Remember your digital news release is… digital!

Leave a reply

It shouldn’t need to be said, and yet…

When I post releases from various groups to the KTVZ.COM Community Billboard, I sometimes am surprised that groups might include a name, a phone number – but not a Website address for their group or organization!

I mean, that’s such low-hanging fruit! (Granted, others go way too far, every other word being a link. There’s a balance there, as in all things.)

I actually sometimes go Google and add the group’s Web address, go find a logo, etc. For the reader as much as the organization.

(By the way, our Community Billboard page is a great place to look for examples if you are unsure just how to write up a news release. Some are short, others long, some well-written, others… well, I do what I can.)

And please, send them as straight text or Word .docs – not Adobe .pdfs, which DON’T do well usually in cut-and-paste, which is the only way yours truly can post so much stuff. Yes, I’m asking for spoon feeding, in exchange for giving your information some valuable visibility;-)

Speaking of spoon-feeding, be sure to make the link in your release take you to the page with the info on the event or announcement, not to your home page. Don’t make people hunt!

FlashAlert Newswire is a great, growing news release dissemination option for many govt. agencies, groups etc. – it gets you past the chore of creating and maintaining media mailing lists, and get me past our corporate spam filter, which “protects” me from links in emailed releases (the ones in the email body, not a separate attachment). Those are turned into a mess I have to click through and fix.

Saving me and other editors’ time is a sure-fire way to boost the odds of your stuff being used. And while social media is a great way to get your message to folks directly, the media has its place in helping broadcast your info widely. Help us help you!

Helping people in a bind is a nice perk

Leave a reply

Well, hello there, folks.

I’ve pointed people here at least once every few weeks for a long time, for all that “free advice worth every penny you pay for it.”

But getting here to post? I’ve been remiss.

I need to keep using it as a compendium of advice, pet peeves and thoughts on how to help people, from those who do PR and want to do it better to those who have never written a press release in their life and don’t know where to start, or …. well, here’s a grand example.

I love to post full news releases at KTVZ.COM, because it gives us depth other sites don’t have, it’s easy (when they come in as text in an email or as a Word .doc – for my purposes, Adobe PDFs suck because they cut-paste so poorly.) Oh, and link-filled releases are messed up by our corporate spam filter, so cleaning them up takes time.

Anyway, a guy named in a govt. news release in a way that made him sound like a bad guy, but didn’t really accuse him directly — he called this weekend, asking if his name could be removed. In context, I made the judgment call that the agency had named him improperly – or at least not consistent with what they’d do in other cases. So I took it out.

I also informed him that beyond The Bulletin story with his name (which he knew of), The Associated Press had picked up their story in a brief item that also included his name. So he contacted them, and lo and behold, despite their VERY thin weekend staff, they ran it again – editing out his name,

I also was glad to forward him the news release, so he could see who put it out and who to contact. And to “prove” what I told him – that it had gone to 100s of media outlets around the state. So he has a long way to go to unring that particular bell.

I like helping people, especially when it can help us get better content with less editing needed – and that improves its odds of being used elsewhere. You can find my listed pet peeves throughout this blog, but ask me anything local media-wise, such as how to get the attention with a well-crafted release, etc., and I’ll do my best to answer.

 

Losing our role as info interMEDIAries?

Leave a reply

I have told folks for years to use great social media to publicize their events, etc. – that they don’t need to go through the media any more, hoping or begging for an inch of print space or a moment of airtime.

Sometimes it was said, I admit, as a way to shuffle folks off, and say nicely that we don’t have time to publicize/cover every great event/announcement.

But a local law enforcement donkey basketball game I only learned of through a Facebook post a few minutes ago reminded me that if folks take that advice wrong – or in a way, take it too far – great things happen without us knowing! And alas, it’s happening more and more all the time (and who can follow all the vast social media counts, no matter what great tool you use? We only have two eyes, one brain and so many hours in a day!)

So let me be clear, I wasn’t saying to JUST go through social media. Mass media still has its place, and if we also know of your event/happening, with details and contact info, then we can make the call on whether to also cover it or tell folks about it in advance.

