Before we can begin to discuss the role of writing in public relations, we need to begin with a clear understanding of what public relations is, its value to organizations, as well as its common functions. You may have covered some of this content in an introductory public relations course, in which case, feel free to skim or skip it.

What Is Public Relations?

According to the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), “Public relations is the strategic management of relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication, to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals and serve the public interest.”* Simply put, public relations helps to influence an audience’s perceptions by building relationships and shaping public conversations about a client or company. These public conversations often take place through mass and social media, which is why public relations professionals need to understand how to work with and write effective messages for the media.

* The last phrase in this definition, “public interest,” is something that is often defined differently by different groups. We will explore the concept of public interest in greater detail in section 1.3, which focuses on the ethical and legal responsibilities of the PR practitioner. 

This short video, titled “What is public relations?” helps to visualize public relations.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/writingforpublicrelations/?p=297

Public relations professionals are in charge of a wide range of communication activities that may include increasing brand visibility and awareness, planning events, and creating content. Some of them also deal with crisis communication and help to salvage a brand’s integrity and reputation during a negative event. This video from Kate Finley, chief executive officer of Belle Communications, explains what it is like to work at a public relations agency.

Why Do Companies Need Public Relations?

There was a time when many companies did not see the value of public relations, unless a crisis happened. Even now, some public relations professionals face challenges in convincing key executives of their value to the function of the company.

With the abundance of information readily available to audiences worldwide, companies are more vulnerable than ever to misinformation about their brand. An audience’s attitudes and beliefs about a company can greatly influence its success. Therefore, the public relations professional helps to monitor and control conversations about a company or client and manage its reputation in the marketplace. Viewing public relations as a key management function of a business or an essential strategy to manage one’s individual reputation will help accomplish important goals such as establishing trust among key publics, increasing news media and social media presence, and maintaining a consistent voice across communication platforms.

For more on the impact of reputation on business success, take a look at this article from The Entrepreneur.

Public Relations Versus Marketing Versus Advertising

Many people confuse public relations with marketing and advertising. Although there are similarities, there also are key differences.

Probably the most important difference between marketing, public relations, and advertising is the primary focus. Public relations emphasizes cultivating relationships between an organization or individual and key publics for the purpose of managing the client’s image. Marketing emphasizes the promotion of products and services for revenue purposes. Advertising is a communication tool used by marketers in order to get customers to act.

Four Models Of Public Relations

Grunig and Hunt (1984) developed four models of public relations that describe the field’s various management and organizational practices. These models serve as guidelines to create programs, strategies, and tactics and are still commonly cited today.

Four Models of PR” by Michael Shiflet and Jasmine Roberts is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In the press agent/publicity model, communications professionals use persuasion to shape the thoughts and opinions of key audiences. In this model, accuracy is often sacrificed and organizations do not seek audience feedback or conduct audience analysis research. It is a one-way form of communication. One example is propaganda techniques.

The public information model moves away from the manipulative tactics used in the press agent model and presents more accurate information. However, the communication pattern is still one-way. Practitioners do not conduct audience analysis research to guide their strategies and tactics. Some press releases and newsletters are created based on this model, when audiences are not necessarily targeted or researched beforehand.

The two-way asymmetrical model presents a more “scientifically persuasive” way of communicating with key audiences. Here, content creators conduct research to better understand the audience’s attitudes and behaviors, which in turn informs the message strategy and creation. Still, persuasive communication is used in this model to benefit the organization more so than audiences; therefore, it is considered asymmetrical or imbalanced. The model is particularly popular in advertising and consumer marketing, fields that are specifically interested in increasing an organization’s profits.

Finally, the two-way symmetrical model argues that the public relations practitioner should serve as a liaison between the organization and key publics, rather than as a persuader. Here, practitioners are negotiators and use communication to ensure that all involved parties benefit, not just the organization that employs them. The term “symmetrical” is used because the model attempts to create a mutually beneficial situation. The two-way symmetrical model is deemed the most ethical model, one that professionals should aspire to use in their everyday tactics and strategies (Simpson, 2014).

General Roles In Public Relations

According to Smith (2013), public relations practitioners can be placed in two groups based on responsibilities: communication managers and communication technicians. Communication managers assist in the strategic planning of an organization’s communication efforts. The broad term “communication manager” includes several similar public relations positions: expert consultant, problem-solving facilitator, and communication liaison. Expert consultants develop a specific communication plan to help achieve organizational goals. Problem-solving facilitators provide crisis management to an organization during an obstacle. Liaisons speak on behalf of the brand and facilitate communication between the organization and its key publics.

Before entering a managerial role, most public relations practitioners begin their career as a communication technician. This can refer to a variety of entry-level positions, including public relations or communications specialist, communication assistant, and junior account executive. Communication technicians write news releases, pitches, feature articles, and other communication materials and assist in event planning. Together, communication managers and technicians play a vital role in relationship building and the management of a brand.

Branding and the Shift From Advertising to PR

While advertising is an essential aspect of initial brand creation, PR campaigns are vital to developing the more abstract aspects of a brand. These campaigns work to position a brand in the public arena in order to give it a sense of cultural importance.

Pioneered by such companies as Procter & Gamble during the 1930s, the older, advertising-centric model of branding focused on the product, using advertisements to associate a particular branded good with quality or some other positive cultural value. Yet, as consumers became exposed to ever-increasing numbers of advertisements, traditional advertising’s effectiveness dwindled. The ubiquity of modern advertising means the public is skeptical of—or even ignores—claims advertisers make about their products. This credibility gap can be overcome, however, when PR professionals using good promotional strategies step in.

The new PR-oriented model of branding focuses on the overall image of the company rather than on the specific merits of the product. This branding model seeks to associate a company with specific personal and cultural values that hold meaning for consumers.

Recently Toyota faced a marketing crisis when it instituted a massive recall based on safety issues. To counter the bad press, the company launched a series of commercials featuring top Toyota executives, urging the public to keep their faith in the brand (Bernstein, 2010). Much like the Volkswagen ads half a century before, Toyota used a style of self-awareness to market its automobiles. The positive PR campaign presented Toyotas as cars with a high standard of excellence, backed by a company striving to meet customers’ needs.

Studies in Success: Apple and Nike

Apple has also employed this type of branding with great effectiveness. By focusing on a consistent design style in which every product reinforces the Apple experience, the computer company has managed to position itself as a mark of individuality. Despite the cynical outlook of many Americans regarding commercial claims, the notion that Apple is a symbol of individualism has been adopted with very little irony.

