Ch. 15 Key Ideas April 27, 2010

Chapter 15 is about giving speeches and presentations. I am currently in public speaking so this chapter was very relevant to me.

*Researching ( pg. 403-04)- This is the first step when preparing a speech and you need to be sure to be very thorough when doing research. Research on your topic can provide you a lot of information to serve as examples and statistics to back you up when speaking and if you do it right you will never go into a speech unprepared. Researching your audience is also important because with the right information and demographics of your audience you can tailor your speech to relate and reach them effectively.

*Word selection (pg. 407-08)- Once you have all of your information and research it is important to use the appropriate words to get your point across. Page 407-407 provides you with several tips to consider when choosing the right words to use. Some of these tips include things like: avoid jargon, use simple words, use bold verbs, and avoid modifiers (pg. 407).

*Gestures and Eye Contact (pg. 413-14)- Some of the strongest language that you use is not spoken, it is your body language. These are the gestures and eye contact that you use when speaking to your audience.  They ” play a major role in establishing credibility” (pg. 413). Being able to use appropriate body language will speak volumes about you without you even opening your mouth.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 14 Key Ideas April 24, 2010

Chapter 14 details the specifics of writing e-mails, memos, and proposals. I think that I pretty well versed on these issues but this chapter offered some new insight to the issue.

* Do not over crowd( pg. 386-87)- in such a technology based world it is easy to overloaded with e-mails, voice mails, Facebook, and Twitter so becoming bombarded with such things to sift through can get a bit stressful. To prevent these things it is good to “follow the basic guidelines of clarity, completeness, conciseness, correctness, courtesy, and responsibility in all your writing” (pg. 386). These principles are each outlined on page 387.

*Letters (pg. 395-398)-Some people may think that letters are old school and that all the technology has phased out but page 395- 98 gives the purpose, content, and formating of letters to allow you to make a well written letter. Always remember that the first paragraph of a letter is the most important and that it should be written on standard business stationary and being no longer than four or five paragraphs. Letters can be used for just about any occasion such as to “give information, to ask for information, to motivate, to answer complaints, to sooth or arouse, to warn” and many more (pg. 395). Think about writing a letter next time you need to convey any message .

*Position Papers (pg. 400)- Some people may not be familiar with position papers but every one will likely write one in their professional career.  Page 400 gives some tips on writing a position paper and describes the reasons for writing one. Some of the reasons include giving background information when talking to the media, method of advancing perspective and point of view, and as a marketing technique for establishing the organizations as a thought leader in the industry.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 12 Key Ideas April 19, 2010

Chapter 12 is about the “New Media” outlets in how to use them and how they affect people.

*Building an effective website(313-315)- This section talks about how to build a website that would hook an internet user to be drawn and to stay on your website. This is an important task for the PR professional and should be a high priority but one that is shared with many people and not just the PR professional or not just the IT person with the company. They use four main bullet points found on page 313 to outline a good website and what it requires of you. This is a great reference guide for anyone in charge of PR matters or just basic website construction.

*Return on Investment(319-320)-Return on investment (ROI) is something that is not usually talked about but it is nevertheless important when thinking about building any type of media especially interactive ones or ones that will cost you a lot of money. ROI is done when “comparing the cost of the website to how such functions would be done by other means” (319). When considering ROI it would be a time to consider the cost of a website and ads as opposed to pamphlets and tangible materials.

*New Media Highway(323)- On this page there is a “tips for success” box in which there are “road signs” listed to recognize when dealing with new media. Some of the words include Myapace, Facebook, and Twitter. There is even a website listed to check out the list of 2.0 websites that are a good way to track and know the updates of the new media and to follow your target audience.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 11 Key Ideas April 19, 2010

*Media Dependence on PR(273-74)- I had never though of the relationship of PR and the media in this way. I usually think that PR is dependent on the media for its news and stories. I was surprised to learn that “a good 50 percent of the stories in the news paper come from news releases” (273).  Most journalists hate to admit this dependence though. This makes me feel better about being a Public Relations major. Public Relations has power on the media and we need to be sure to use that power to help the media and not used it in an abusive way.