And having both kinds of “media” coverage is the best of both worlds – mass and personal/social. Right?

(PS a year later: It’s getting quite frustrating – even police are finding not only that social media is a great way to communicate, but they often don’t tell us what happened – a recent case of a missing person in our area, an “URGENT” post – wasn’t even sent to us as an email tipping us to check their Facebook page.

I use a great tool called Social News Desk to follow dozens of local police, fire and govt. Facebook/Twitter streams. Not to mention those of our station’s folks and our competitors. But I still only have two eyes, one brain and 60 minutes in an hour, etc. So knowing something is THERE is key. The soft stuff, I can see just popping to the social media. But even then, I don’t expect agencies to write them twice —  just use that media email list to give us a little head’s up to go check it out! Pretty please?)

Common courtesy and news release timing

Leave a reply

I don’t want these all to sound like pet peeves, but … sometimes it can’t be helped.

We got a great news release today from a local agency. We wanted to go talk to them about it.

No one was available.

Really? On the very day the release was sent?

Here’s a strong suggestion: DON’T DO THAT.

It’s unfair to your recipients and very likely will blow the chances at a follow-up, which you want so much.

Now granted, I’m in a TV newsroom, and not everyone who wants to put out a news release wants to go on camera that very day. But someone should be available to do so.

Or WAIT TO PUT IT OUT until someone IS available.

That makes sense, right? I mean, you don’t invite everyone in the neighborhood to your house, then lock the door – or be gone?

If you have to send a release when no one is available, put in the release who to contact and when they will be available.

You’ll go a very long way toward fostering a better relationship with the media you are courting.

Three news release pet peeves

Leave a reply

Want to get your news releases used more, with happier recipients? Here’s some little ways to do just that, courtesy of what sticks in my brain from the past week of releases:

—Don’t write in the first person. Save “our,” “we” and “us” for your flyers and newsletters. The world, for better or worse, is frantic for content, and so editors do a lot more cutting and pasting. If you make them change “we” to “they” and reconstruct your verbiage, they may decide it’s not worth the time and hassle. So please, use third person.

—Don’t put things in a headline you leave out of the body of your release. Don’t put “sixth annual” event in the headline, just as an example, and never repeat that little fact anywhere in the body of your release. It’s very likely to get lost – or again, require an editor to insert that valuable point, which you surely can’t count on happening.

—Don’t use two spaces between sentences. Maybe they taught that in typing class, but it’s not how newspapers, magazines or Web texts read these days. One space is fine. Oh and on a related note, please don’t double-space your releases, or feel the need to indent paragraphs. Quite old school, as few folks mark up printed news releases any more.

You might also make sure to made a Word .doc attachment of your release, not just a PDF (dang those Adobe Acrobat hard right margins) and not just an in-line release – our company has quite a corporate spam filter, which turns every Web link into spaghetti. You can imagine the hassle that causes when one just wants to cut, paste, tweak and post a release.

So please, make it easier on us, and there’s a far greater likelihood your message will get picked up as you hoped, and without errors or headaches you end up having to deal with. Win-win!;-)

What gets reported, what doesn’t – and some less-understood reasons why

Leave a reply

Back to blogging. Sorry I’ve resisted. Waiting for perfect opportunities, format, etc. – dumb. Let’s just do it!

We learn a lot from Facebook commenters. Based on an AP story, a KGW story and an online news release, I/we posted a story about the search for a missing Mt. Hood snowboarder — and learned quickly from those commenters that as it turns out, he had been found several hours earlier.

Why the lag and posting of “old news?” Because only a non-profit SAR assistance agency had tweeted out the good news around 1 a.m.

(An aside: No matter how many nifty tools like Hootsuite or Social News Desk one uses to amalgamate all the many Facebook/Twitter feeds, and using every tech trick in the book, we all still have just two eyeballs, one brain and a finite number of hours in a day to track things. )

I’m told the sheriff’s office involved actually surprised our Portland media partners with a news release in the first place – because quite often, they don’t do so unless there’s a fatality. They, like we, work around the inevitable differences of opinion, policy and practice from one fire or police agency to the next, one spokesman/sergeant on duty to the next, etc. etc.