Brand managers that once focused on the product now find themselves in the role of community leaders, responsible for the well-being of a cultural image (Atkin, 2004).

Kevin Roberts, the current CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, a branding-focused creative organization, has used the term “lovemark” as an alternative to trademark. This term encompasses brands that have created “loyalty beyond reason,” meaning that consumers feel loyal to a brand in much the same way they would toward friends or family members. Creating a sense of mystery around a brand generates an aura that bypasses the usual cynical take on commercial icons. A great deal of Apple’s success comes from the company’s mystique. Apple has successfully developed PR campaigns surrounding product releases that leak selected rumors to various press outlets but maintain secrecy over essential details, encouraging speculation by bloggers and mainstream journalists on the next product. All this combines to create a sense of mystery and an emotional anticipation for the product’s release.

Emotional connections are crucial to building a brand or lovemark. An early example of this kind of branding was Nike’s product endorsement deal with Michael Jordan during the 1990s. Jordan’s amazing, seemingly magical performances on the basketball court created his immense popularity, which was then further built up by a host of press outlets and fans who developed an emotional attachment to Jordan. As this connection spread throughout the country, Nike associated itself with Jordan and also with the emotional reaction he inspired in people. Essentially, the company inherited a PR machine that had been built around Jordan and that continues to function long after his retirement (Roberts, 2003).

Branding Backlashes

An important part of maintaining a consistent brand is preserving the emotional attachment consumers have to that brand. Just as PR campaigns build brands, PR crises can damage them. For example, the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 became a PR nightmare for BP, an oil company that had been using PR to rebrand itself as an environmentally friendly energy company.

In 2000, BP began a campaign presenting itself as “Beyond Petroleum,” rather than British Petroleum, the company’s original name. By acquiring a major solar company, BP became the world leader in solar production and in 2005 announced it would invest $8 billion in alternative energy over the following 10 years. BP’s marketing firm developed a PR campaign that, at least on the surface, emulated the forward-looking two-way symmetric PR model. The campaign conducted interviews with consumers, giving them an opportunity to air their grievances and publicize energy policy issues. BP’s website featured a carbon footprint calculator consumers could use to calculate the size of their environmental impact (Solman, 2008). The single explosion on BP’s deep-water oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico essentially nullified the PR work of the previous 10 years, immediately putting BP at the bottom of the list of environmentally concerned companies.

Other branding backlashes have plagued companies such as Nike and Starbucks. By building their brands into global symbols, both companies also came to represent unfettered capitalist greed to those who opposed them. During the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, activists targeted Starbucks and Nike stores for physical attacks such as window smashing. Labor activists have also condemned Nike over the company’s use of sweatshops to manufacture shoes. Eventually, Nike created a vice president for corporate responsibility to deal with sweatshop issues.²

Blackspot: The Antibrand Brand

Adbusters, a publication devoted to reducing advertising’s influence on global culture, added action to its criticisms of Nike by creating its own shoe. Manufactured in union shops, Blackspot shoes contain recycled tire rubber and hemp fabric. The Blackspot logo is a simple round dot that looks like it has been scribbled with white paint, as if a typical logo had been covered over. The shoes also include a symbolic red dot on the toe with which to kick Nike. Blackspot shoes use the Nike brand to create their own antibrand, symbolizing progressive labor reform and environmentally sustainable business practices (New York Times, 2004).

Figure 12.16

Blackspot shoes developed as an antibrand alternative to regular sneakers.

Geoff Stearns – Black spot sneakers – CC BY 2.0.

Relationship With Politics and Government

Politics and PR have gone hand in hand since the dawn of political activity. Politicians communicate with their constituents and make their message known using PR strategies. An early example of political PR that followed the publicity model is Benjamin Franklin’s trip as US ambassador to France during the American Revolution. At the time of his trip, Franklin was an international celebrity, and the fashionable society of Paris celebrated his arrival; his choice of a symbolic American-style fur cap immediately inspired a new style of women’s wigs. Franklin also took a printing press with him to produce leaflets and publicity notices that circulated through Paris’s intellectual and fashionable circles. Such PR efforts eventually led to a treaty with France that helped the colonists win their freedom from Great Britain (Isaacson, 2003).

A recent and notable Canadian political PR effort is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s daily press conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic (a mix of crisis communication, issues management, and publicity). The photogenic Trudeau has combined his strength in public speaking and projection of empathy  (though not in making occasional gaffes e.g. “Speaking Moistly”) with the medium of daily live video press conferences to help his government dominate the airwaves, and be seen as taking action, thereby bolstering his government’s reputation in the eyes of voters, and improving its future election prospects.

Lobbyists also attempt to influence public policy using PR campaigns. In 2013, I worked with the Coastal First Nations to produce a television and online ad campaign to sensitize viewers to the dangers of an oil spill. The Coastal First Nations were actively opposing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline which would bring oil tankers to the north coast of British Columbia, and were seeking to sway the federal government to cancel the project. Using archival footage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill from the Alaskan government archives, and pairing it with an iconic song from Simon & Garfunkel (The Sound of Silence). We created a commercial that visualized the horrors of an oil spill and connected with our target audience (baby boomers). The message was this is the sounds of an oil spills (silence) after marine life and ocean-dependent industries are closed. The ad racked up significant views on YouTube, but even more significantly, earned additional media coverage from television, newspapers, radio, and social media, helping us to reach a much larger audience on our small budget. The Globe and Mail called it a “hit” and it won an award. 

Key Takeaways

• The four models of PR include traditional publicity, public information, persuasive communication, and two-way symmetrical models.
• PR campaigns begin with a research phase, develop objectives during a strategy phase, formulate ways to meet objectives during the tactics phase, and assess the proposed campaign during the evaluation phase.
• Branding focuses on the lifestyles and values inherent in a brand’s image as opposed to the products that are manufactured. It can be quickly undone by PR crises such as the BP oil spill.
• PR has always been an important part of political campaigning and activity. In recent years, branding has become an important part of national political campaigns.

¹Theaker, 7.

²Klein, 366.

References

Alberts, Sheldon. “Brand Obama,” Financial Post, January 17, 2009, http://www.financialpost.com/m/story.html?id=1191405.

Associated Press, “Blackwater Ditches Tarnished Brand Name,” USA Today, February 13, 2009, http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-02-13-blackwater_N.htm.

Associated Press, “Cheney Hunting Accident Seen as P.R. Disaster,” MSNBC, February 16, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11396608/ns/politics/.

Atkin, Douglas. interview, Frontline, PBS, February 2, 2004, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/interviews/atkin.html.

