Beachcombing

Fifty years ago, this budding public relations specialist was told that 90 percent of the news releases sent to the local newspapers “would end up in the round file.” Not much has changed.

The only difference is that today’s news release comes via email, making it easier to hit the “delete” button. It all boils down to whether the item would be of local interest; that’s the key question that every editor must answer.

“Who cares” is the test that we apply when a reporter or intern proposes a story that they would like to write about. It helps to know the definition of “news.” Some have suggested that news is drama. That’s a good, one-word description. Here are a few more:

Local: What is the proximity of the item to the reader?

Impact: How many people are affected?

Timeliness: Recent activity is more popular than yesterday’s news.

Quantity: Measurement in dollars, temperature in degrees, earthquake magnitude, etc.

Fame: Politicos, sports figures and entertainment stars.

Oddity: “Man bites dog,” for example.

Most public relations professionals know what editors want and do a good job of providing it. On the other hand, many non-profit organizations that cannot afford professional communicators rely on volunteers. If you ever find yourself in this position, remember to prepare your news release using the following tips:

Write with the most important items at the top, making it easier for the editor to chop text at the bottom. This is known as the “inverted pyramid” style.

Reference the Associated Press Stylebook when questions arise about spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.

Date the news release and answer the five Ws and H: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

Provide the name, phone number and email for a contact person if additional information is needed.

When submitting photos, make sure they are high resolution in JPG format. Identify persons in a photo caption, left to right, along with a brief description of the event.

Thanks to computer software like Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Corel Draw and others, communication amateurs often submit a flier about an upcoming event, thinking that the editor will use it instead of a news release. Wrong. Chances are that we’ll respond to the email with a price to print the flier as an advertisement.

Locally we have PR amateurs who suck up to the mayor by always quoting him in the second paragraph of all city news releases. This is often followed by quotes from local councilpersons and the applicable department head.

A wise leader always credits those who make him/her look good. Using the inverted pyramid approach, we usually quote the department head.

These same bozos always capitalize the “c” in all references to the city as well as the “m” in mayor, as used in God. Wrong again, says this Publisher. (Only astute readers will get this humor.)

Finally, in remembrance of Memorial Day this past Monday, we should ask ourselves “Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?”

publisher@beachcomber.news