So when it comes to crimes, fires, crashes or noteworthy incidents, one of the many lesser-known reasons one event gets coverage and another of seemingly equal value doesn’t has nothing to do with the media’s editorial judgments, but of the judgments of others, for a variety of reasons.

For example, some fire departments include loss estimates, others don’t – and beyond the foibles of individuals and their different decisions on what to include or not, it’s also sometimes agency policies that differ from one to another. And even if we ask, well, again, the policies can dictate “unequal” treatment of roughly equal events, in terms of news judgment.

Then there’s the variables such as fire agencies’ inability to report on patient conditions, due to federal patient privacy laws. Police are under fewer restrictions, but still some.

Media policies also differ, and judgment calls abound – why, for example, name crime victims if they are in the hospital but not if they are not? Why (or why not) name others involved in crashes if they are not charged? I often have such debates with our relatively new news director and others. We can also put more info in online than on-air.

Then there’s another variable, probably quite familiar to many but not necessarily something you think about when reading or watching the news. The amount of other news going on that day, of equal or greater importance.

It probably happens in your job, too: Some items get more (or any!) care and attention some days than others, depending on the backlog of work to do and the prioritizing one must constantly rethink, in triage fashion. So it is with the news. It’s not an intentional slight on anyone’s cause, tale of woe, etc. It just … is.

So the next time you wonder, for example, why serious-injury Accident A got a write-up and seemingly similar Accident B didn’t, please keep in mind, it’s not necessarily an editor or reporter’s whim or biases, what area of town/region they like/hate, etc. etc. There are lots of other factors at play – some more or less obvious than others.

I sift through 100s of news releases in a day, and set aside a few worthy but not-critical ones I hope to post later on our Website. And the bar rises or lowers based on how much other, “real news” is going on. (And how well they cut/paste cleanly, another factor;-)

But I hate to go to bed with any interesting (to me), worthy-enough releases sitting in my inbox, marked unread until I get back to them. I also keep my home email inbox clean, and … I know many don’t care to leave things unread for hours, days, weeks, etc.

It’s why I put up with horrible battery life on my smartphone, because I keep the email-check settings set to … well, basically, now. As a competitive guy, a major news release or tip a minute or two earlier can make a big difference in who is first to tell you important things. And I always want that to be us.

 

Ten (or so) tips for better government-media communication

Leave a reply

I’ve been given an opportunity to speak on a media panel Monday morning at the Association of Oregon Counties meeting in Bend. Since lists are so popular online: “Ten Ways to Restart Your Love Life,” or “Five things THEY don’t want you to know about xxx” – I figured it’s a good way to share some of my never patented “free advice, worth every penny you pay for it”;-) So here goes – and much of it, as always, isn’t limited to the public-sector audience on hand for this event. (And besides, this beats printing handouts! Easily updatable too;-)

SPEAK ENGLISH: I can’t stress this enough! If it takes four pages of a news release to explain how something works, it might not be worth trying. Don’t leave out the basics! Translate for us and the public. Oh, and if you’ve hit the third or fourth line for a first paragraph, stop and reconsider.

THERE IS NO PERFECT-LENGTH NEWS RELEASE: Breaking news? Fire off a  media advisory tip on where to be when and who to talk to. A complicated tax issue? Maybe serve up two full pages. But then, stop. Offer the name and title of a person WHO IS AVAILABLE TO TALK TO. Don’t frustrate reporters or the public with an inability to get clarification/answers. Don’t put out a release on taxes the week the assessor is out of town or too busy!

BASIC GRAMMAR MATTERS: Spare harried editors and reporters from having to fix simple things. But you communicate directly by social media now – so it’s not just about us! Please put periods and commas inside quote marks. Don’t capitalize titles, except immediately before names. And consider buying a subscription to the AP Stylebook, and follow it when your own rules don’t cover something. One person may decide your grand information’s fate, so make it easy on them!