BBC World, “Taco Bell Cashes in on Mir,” March 20, 2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1231447.stm.

Bernstein, Sharon. “Toyota faces a massive marketing challenge,” Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/09/business/la-fi-toyota-marketing10-2010feb10.

Dictionary.com, s.v. “Propaganda,” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/propaganda.

Entine, Jon. “Queen of Green Roddick’s ‘Unfair Trade’ Started When She Copied Body Shop Formula,” Daily Mail (London), September 15, 2007, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-482012/Queen-Green-Roddicks-unfair-trade-started-copied-Body-Shop-formula.html.

Grunig, James E. and Todd Hunt, Managing Public Relations, 1984 (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing).

Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), 325–349.

Kiley, David. “How Will Bill Clinton Manage His Brand?” BusinessWeek, June 10, 2008, analysishttp://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2008/db2008069_046398.htm.

New York Times, “Nat Ives, “Anti-Ad Group Tries Advertising,” New York Times, September 21, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/business/media/21adco.html.

Parsons, Patricia. Ethics in Public Relations (Sterling, VA: Chartered Institute of Public Relations, 2005), 7.

Reid, Stuart. “The Diamond Myth,” Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/12/the-diamond-myth/5491/.

Ries, Al and Laura Ries, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR (New York: HarperBusiness, 2004), 90.

Roberts, Kevin. interview, Frontline, PBS, December 15, 2003, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/interviews/roberts.html.

Saffir, Leonard. Power Public Relations: How to Master the New PR (Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Contemporary, 2000), 77–88.

Smith, Ronald. Strategic Planning for Public Relations (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 2002), 9–11.

Solman, Gregory. “BP: Coloring Public Opinion?” Adweek, January 14, 2008, 1http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/strategy/e3i9ec32f006d17a91cd72d6192b9f7599a.

Stauber, John and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge is Good for You! (Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1995), 105–119.

Theaker, Alison. The Public Relations Handbook (Oxfordshire, England: Routledge, 2004), 4.

The Role of Writing in Public Relations

Public relations professionals at all levels need to have solid writing skills. White (2016) says, “To succeed as a PR pro, it’s vital to have a passion for writing and communication, and to be committed to excelling in both. You’re bound to fail if you don’t” (para. 9). Public relations professionals are responsible for developing communication materials intended to influence the attitudes and/or behaviors of key publics. Many employers require candidates for public relations positions to complete a writing test and provide a writing sample to demonstrate proficiency in this skill. Therefore, it is critical to understand how to craft effective messages through written communication.

Here are some of the many materials and messages that public relations professionals have to write:

• Press/News releases
• Fact sheets
• Feature articles
• Social media messages
• Blog posts
• Speeches
• PowerPoint presentations
• Brochures
• Media pitches
• Statements
• Website messages

News Writing vs. Public Relations Writing

Effective public relations writing draws from news writing principles, because the news media is one of the preferred channels for promoting products and services. However, news writing and public relations writing differ in terms of audience, tone, and media channels. News writing should be objective in tone, with the purpose of presenting information to educate an audience about newsworthy events. On the other hand, public relations writing advocates for the client. It is informative, but it should also influence key publics’ perception of the organization. Some would also argue that public relations writing is even more concise than new writing.

Reporters usually write for one audience: readers or listeners of the respective media outlet. Public relations professionals may have to write for a variety of audiences, including internal audiences (such as employees, shareholders, and distributors) and external audiences (such as the media, customers, volunteers, and bloggers). News writing uses one primary communication channel, the news outlet (which can be a newspaper or a television or radio broadcast). Although journalists are increasingly using Twitter to post their articles, this usually entails posting a link that directs the audience to the news outlet’s primary website. Public relations professionals use a variety of channels to distribute their messages, including news media, social media, advertisements, blogs, press kits, and many more.

Good Writing

Many jobs and industries rely on good writing. Even within the public relations or communication industry, writing responsibilities can vary. You may be writing a news release, a newsletter article or a memo. Maybe you’re scripting video shoots, writing speeches, drafting social or advertising content or writing scripts or instructions for the upcoming event you’re planning. Strong writing for email also helps you show your professionalism, intelligence and attention to detail.

On the flip side, when you can’t write clearly, concisely and quickly, it can cost you – money, time, clients, morale or even a lawsuit. Joseph Kimble, author of Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please, shares 25 case studies of organizations that saved time and money by improving the readability of their content. General Electric rewrote software manuals and customer calls asking questions plummeted. The U.S. Navy made memos quicker and easier to read, saving officers’ time to the tune of $27 to $37 million per year.

Employers understand the cost of unclear, clunky or otherwise poor writing. And the need for clear writing threads throughout many jobs in communication, whether or not the primary job responsibility appears to be writing.  Heather Whaling is the founder and CEO of Geben Communication, which specializes in traditional and digital public relations. She says, “writing is still the most important skill” in today’s digital world. Allie Lehman is the co-founder of The Wonder Jam, which has a strong focus on branding, graphics and photography. Lehman agrees, “it’s really important for students to be comfortable with writing.”

As famous basketball coach John Wooden said: “When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur.” Writing improves with practice. The more you do something and work at it, the better you get. This is true whether you consider yourself a strong writer at the start, or someone who struggles with writing.

In her book Everybody Writes, Ann Handley makes the argument that “good writing can be learned—the way trigonometry or algebra or balancing a balance sheet is a skill most of us can master.”

The boxes below highlight some of the most common writing errors and a few ways to intentionally improve your writing.

Also, make editing a formal step in your writing process to force yourself to analyze your own writing. Allow time for re-reading and corrections even when you’re on a tight timeline. Before you send even a brief email to a colleague, pause and read through it one final time to correct minor spelling or punctuation errors.

Reading, Resourcefulness & Curiosity

Reading can teach grammar, but it also gives you insight on different types of writing, different voices and different styles. Read newspapers, blogs, books in many genres, websites, Twitter posts, magazines. Read some things you know you’ll like and some things that will stretch you.

Be curious. If you see something new or unfamiliar or interesting, dig a little deeper.

In addition to reading and exploring things that pique your curiosity, there are many resources to help novice writers grow and to help expert writers continue to advance. Take advantage of colleagues, mentors, bosses and educators who are willing to review your work and give constructive criticism.

