7,700-pound mammals, which were being killed by the farmers who feared them.

To help correct the problem, he said, they had established a program three years earlier to train six West Africans to conserve the majestic beasts. In a month, they would end their training and begin working to protect the animals full-time.

That’s when the idea hit.

I asked the scientist if we could call the group the first-ever graduating class from “Elephant University.” When he agreed, I knew we were in business.

I drafted an e-mail with a few highlights to a reporter I had recently met from The Wall Street Journal. The story pitch suggested that this story was the perfect fit for the quirky daily front-page “Column Four” feature. The reporter quickly wrote back. He agreed.

Two weeks later, the reporter was off to Accra, Ghana to report the story firsthand. When the story ran on November 27, 2002, the words “Elephant University” – the ones we had happily stumbled upon over coffee – were emblazoned on the front-page.

This story worked because we didn’t pitch it “head on.” Remember – the heart of this story was that West African scientists were receiving training – not exactly front-page material. But by giving the reporter an unusual hook, he was able to convince his editors that the story deserved to be told.

If you’re speaking to an expert to assess a story’s newsworthiness and it doesn’t seem immediately obvious to you, keep talking. If they say something interesting, stop them. Ask them to slow it down and provide more detail. Paraphrase their response into something resembling a headline by asking, “Would it be correct to say it this way?” Finally, look for the nuggets. Ancillary parts of the story often jump out and become your lead.

Brad Phillips is the founder and president of Phillips Media Relations. He was formerly a journalist for ABC News and CNN, and also headed the media relations department for the second largest environmental group in the world.

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Tags: writing tips, media relations, PR story, front page

News releases (also called press releases) are an important part of a public relations campaign. They are also an important part of marketing your business. They are the primary means of “selling” your story to the media. All press releases are structured the same way. Make sure you
answer “yes” to these key questions when writing your next press release:

Is it easy to read?

Editors look at hundreds of press releases every day, and if your news release is difficult to read, they will throw it out. It should be on plain white paper and printed in black ink. The main body of the release should be double-spaced and have at least a one inch margin all around the edges.

Your letterhead should appear at the top of the first page to establish your identity.

Have you double-checked your spelling and grammar?

A good press release has no typographical or grammatical errors. If yours contains such errors you’ll lose credibility; it will have the same effect as a badly written business letter or resume. The release should be typed. Print out (or type out) a fresh copy for each person to whom you will send it. Do not send out poor-quality photocopies with dark staple marks or blotches.

Did you include the six news elements?

Because all news articles include six basic elements-who, what, when, where, why, and how – your press release should also follow the same guidelines. Put the most important facts in the lead paragraph, with the facts decreasing in importance as you go down the page. Why? Suppose you send a press release to an editor who has five inches of space open in the newspaper and your release runs eight inches long. Ideally, the editor would trim your press release from the bottom. Therefore, to make sure the most important information gets run, put the less important information at the bottom.

Did you include a contact source?

In the top, right-hand corner of the first page, directly beneath your company name, there should be a line that states, “For further information, contact.” A name and telephone number should follow. The editor must have somebody in your business to call to answer questions or to be interviewed about your news item. If you can only be reached during certain hours, specify them.

Have you included a dateline?

The best press releases have a dateline with the city in which the business is based and the date the release is written. Every press release needs a dateline so that the editor can tell when it was mailed. Nobody wants to cover an old story that has lost its timeliness.

The other morning during my favorite radio talk show they mentioned this guy who wrote a book about selling water beds which was coming out next week. How you do think this guy got the radio stations to talk about this….you got it – a press release or a publicist who sent a press release.

Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2002

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Tags: writing press releases, press release, public relations, writing tips, PR