“SAID” IS A VERY GOOD WORD: No one usually ‘converses,’ ‘states’ or other verb-option verbiage. “Said” is never, ever over-used! Speaking of simple – if you want to get a reporter or editor’s attention, don’t put “press release” in the subject line! Say something! Maybe 5-6 simple, attention grabbing words, like “Deschutes County to cut property taxes 30 percent.” I’d open that!

WE KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS – TELL US WHICH DAY OF WEEK YOUR EVENT IS: Except in the last or first month or so of a year, the day of the week for a meeting, especially a public hearing, is FAR more important for folks to know than the year, which we can usually safely presume is the one we’re in. Don’t waste space – and please don’t make us get our calendar out.

YOU LIVE BY ACRONYMS – THE PUBLIC DOESN’T: There’s absolutely no reason to show the acronym in parentheses after every funky plan, group or agency. If the geeks use the term in a quote, write around it.

FIND WAYS TO UN-CONFUSE PEOPLE: We have a wildfire with two names. Back and forth they’ve gone. Why? I asked and was told. But it’s not just reporters who want to know. Find a way to tell people or they will guess. Often wrong.

FIND WAYS TO WORK WITH SOCIAL MEDIA: Not against it! Sure, it’s a new jungle, full of vile people saying awful things in front of your back, not behind it. But if you decide not  to play in that jungle, that it’s just too risky — well, they’ll be talking, with or without your involvement. Your citizens are there, and they expect answers and the most transparency allowed. Arguments yes, they will happen, but respect, too, for being willing to get involved and share the whys behind the whats.

DOES YOUR STAFF CHANGE? WELL, SO DO OURS: People come and go in our business all the time, or have time off – just like yours! So find the best newsroom-wide (and position-based) addresses for a news release, not just reporters. And for heaven’s sake, don’t have a mailing say “Hello your name here” in some database that hasn’t been updated for years.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH REPORTERS ARE GOOD – TO A POINT: If you build up a great relationship with a reporter – at newsrooms big enough for beats, that is – sure as shootin’ that guy or gal is likely to leave, and you start all over. Better to have a sit-down with the whole newsroom once in a while to put faces with names. Please, NOT just the newspaper editorial boards. That facial recognition and investment is worth your time.

But wait, there’s more! Here’s a bonus No. 11 and 12!

DON’T TAKE TOO LONG! I know many govt. agencies require layers of approval before putting out any info to the public. Please seriously consider the tradeoffs in not getting something out faster. Sure, you might have to correct or update later, but … you WILL curb the social media rumor mill.

TELL SPECIAL GOOD NEWS: I often explain, or perhaps defend – it’s a fine line – government in what I call today’s toxic “Blame Society.” But do your part by letting people know – directly via social media if we’re not listening – the many good things you’re doing, from the trash collector who just marked 30 years of very early shifts to a retiring official’s broad impact behind the scenes. It won’t crowd out the bad news, but it can present a more well-rounded picture and reduce the need for PR puffery the next time you have to share bad news with the public, like a fee hike or detours.

A welcome (or welcome back) – and my offer to help

Leave a reply

I have created an embryonic stub of this site in more Website creation tools than I care to think about.

But WordPress.com has its advantages – simplicity, cost, etc.

Now to build this out as close to my vision as possible – to be able to help those who want, even need media coverage get it – as well as to offer style tips, checklists and also some insight into why local media do what we/they do (and don’t do what we/they don’t do.)

Because while TV, newspaper, radio and magazines on the local side of content are each different, they have some common threads – and also are often unfairly lumped in with their national counterparts. Or those who need to interact with them don’t understand how the Sheboygan Daily Whatever or Yourtown.com differ — greatly — from the CNNs and Foxes and big national news brands.

So they can get intimidated, confused, frustrated – and more.

I’ve done just about every kind of local journalism there is, including a 5-year stint as a Web-only reporter.As such, I’ve been on the receiving end of 10s of thousands of story pitches, media advisories, news releases, pleas for coverage and … requests for advice. Freely given. And it’ll be freely given here, too.

But since there’s no one place to point folks to for such information and guidance, I’m taking it upon myself to do so. I hope you find it useful – and if there’s some question you’ve always wanted to ask reporters or editors, I’m your guy.