There are also amazing resources out there as references when you have questions, need edits or just want to explore ways to step up your writing game. They can help whether you’re Pulitzer-worthy or not able to recognize a run-on. A few to check out include:

Canadian Press Style

The majority of journalists and public relations practitioners in Canada use CP Style, based on the Canadian Press Stylebook. As the foundation for journalistic writing, this style focuses on achieving the best possible accuracy and consistency to make content easily read and understood by readers. This translates to the public relations arena because:

• Adhering to a consistent style improves readability and brand recognition.
• Using CP style gives you a common language with journalists, who often become the mouthpiece for your messages.

Many public relations agencies and corporations interviewing potential employees will require a CP style writing or copyediting test to ensure new hires come in able to write in this style from day one. In the US they used Associated Press or AP Style.

Know the Basics
It’s worth your time to learn the basics of CP style that will surface again and again in your writing.

• Dates
• Numerals
• Dollars & percents
• Times
• Addresses
• Titles
• Names
• Composition titles
• Abbreviations
• Social media use

There are a few guiding CP style rules to memorize, but keep a hard copy or online version of the book handy for reference when other questions emerge. Like the English language, there are exceptions to many of the rules, but a few of the often-used CP style standards include:

Every word has one and only one spelling.

• Check the stylebook first – then a dictionary. CP style occasionally has “preferred” spellings.

Avoid unnecessary capitalization.

• Far fewer words should be capitalized than you think.
• Always look it up before you capitalize anything other than proper names.

Avoid excessive abbreviation.

Punctuate according to generally accepted rules.

In general, spell out zero through nine.

• Many exceptions and contingencies to this rule.
• Pay attention and memorize.

An updated version of the stylebook is regularly. Some years, the changes are minimal and other years they are more significant. Many times organizations will use CP style as their overarching style but customize specifics such as how to abbreviate the organization’s name or whether to capitalize the names of its boards or committees.

Defamation

Compromising a code of ethics may have legal consequences, depending upon the situation. One of the most common ethical problems that occurs in court cases is defamation. Defamation is intentional damage done to one party’s reputation by another party. Although it is not a crime, it is considered a civil suit in a court of law. Individuals or organizations with particularly high stakes attached to their reputation (for example, celebrities, public figures or popular businesses) are more inclined to sue for defamation. A recent example is a defamation case launched by Canadian-based Dominion Voting Systems against Donald Trump, as reported by Global News:

Conflict Of Interest

Plagiarism

Lack Of Transparency

Misleading Advertisements

Advertising firms often have a reputation for using manipulative tactics at the expense of the consumer. This is largely due to consumers’ experiences with misleading advertisements, or promotions that exaggerate claims or misinform audiences. The goal of an advertisement is to emphasize the benefits of a product or service over any drawbacks or shortcomings.

Source: Pxhere. CC0 Public Domain

However, agencies should not create deceptive advertisements at the expense of consumers. By law, claims in advertisements have to be truthful and supported by evidence. Going back to the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the company also faced legal troubles for falsely advertising that its cars had low emissions. The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Volkswagen in federal court, arguing that the company deceived its consumers through unsubstantiated claims and corrupt evidence.

In Canada, the Competition Bureau enforces legal provisions that, “…prohibit making any deceptive representations for the purpose of promoting a product or a business interest, and encourage the provision of sufficient information to allow consumers to make informed choices.”

Ad Standards is a national, not-for-profit, advertising self-regulating body in Canada that includes a complaint and review process for advertising (as does the Competition Bureau).

Propaganda, Misinformation, Fake News and Harmful Speech

According to Wikipedia (quoting from Encyclopedia Britannica), propaganda, “…is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts in order to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language in order to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented.” In this sense, it is undeniable that some public relations efforts can be classified as propaganda. 

In his book of the same title (Propaganda), Edward Bernays, who some term “the father of public relations,” states that, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.”^[8]

In the 20th century, propaganda has taken on an increasingly negative connotation, primarily because of false and dangerous examples of its use (e.g. to promote war and hatred). Even with less extreme examples, the public is increasingly weary of any effort to influence and manipulate their opinion, and yet, such efforts are everywhere, and in some places the public is becoming increasingly polarized and partisan as a result of such efforts in the political sphere.

From the the non-profit imploring you with celebrities and sad music to donate to a worthy cause, to the oil company that uses the term “oil sands” while environmentalists use “tar sands,” there is an ongoing battle to influence your opinion and values, and sometimes at the expense of rational thinking. As PR practitioners, where do we draw our own ethical boundaries? Are we doomed to be spin doctors and PR hacks? No. We can make a conscious decision to engage in ethical persuasion, and many would argue that most practitioners, especially those that are successful and respected, take an ethical approach to their work. For example, the third principle of the CPRS’s Code of Professional Standards for the PR industry states that, “A member shall practice the highest standards of honesty, accuracy, integrity and truth, and shall not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information.” This principle prohibits the worst excesses of propaganda, excesses that all PR practitioners should disavow, primarily because they are ethically wrong, but also because they are counterproductive even from a simple business point of view.

In the United States, the Trump reelection campaign has completely abandoned any notion of honesty or truth, and has gone beyond propaganda to embrace misinformation, disinformation (fake news), and in some instances harmful speech in an effort to overturn election results and to vilify political opponents (read this Q&A on Harmful Speech by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and this short primer on the difference between propaganda, disinformation and misinformation from Wayne State university). In the end, these efforts have only undermined the brand value and political fortunes of the Republican party. Most recently, the party appears to be headed to defeat in two Senate run-off races in the state of Georgia, which will determine control of the United States Senate, thereby giving President-Elect Joe Biden’s government, full control of the legislative branch.

Coinciding with dangerous efforts to manipulate public opinion, has been a rise in the proliferation of fake news (a form of disinformation) and misinformation in the service of both local and international/national interests. This content has flooded social media networks and has forced businesses like Facebook and Twitter to begin fact-checking and investigating these sources (efforts that many say currently miss the mark).

Critical thinking

An important antidote to fake news, and indeed a skill that future employers expect of PR practitioners is to read and think critically, which means moving beyond what a text says to asking questions about the how and why of the text’s meaning. In an era of proliferating “fake news” stories and campaigns to improve information literacy, being cautious in consuming information and media is paramount.

Let’s reflect on what it means to think and read critically.

Reading critically

Reading critically means reading skeptically, not accepting everything a text says at face value, and wondering why a particular author made a particular argument in a particular way.

When you read critically, you read not only to understand the meaning of the text, but also to question and analyze the text. You want to know not just what the text says, but also how and why it says what it says. Asking questions is one key strategy to help you read more critically. As you read a text critically, you are also reading skeptically.