*Media Tours(289-290)- This has been talked about throughout this particular textbook but chapter 11 offers more of an insight that most chapters have. It explains how to generate coverage, relationship building, and the role of the PR firm. With being a PR major I found this part particularly interesting. Page 290 even offers a case study in which it shows how Media Tours pay off.

*Media Etiquette (298-99)- This chapter is the only one yet that has discussed this subject. It was very interesting to see exactly what was involved in the areas of phone calls, requests, dates, and gifts. I think that this area of the chapter will be very useful when starting out in the Public Relations field. Like, I did not know that you should not do a follow-up call or to not accept gifts that are over $20, or that lunch dates should have a specific business reason and not used for chit chat.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 10 Key Ideas April 2, 2010

Chapter 10 is about distributing news to the media. The media seems to be into everything these days, but how do we get them to pay attention to the newsworthy news that should be penetrating the media.

* Electronic Wire Service- (p. 259-264)This method is one that I had not really heard of a lot. This method is used for news releases and other materials like photos. The distribution is done through and electronic wire service. It is used for information that requires a timely response and a wide geographic area. They must meed the Security and Exchange Commission regulations. The cost is pretty low with just $600 to distribute the information to all 50 states.

*Food Feature-(p. 265) Yummmm. In this particular section there is a “tip box” for explaining “The Components of Successful Food Feature” (255). You have to watch your description words when writing about food. Be sure to use “evergreen” words, which are words that describe the product so it will be relevant over a period of time. The tips about Food Features can also be applied to many other “camera-ready” features. So use your imagination and make it juicy.

* Fax-(pg. 269-270) Sending a fax can seem like a pretty outdated thing to do, especially with my generation, so I was surprised that it was featured as a method of distribution in this chapter. There are advantages of a fax like, having it at fast as a phone call and the face that it distributes handwritten information like graphs and signatures. A fax is also more likely to get read since there are far less of them flowing through the offices of editors. So, think about sending a fax next time you need to get important information read.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 9 Key Ideas April 2, 2010

Chapter nine was a longer chapter than the one before so there was a lot of information to take in. It was all about writing for radio and television and had a lot of good tips and techniques on the subject.

*Television Lingo-on page 223 there are a list of eight titles for the people working in the television industry. I found this simple but essential. It is always necessary to know the correct words and jargon when working in the industry. It will make you look more versed in the field and also help you translate what the people surrounding you are talking about.

*Video News Releases- on page 225 struck an interest of mine. I have been doing many press releases through my classes for this year and the previous ones but I have never really been exposed to. They are very costly, running about $20,000 to $50,000 to produce and distribute. The basic package includes : “consultation on story concept and news positioning, producing, script, 1-day shoot, edit, and voiceover”(225). This method should only be used for a very newsworthy cause.

* Talk Show Guest-Sometimes it is hard to do a great interview but chapter nine gives a good “tip box” for picking and handling an ideal guest. It says to pick a spokesperson that is personable and approachable, guest should have strong opinions, guest should be passionate about the subject, spokesperson should debate without getting personal, and to have an overall engaging personality.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 8 Key Ideas March 24, 2010

Chapter eight was about selecting photos and graphics. I am not good a photography but this chapter allowed me to know how important they can be to your work.

* Subject matter-subject matter is something that is very important to relate to your piece. There are several types of shots that you can take and what to include in them. Pictures with a few people are usually much better than group photos  that could present problems. The “grip and grin” photo is a standard which “have been a traditional staple of publicity photos for years, and there is no evidence that they are going out of style”(190). So be sure to not involve too much or too many people and always be sure that the photo will complement the piece.

