The Public Relations Writer's Handbook

The Public

Relations

Writer’s

Handbook

The Digital Age

Second Edition

Merry Aronson

Don Spetner

Carol Ames

The Public Relations Writer’s

Handbook

The Public

Relations

Writer’s

Handbook

The Digital Age

Second Edition

Merry Aronson

Don Spetner

Carol Ames

Copyright  2007 by Merry Aronson, Don Spetner, and Carol Ames. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Aronson, Merry.

The public relations writer’s handbook : the ditigal age / Merry Aronson,

Don Spetner, Carol Ames.—2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8631-5 (cloth)

1. Public relations. 2. Public relations—Authorship. 3. Publicity.

I. Spetner, Don. II. Ames, Carol. III. Title.

HM263.A7864 2007

659.2—dc22

2006101785

Printed in the United States of America

first edition

HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

About the Authors xi

Introduction xiii

1. Public Relations Goes Digital 1

A Few Words About the Truth

A Few Words About Grammar

E-Mail Is Not Private; E-Mail Is Forever

A Few Words About Style

Chapter Recap

2. News Releases, Photo Captions, and Media Kits:

Making Your Story Newsworthy 13

Inverted-Pyramid News Style

Trade Versus Consumer Press

Adjusting Your Style: Consumer Versus Trade

Before You Write

Research

Conforming to a Standard Style

Content

The Appointment Release

The Product Release

Lifestyle, Trend, and Survey Releases

Localizing a National Release

The Delayed or Feature-Style Lead

Quotations

Photos, Samples, and Review Copies

v

vi CONTENTS

Style and Form

The Q&A

Photos

Media Kits

Approvals

Chapter Recap

3. The Pitch: Creating Media Interest 49

Stage One: Analyze the Subject, and Identify the Target

Stage Two: Call the Editor

Stage Three: Write Your Pitch

Stage Four: Follow Up

Chapter Recap

4. The Biography and Backgrounder: Bringing Your

Subject to Life 65

Biographies

Obituaries

Backgrounders

Writing the Bio

Fact Sheets

Time Lines

Bibliographies

Chapter Recap

5. Speech Writing: From Your Pen to Their Lips 85

Speech Writing I: Eleven Steps

Speech Writing II: Technical Guidelines

Chapter Recap

6. Multimedia and PowerPoint Presentations 107

Illuminating Difficult Subjects

The Script

Coordinating Text and Slides

Impact and Continuity

Putting It All Together: Rehearsal

CONTENTS vii

Audiovisual Presentations

Chapter Recap

7. Writing for Broadcast: Communicating with Video

and Sound 123

Pitch Letters and News Releases

Creating Scripts for Electronic Media Kits

Chapter Recap

8. Special Events: The Art of Getting Noticed 149

News Conference

Press Junket

Publicity Tour

Chapter Recap

9. Financial Writing 187

Learn the Basics of Business

Follow SEC Reporting Requirements

Confidentiality and Insider Trading

Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure)