A critical reader aims to answer two basic questions:

1. What is the author doing?
2. How well is the author doing it?

What is the author doing?

To answer “what is the author doing?” begin by carefully examining the following:

• What are the author’s claims (a claim is what the author says is true)?
• What is the evidence (evidence is what the author offers to support what they say is true)?
• What are the assumptions (assumptions are what the author says is true or will happen without giving any support)?

It may be helpful to try to see the argument from different angles:

• How else could the author have written this piece?
• What other kinds of evidence could have been used?
• What difference would that other evidence make?
• How has the author constructed his or her argument?

How well is the author doing it?

To answer “how well is the author doing it?” consider the following questions:

• How effective is the introduction? Why might the author have started the piece with this paragraph?
• Are the main ideas supported by solid evidence?
• What evidence does the author use? Is it effective? Useful? Can you think of other evidence?
• Is the author biased or neutral? How do you know?
• Does the conclusion effectively tie the argument together? Could you draw a different conclusion from this evidence?
• What kind of language is used? How would you describe the author’s style?
• How is the piece organized?

Asking questions

Asking questions of a text helps readers:

• Predict what a text will be about
• Identify confusing parts of the reading
• Clarify what confused them
• Develop a response to the text
• Understand the author’s purpose for writing a text

The easiest way to develop questions about a text is to be aware of your thinking process before, during, and after reading.

• What did you wonder about before you started reading?
• What did you think the text might be about?
• What questions did the text raise in your mind as you read?
• What seemed important or surprising?
• What were you wondering when you finished reading?
• What did the author hope to accomplish in writing this text?
• Did the author achieve that purpose?
• What remains unresolved in your mind?

Thinking critically

As you approach your writing, it is important to practice the habit of thinking critically. Critical thinking can be defined as “self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking” (Paul & Elder, 2007). It is the difference between watching television in a daze versus analyzing a movie with attention to its use of lighting, camera angles, and music to influence the audience. One activity requires very little mental effort, while the other requires attention to detail, the ability to compare and contrast, and sharp senses to receive all the stimuli.

As a habit of mind, critical thinking requires established standards and attention to their use, effective communication, problem solving, and a willingness to acknowledge and address our own tendency for confirmation bias. We’ll use the phrase “habit of mind” because clear, critical thinking is a habit that requires effort and persistence. People do not start an exercise program, a food and nutrition program, or a stop-smoking program with 100 percent success the first time. In the same way, it is easy to fall back into lazy mental short cuts, such as “If it costs a lot, it must be good,” when in fact the statement may very well be false. You won’t know until you gather information that supports (or contradicts) the assertion.

As we discuss getting into the right frame of mind for writing, keep in mind that the same recommendations apply to reading and research. If you only pay attention to information that reinforces your existing beliefs and ignore or discredit information that contradicts your beliefs, you are guilty of confirmation bias (Gilovich, 1993). As you read, research, and prepare for writing, make an effort to gather information from a range of reliable sources, whether or not this information leads to conclusions you didn’t expect. Remember that those who read your writing will be aware of, or have access to, this universe of data as well and will have their own confirmation bias. Reading and writing from an audience-centered view means acknowledging your confirmation bias and moving beyond it to consider multiple frames of references, points of view, and perspectives as you read, research, and write. False thinking strategies can lead to poor conclusions, so be sure to watch out for your tendency to read, write, and believe that which reflects only what you think you know without solid research and clear, critical thinking.

Tying it All Together

For our part as public relations writers, assuming we value a healthy democratic society that is informed by objective information and truths based on science and hopefully social justice, we must read and think critically, and we can and should refuse to produce work that is dishonest or inaccurate, regardless of who our client is. Often the most persuasive arguments and messages we can create are the one’s that can speak truthfully and respectfully about opposing views, while also making the case for our own position.

References

Gilovich, T. (1993). How we know what isn’t so: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2007). The miniature guide to critical thinking: Concepts and tools. Dillon Beach, CA: The Foundation for Critical Thinking Press.

Attributions

This chapter contains material taken from “Critical thinking”; “Overview 3”; and “Reading critically” in Developmental Writing by Lumen Learning (used under a CC-BY 3.0  license) and Chapter 5.1 “Think, then write: Writing preparation” in Business Communication for Success (used under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license).

Imagine you are reading a book for school. You need to find important details that you can use for an assignment. However, when you begin to read, you notice that the book has very little punctuation. Sentences fail to form complete paragraphs and instead form one block of text without clear organization. Most likely, this book would frustrate and confuse you. Without clear and concise sentences, it is difficult to find the information you need.

For both students and public relations professionals, clear communication is important. Whether you are typing an e-mail or writing a news release, it is your responsibility to present thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely. Writing in complete sentences is one way to ensure that you communicate well. This section covers how to recognize and write basic sentence structures and how to avoid some common writing errors.

Components of a Sentence

Clearly written, complete sentences require key information: a subject, a verb and a complete idea. A sentence needs to make sense on its own. Sometimes, complete sentences are also called independent clauses. A clause is a group of words that may make up a sentence. An independent clause is a group of words that may stand alone as a complete, grammatically correct thought. The following sentences show independent clauses.

All complete sentences have at least one independent clause. You can identify an independent clause by reading it on its own and looking for the subject and the verb.

Subjects

When you read a sentence, you may first look for the subject, or what the sentence is about. The subject usually appears at the beginning of a sentence as a noun or a pronoun. A noun is a word that identifies a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. Common pronouns are I, he, she, it, you, they, and we. In the following sentences, the subject is underlined once.

Malik is the project manager for this project. He will give us our assignments.

In these sentences, the subject is a person: Malik. The pronoun He replaces and refers back to Malik.

The computer lab is where we will work. It will be open twenty-four hours a day.

In the first sentence, the subject is a place: computer lab. In the second sentence, the pronoun It substitutes for computer lab as the subject.

The project will run for three weeks. It will have a quick turnaround.

In the first sentence, the subject is a thing: project. In the second sentence, the pronoun It stands in for the project.

Tip

In this chapter, please refer to the following grammar key:

Subjects are underlined once.

Verbs are underlined twice.

LV means linking verb, HV means helping verb, and V means action verb.

Compound Subjects

A sentence may have more than one person, place, or thing as the subject. These subjects are called compound subjects. Compound subjects are useful when you want to discuss several subjects at once.

Desmond and Maria have been working on that design for almost a year. Books, magazines, and online articles are all good resources.