*Cropping and Retouching- “Cropping is editing the photo by cutting off parts of the picture that you don’t want”(199). This is something that many people of the public see as not ethical. Mainly considering retouching which is about “altering the actual content of the photo”(199). Taking things such as background things that hinder the photo can be fine, but many photographers have taken this technique and altered the appearance of the people to make them unrealistic. This is not fair to the public seeing this information because it could be seen as false information. So be careful when using these techniques.

* Distributing Photos- When trying to get your photos out there notice the four formats that you can use; thumbnail, bigger preview, low-resolution version, and high-resolution. This offers the editor with many options and choices. This will also up your chances of getting your photos noticed. This can occur online or through person to person meetings or social networking sites. There are many options when it comes to getting your photos out there so just pick the best medium and technique for you.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 7 Key Ideas March 3, 2010

* The Lead(pg.177).- The lead of a story may be short  as a paragraph with no more than thirty words but it is the MOST important part of the story. The lead has the job of attracting the audience and get attention of the reader so that they will be enticed to read the whole article. “A good lead requires creativity on the writer’s part”(175). A lead is a promise that the reader will be offered details and information that is presented in the lead. So be sure to make a lead that flows with the story and sets it up to capture the reader.

*Op-Ed (pg 181).- An op-ed is something that I was not familiar with but through reading chapter seven I have learned a lot. An ep-ed is an article that can present a “variety of views on current news events, governmental policies, pending legislation, and social issues”(180). They are usually opposite the editorial page in a newspaper and can reach audience of readers who tend to read the editorials and have their strong opinions already set in place. So use these to reach an audience directly that you could not reach otherwise.

*Types of Features (pg. 168)-I never realize how many types of features there are. There are case study, application story, research study, backgrounder and the list goes on. These may be a list but there are “no practical limit to the variety of stories that can be written”(168). Basically, anything that can be made interesting can be made into a feature story. So read on in chapter seven to understand the different types of feature stories since the lines between them can get blurry at times.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 6 Key Ideas February 27, 2010

*Media advisories- have other names such as media advisories and can be useful to alert the editors about upcoming events that they might want to participate in as media. They can use these to find out the basic information such as What, Where, When, Who, and why. They are done in a short form with bullets instead of paragraphs. Try to keep them to one-page , simple, and to the point to ensure that it will have a better chance of being read and chosen by the editor (144-146).

*Electronic Media Kits-They are becoming more popular as our society becomes more adapt to the digital world and these can help because of their versatility. They can include a lot of information in a variety of formats such as videos, photos, and animation. The EMKs can reach a more diverse and expanded audience than the traditional format and will help the advancements of Media Kits a lot in the near future(149-150).

*Preparing a Pitch-It is important to really tailor your pitch to the reporter. This can be done through several ways and on page(157 )there is a very helpful box that list 10 particular tips for making the perfect pitch. Some of these include: not calling during deadline, offer help on trend stories, don’t send clips of other stories, and relationships are everything( 157).

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)

Ch. 5 Key Ideas February 23, 2010

Chapter 5 was a very important chapter and focused on writing a news release. A news release is something that every PR professional should master and use often. This chapter was not very filled with  great excitement but gave the basic outline essentials and types of news releases that exist.

*The beginning of this chapter starts out with the first steps and the foundation for formating a news release. It starts out with asking the “basic questions” and goes through the process of the technical aspects of starting a news release such as margins, spacing, and topic selection (120).

*The “10 Classic News Release Mistakes” box in the chapter is really useful and I suggest even writing the 10 points down to keep by your desk or computer so they are handy at all times when you may be working on press releases for different events (129).

*Later on in the chapter there is a section on “Preparing the Multimedia News Release” which seems to be a growing movement and way of presenting news releases to editors. This section talks about the “do and don’t” of this form and what the finish product of a multimedia news release might look like (136).

*Section on “Types of News Releases” is also an interesting section because I have never thought about there being different types like, announcements, spot announcements, reaction releases, bad news, and local news (123-23). I now know about the different types I will be able to specialize and categorize my future news releases.

( information taken from: Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by: Dennis L. Wilcox sixth edition)