Investor Relations Department

Plain English: The Official Style of the SEC

Business Release

Quarterly Earnings Release

Quarterly Conference Call

Annual Report

Annual Meeting

Chapter Recap

10. Publications: The Editorial Stage 211

Editorial Considerations

Newsletters

Corporate Brochures

Assigning Stories

Establishing Editorial Guidelines

viii CONTENTS

Other Concerns: Format, Timeliness, Style, Approvals,

and Copyright

Production

Files and File Copies

Chapter Recap

11. Writing for the Internet 225

E-Mail, Instant Messaging, Paging, and Wireless Internet

Web Sites

Blogs and the Blogosphere

Chapter Recap

12. Responsive Writing: Setting the Record Straight 243

Letters to the Editor

Web Responses

Guest Editorials

Chapter Recap

13. Crisis Communications and Official Statements:

Preparing for a Crisis 263

Official Statements

Talking Points

Crisis Media Plan

Anticipating Needs in a Crisis

Disclosure

Crisis Releases

Minimizing Negative Reports

Threatened or Ongoing Litigation

Chapter Recap

14. Program Writing: Selling Your Concept to the

Client 285

Structure of a Public Relations Program

Introduction or Situation Analysis

Objectives

Target Audiences

Strategies

CONTENTS ix

Activities

Management, Staffing, Administration, Tracking, and

Evaluation

Budget

Chapter Recap

Appendix A: Research and Interview Techniques 305

Appendix B: Grammar Reference 311

Glossary 321

References 329

Index 335

This book is dedicated to my mother and father, Jeanne and Zola

Aronson, who gave me, among many other gifts, a profound love and

respect for the English language; and to David M. Rubin and Richard

Petrow, who asked me to teach and thought I had something to say.

God bless ’em.

—M.A.

To Laurie, Jamie, and Michael, for being there every day for me; and

to Buddy and Lil, for teaching me the value of hard work, honesty,

and focus.

—D.S.

To Philippe, my first great reader; and to Charlotte, who inspires me

every day to do my best and to have fun.

—C.A.

About the Authors

Merry Aronson, a journalist, publicist, and television promotion

executive, is founder of MerryMedia, Inc., an entertainment

marketing firm based in Studio City, California. Previously she

worked for twelve years at the NBC Television Network, first as

an entertainment publicist and later as a director in advertising

and promotion. Her public relations background also includes

launching the Fox Broadcasting Company and, for Group W

Satellite Communications, The Nashville Network, as well as

directing publicity for the American Society of Composers,

Authors & Publishers. Her feature articles and theater reviews

have appeared in national publications, and she also wrote for

Good Morning America. She has served as an adjunct professor of

journalism at New York University, where she received a B.A.,

and later taught in the UCLA Extension program.

Don Spetner is senior vice president of global marketing for

Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest provider of execu￾tive search and talent management solutions. Spetner oversees all

marketing, public relations, and corporate communications for

the firm’s seventy-two offices in forty countries. Prior to joining

Korn/Ferry, he served as vice president of corporate communi￾cations for SunAmerica Inc., where he was responsible for all

corporate advertising, communications, and public relations. He

also served as vice president of corporate communications for

Nissan North America, overseeing all North American commu￾nications for the automotive giant. In his twenty-five-year career

xi

xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS

in public relations, he has also worked in management roles for

three of the largest public relations agencies in the world. He

has been named an ‘‘Industry All Star’’ by Inside PR and writes

and lectures frequently on communications. He graduated with

honors with a degree in journalism from New York University.

Carol Ames teaches entertainment studies and public rela￾tions on the faculty of California State University, Fullerton.

She has more than twenty years of experience as an inde￾pendent public relations professional, an executive producer of

movies for television, and a corporate communications executive

for Paramount Pictures. With writing credits that encompass

journalism and scholarly articles, as well as speeches, multime￾dia presentations, event time lines, media kits, newsletters, and

financial writing, she also holds a Ph.D. from the State University

of New York, Buffalo, and an M.A. and B.A. with honors from

the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Introduction

Since the first edition of this book was published in 1993, the

digital revolution has changed the way we live and do business,

with computers, e-mail, cell phones, and the World Wide Web

now familiar parts of everyday life.

News, information, and promotional material are available

everywhere on twenty-four-hour global television news chan￾nels, wireless Internet service, and PDAs. Even some elevators

and supermarket checkout lines have streaming video of news,

weather, and promotions. Just around the corner are additional

methods of information delivery most of us have yet to imagine.

What this means to the public relations professional and those

aspiring to join the field is that more job opportunities become

available every day that require greater vigilance, acumen, and

communication skills. Public relations professionals are essential

to the process of originating and disseminating information. They

must be prepared to respond immediately and react efficiently to

demands placed on them by media requests. They must be able to

generate campaigns that influence actions ranging from consumer

spending to new legislation. And they must keep up with and

learn to use new digital tools as they develop and become part of

the mainstream.

One factor that has not changed with the advent of the digital

age is good writing, which remains at the core of effective public

relations.

A successful professional must have the skill to communicate

ideas, information, and emotions. Clear, concise, accurate, and

xiii