Prepositional Phrases

You will often read a sentence that has more than one noun or pronoun in it. You may encounter a group of words that includes a preposition with a noun or a pronoun. Prepositions connect a noun, pronoun, or verb to another word that describes or modifies that noun, pronoun, or verb. Common prepositions include in, on, under, near, by, with, and about. A group of words that begin with a preposition is called a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and modifies or describes a word. It cannot act as the subject of a sentence. The following circled phrases are examples of prepositional phrases.

Exercise 1

Read the following sentences. Underline the subjects, and circle the prepositional phrases.

1. The gym is open until nine o’clock tonight.
2. We went to the store to get some ice.
3. The student with the most extra credit will win a prize.
4. Maya and Tia found an abandoned cat by the side of the road.
5. The driver of that pickup truck skidded on the ice.
6. Anita won the race with time to spare.
7. The people who work for that company were surprised about the merger.
8. Working in haste means that you are more likely to make mistakes.
9. The soundtrack has over sixty songs in languages from around the world.
10. His latest invention does not work, but it has inspired the rest of us.

Verbs

Once you locate the subject of a sentence, you can move on to the next part of a complete sentence: the verb. A verb is often an action word that shows what the subject is doing. A verb can also link the subject to a describing word. There are three types of verbs that you can use in a sentence: action verbs, linking verbs, or helping verbs.

Action Verbs

A verb that connects the subject to an action is called an action verb. An action verb answers the question what is the subject doing? In the following sentences, the action verbs are in italics.

The dog barked at the jogger.
He gave a short speech before we ate.

Linking Verbs

A verb can often connect the subject of the sentence to a describing word. This type of verb is called a linking verb because it links the subject to a describing word. In the following sentences, the linking verbs are in italics.

The coat was old and dirty.
The clock seemed broken.

If you have trouble telling the difference between action verbs and linking verbs, remember that an action verb shows that the subject is doing something, whereas a linking verb simply connects the subject to another word that describes or modifies the subject. A few verbs can be used as either action verbs or linking verbs.

Action Verb: The boy looked for his glove.
Linking Verb: The boy looked tired.

Although both sentences use the same verb, the two sentences have completely different meanings. In the first sentence, the verb describes the boy’s action. In the second sentence, the verb describes the boy’s appearance.

Helping Verbs

A third type of verb you may use as you write is a helping verb. Helping verbs are verbs that are used with the main verb to describe a mood or tense. Helping verbs are usually a form of be, do, or have. The word can is also used as a helping verb.

The restaurant is known for its variety of dishes.
She does speak up when prompted in class.
We have seen that movie three times.
She can tell when someone walks on her lawn.
(is, does, have, and can are helping verbs and known, speak up, seen, and tell are verbs)

Tip

Whenever you write or edit sentences, keep the subject and verb in mind. As you write, ask yourself these questions to keep yourself on track:

Subject: Who or what is the sentence about?

Verb: Which word shows an action or links the subject to a description?

In the workplace and especially in public relations, you want to present a professional image. Grammatical mistakes in your writing or even in speaking can make a negative impression on coworkers, clients, and potential employers. Subject-verb agreement is one of the most common errors that people make. Having a solid understanding of this concept is critical when making a good impression, and it will help ensure that your ideas are communicated clearly.

Suppose you must give an oral presentation about a conference you attended last fall. How do you make it clear that you are talking about the past and not about the present or the future? Using the correct verb tense can help you do this.

It is important to use the proper verb tense. Mistakes in tense can leave a listener or reader confused, or with an impression that your writing is less professional.

Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense

Consistent verb tense means the same verb tense is used throughout a sentence or a paragraph. As you write and revise, it is important to use the same verb tense consistently and to avoid shifting from one tense to another unless there is a good reason for the tense shift. In the following box, see whether you notice the difference between a sentence with consistent tense and one with inconsistent tense.

Inconsistent tense:
The crowd starts cheering as Melina approached the finish line.
Consistent tense:
The crowd started cheering as Melina approached the finish line.
Consistent tense:
The crowd starts cheering as Melina approaches the finish line.

Tip

In some cases, clear communication will call for different tenses. Look at the following example:

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a fire fighter, but now I am studying computer science.

If the time frame for each action or state is different, a tense shift is appropriate.

Exercise 4

Edit the following paragraph by correcting the inconsistent verb tense. Copy the corrected paragraph onto your own sheet of paper.

In the Middle Ages, most people lived in villages and work as agricultural laborers, or peasants. Every village has a “lord,” and the peasants worked on his land. Much of what they produce go to the lord and his family. What little food was leftover goes to support the peasants’ families. In return for their labor, the lord offers them protection. A peasant’s day usually began before sunrise and involves long hours of backbreaking work, which includes plowing the land, planting seeds, and cutting crops for harvesting. The working life of a peasant in the Middle Ages is usually demanding and exhausting.

Writing at Work

Read the following excerpt from a work e-mail:

The inconsistent tense in the e-mail will very likely distract the reader from its overall point. Most likely, your coworkers will not correct your verb tenses or call attention to grammatical errors, but it is important to keep in mind that errors such as these can have a subtle negative impact on the perception of your professionalism in the workplace.

Key Takeaways

• Verb tense helps you express when an event takes place.
• Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from present to past tense.
• Irregular verbs do not follow regular, predictable patterns when shifting from present to past tense.
• Using consistent verb tense is a key element to effective writing.

Writing Application

Tell a family story. You likely have several family stories to choose from, but pick the one that you find most interesting to write about. Use as many details as you can in the telling. As you write and proofread, make sure all of your verbs are correct and the tenses are consistent.

Text messages, casual e-mails, and instant messages often ignore the rules of capitalization. In fact, it can seem unnecessary to capitalize in these contexts. In other, more formal forms of communication, however, knowing the basic rules of capitalization and using capitalization correctly gives the reader the impression that you choose your words carefully and care about the ideas you are conveying.

If there were no pronouns, all types of writing would be quite tedious to read. We would soon be frustrated by reading sentences like Bob said that Bob was tired or Christina told the class that Christina received an A. Pronouns help a writer avoid constant repetition. Knowing just how pronouns work is an important aspect of clear and concise writing.

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that bring your writing to life.

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that clarifies or describes another word, phrase, or clause. Sometimes writers use modifiers incorrectly, leading to strange and unintentionally humorous sentences. The two common types of modifier errors are called misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers. If either of these errors occurs, readers can no longer read smoothly. Instead, they become stumped trying to figure out what the writer meant to say. A writer’s goal must always be to communicate clearly and to avoid distracting the reader with strange sentences or awkward sentence constructions. The good news is that these errors can be easily overcome.

One of the punctuation clues to reading you may encounter is the comma. The comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause in a sentence or a separation of things in a list. Commas can be used in a variety of ways. Look at some of the following sentences to see how you might use a comma when writing a sentence.

• Introductory word: Personally, I think the practice is helpful.
• Lists: The barn, the tool shed, and the back porch were destroyed by the wind.
• Coordinating adjectives: He was tired, hungry, and late.
• Conjunctions in compound sentences: The bedroom door was closed, so the children knew their mother was asleep.
• Interrupting words: I knew where it was hidden, of course, but I wanted them to find it themselves.
• Dates, addresses, greetings, and letters: The letter was postmarked December 8, 1945.

Another punctuation mark that you will encounter is the semicolon (;). Like most punctuation marks, the semicolon can be used in a variety of ways. The semicolon indicates a break in the flow of a sentence, but functions differently than a period or a comma. When you encounter a semicolon while reading aloud, this represents a good place to pause and take a breath.

The colon (:) is another punctuation mark used to indicate a full stop. Use a colon to introduce lists, quotes, examples, and explanations. You can also use a colon after the greeting in business letters and memos.

Quotation marks (“ ”) set off a group of words from the rest of the text. Use quotation marks to indicate direct quotations of another person’s words or to indicate a title. Quotation marks always appear in pairs.

An apostrophe (’) is a punctuation mark that is used with a noun to show possession or to indicate where a letter has been left out to form a contraction.

Parentheses ( ) are punctuation marks that are always used in pairs and contain material that is secondary to the meaning of a sentence. Parentheses must never contain the subject or verb of a sentence. A sentence should make sense if you delete any text within parentheses and the parentheses.

A dash (—) is a punctuation mark used to set off information in a sentence for emphasis. You can enclose text between two dashes, or use just one dash. To create a dash in Microsoft Word, type two hyphens together. Do not put a space between dashes and text.

A hyphen (-) looks similar to a dash but is shorter and used in different ways.

Whether or not you plan a career in blogging, it can be great practice for a career in public relations. It’s an ideal training ground for skills that you will use in many communication jobs and skills that will make you more marketable to employers. These skills include:

• Writing that is grammatically correct and readable
• Writing for the web (pretty crucial when much of the content written for companies ultimately ends up on the web)
• Developing a strong point of view
• Positioning yourself or an organization as a subject matter expert
• Understanding the basics of search engine optimization
• Using a content management system
• Building and managing an online community

There is also a good chance that you will work with blogs in some capacity throughout your career. In The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott outlines the four uses of blogs for marketing and PR:

The job responsibilities for many public relations practitioners include one or more items from the above list. For additional insights, check out The Benefits of Blogging post authored by Lara Kretler, vice president at Columbus agency FrazierHeiby, and read the blogging success story from student Rachel Gaylord below.

Several years after creating his blog Breakfast with Nick, Columbus blogger Nick Dekker now breaks 100,000 pageviews per month.

Columbus blogger Nick Dekker started his blog Breakfast with Nick in 2007 as a hobby. He grew up loving breakfast and started the blog as a way to remember the places he’d been and his experiences. Dekker now breaks 100,000 pageviews a month on his blog, has more than 11,000 followers on his related Instagram account and receives requests for sponsored content. He also published a guidebook to breakfast in Columbus in 2011.

An individual or a brand looking to launch a new blog should ask a few questions to hone in on a sustainable topic and voice:

• What do I know?
• What’s my personality?
• What am I passionate about?
• Who is my intended audience?
• How much time do I have to devote to this?
• What skills do I have (i.e., writing, editing, photography, technology)?

Just like other platforms, blogs should define an intended audience (or two or three, but that’s about the max). For Dekker, this audience is anyone living in Columbus or traveling to Columbus. “I always think of people in the city and helping them discover a new favorite spot, get to know new places that have opened or rediscover an old favorite,” says Dekker, noting the trend of using food to get to know places. With that audience in mind and knowing that 75 percent of his readers live in Columbus, Dekker uses his blog to help readers discover local food and things to do. This means he also provides images, addresses, websites, dietary restrictions and other logistical information since his readers often rely on the blog to find new places to eat.

In the video below, Dekker talks about the importance of finding a niche and establishing a trusted voice in that space.

[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhvuD_JDKnI?rel=0″ width=”560″ height=”315″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”]

Nick Dekker YouTube Interview

Breakfast with Nick blogger Nick Dekker talks about blogging.

Dekker says he follows advice he received early on from a fellow food blogger: the best thing you can do for your readers is to be honest and consistent. “If I gush about every place I go, it won’t seem honest. Having a trusted voice has helped me build a readership,” says Dekker. The voice in his blog – laid back, honest and passionate about food – built a niche that set Dekker apart from other resources offering formal culinary instruction or restaurant critiques.

Lauren Powers runs Columbus style and travel blog An Explorer’s Heart. She notes that a defined target audience is also helpful if the goal is to monetize the blog because brands appreciate knowing who you’re targeting with the content. Polaris Fashion Place, AMC Theatres and Modcloth are among the brands that sponsor Powers’ posts because they’re interested in the target audience she reaches.

Local blogger Lauren Powers rebranded her blog into An Explorer’s Heart to focus more on her key topics of style and travel.

A captivating voice baits the hook, but a blog won’t land a strong and returning readership if the content and mechanics behind the voice are subpar.

What are some examples of strong versus subpar content?

Timely and Current Connections
Blogging requires planning, because new posts should appear regularly. An established blogger, Dekker posts two to three times a week. He uses Google calendar to keep content planned two to three weeks in advance, and he schedules sponsored posts and paid work often a month or two in advance. Creating a content calendar helps ensure a steady flow of content and also encourages strategic and timely topic choices.

Beyond adding fresh content on a regular basis, the posts themselves should be timely. This might mean tying in to a current event or trending topic: in Dekker’s case, visiting a newly opened restaurant or offering “12 Ideas for Spring Brunch Season.” With a more timeless or evergreen topic, content can link to current other resources or websites.

Dekker highlights Kittie’s Cafe in his blog, featuring unique offerings like the s’moretado.

Originality
Whatever the blog topic – food, fashion, sports, cars, vintage Barbie dolls – be original in the thoughts shared and the voice and writing style used to share them. Dekker speaks in his own voice about his experiences, keeping content casual and in the first person. He seeks out new and interesting restaurants and experiences and talks about them with his own personal spin.

Unique and fun visuals also add interest. Photos, other graphics and multimedia elements can bring the content to life and capture the attention of readers scanning the page. In a post about Kittie’s Café in Bexley, Dekker highlights key options at the WiFi and laptop-free café, including the s’moretado drink, one of the standout menu items to not only hear about but see.

Organization and Relevance
Good posts have a strong and relevant takeaway for readers. Maybe it’s helpful cooking tips or purely to entertain, but writers should know what they intend for the reader to gain from reading each post.

Keep an eye on word count and structure the content. It’s not a meandering diary entry. A typical guideline is 300-500 words, but it depends on the style of the writer and the blog. Creating a rough outline before writing can help writers organize key messages and place links and images.

Links
A blog post that starts a conversation and links to other great content mean readers never need to hit a dead-end. Links give readers a choose-your-own-adventure experience that lets them explore examples, dig deeper into the post’s main points or check out other perspectives. Use links to connect your blog content to other expertise, unique perspectives, resources or examples.

Links also force readers to choose between continuing on or clicking, so limit links to key outside sources and clearly show readers where links will take them. Avoid “click here” and use the text in the link to indicate where the link leads.

Visual Appeal
Images tell great stories and most blog posts fall flat without some type of photos, graphics or video. Dekker recommends using original artwork as much as possible, “especially considering the fact that we all carry small cameras with us.”

An Explorer’s Heart author Powers is also a photographer and includes multiple photos with each post to use both images and words to share information. In a 2016 post How to Plan a Trip to Aspen, Colorado this Fall, she includes 24 photos that illustrate different aspects of her content from scenery to fall leaves to local hot spots.

Powers illustrates the fall foliage and weather in Aspen.

Assume all existing images are copyrighted unless you prove otherwise. Ask permission (via email to create a paper trail) and then link back to the original image and include photo credit within the post. Read about author and blogger Roni Loren’s expensive and lawyer-filled experience

when she unknowingly posted a copyrighted photo, and her suggestions for avoiding this pitfall.

Proper Mechanics
Blogs position their writers as subject-matter experts. And it’s hard to build trust as an expert with spelling and grammatical mistakes, inconsistencies or other weak writing. Dekker says he uses the lessons he learned from journalism, skills like careful proofreading and fact checking.

Other fundamental to keep in mind:

• Using active verbs
• Crafting strong headlines
• Proofreading carefully for both grammar and spelling
• Relying on a stylebook for consistency
• Learning about and using keywords to help readers find your post
• Editing. Editing Again. And Again.
  
  

  This image features a local Aspen hotspot.

Powers agrees that a good blog posts needs not only great photos but solid writing.

“It should be informative and the best out there,” Powers says. “The competition is tough, so a post with 100 words and a

Lauren Powers pictures the scenic mountains and brisk weather of Aspen in the fall.

few mediocre photos won’t get you very far.”

Formatting Fit for a Scan
The majority of people don’t read online information word-for-word. They scan, and this means the length and format of online content should look different. These tips will help make your online content scanner-friendly:

• Cut online content to about half the word count (or less) than a similar piece of content intended for print
• Use shorter sentences and more, shorter paragraphs to allow scanners to digest smaller pieces of information
• Chunk the text by limiting content to one idea per paragraph when possible and separating paragraphs with a space to create visual breaks in the text
• Add subheads and make them meaningful so scanners get a good overview of available topics and can jump around in the text
• Look for information in the narrative that lends itself to a list format or series of bullet points
• Highlight keywords or subheads by making them bold or a different typeface (but use these sparingly so they still stand out)
• Avoid distracting backgrounds and difficult to read font colors and types

Blogging falls within the world of social media, which means it works best as a two-way street. Successful blogs thrive as part of a community and this requires conversations with readers and relationships with other bloggers. Thanking readers for comments, answering questions and commenting on other blogs, especially those on similar topics or in the same geographic area.

Cross-marketing a blog with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media profiles drives readership. Dekker’s @breakfastwithnick Instagram account highlights food images for his more than 12,000 followers and Powers posts fashion and travel photos for the 17,000+ followers on her @anexplorersheart Instagram, which drives additional readers to their blogs. Powers also considers other strategic ways to share her content, giving the example that a post about a small town in Ohio might benefit from a tweet that tags the visitor’s bureau and gets them to share the post.

Powers also recommends thinking strategically about the keywords used in a posts (the words and phrases that will make your post pop up when potential readers are searching online). She suggests looking at where those potential keywords rank on Google and whether there is strong competition for this topic.

“You need to find the sweet spot – a topic that is popular enough that people will want to read what you wrote, but also a topic that isn’t too popular, so you can get on the first page or two of Google,” she explains. Powers notes that Google is looking for the best content out there, so you need to position yourself as an “expert” on the topic you’re sharing.

For more details on keyword research and how to use keywords to optimize blog content for better search engine results, take a look at this VEIO design blog post: How to do Keyword Research for your Next Blog Post.

In many writing classes, students are expected to learn how to give feedback to their peers (commonly called peer review). At first, this may seem intimidating. You may think, “I’m not a teacher–how can I give useful feedback to another student?” What you CAN do is give your classmates an honest reaction as a reader and give advice based on your own experience. It is ultimately up to the person receiving the feedback to decide if they want to use the feedback they receive. If you feel unsure of your ability to give feedback, remember that you are learning from the process too. If you are unsure about the feedback you receive, you can choose to ignore it or check with your instructor. Being able to give feedback professionally is a powerful skill you will use throughout your career.

Giving peer feedback

When your role in peer review is to give feedback, your job is to help the writer by giving your reaction. Think about the kind of feedback you would like to get and also how you would like that feedback to be given. What follows here are some basic rules to follow for responding to someone else’s writing.

First, listen to the writer. What kind of feedback are they asking for? Do they want to know if their message purpose is clear? Do they have questions about citing sources? Make a note about what kind of feedback the writer has requested and keep that in mind as you respond.

Be kind. When you are receiving criticism, isn’t it easier to hear if the person giving the criticism is kind and respectful to you? Do the same for your peer. This doesn’t mean you avoid should avoid pointing out what could be improved; rather, it means you should take care to think about your tone, word choice, and delivery in providing feedback on things that could be improved.

Comment on the higher order concerns first. That means asking questions about anything that confuses you, checking to see if the writing did what the assignment called for, and considering if the order of the message makes sense.

Use “I” statements to help stay focused on your reaction to the writing. For example, instead of saying, “You aren’t clear in this paragraph,” try saying, “I’m confused in this paragraph. Did you mean X or Y?”

Be specific. When your feedback includes statements like “I liked it” or “It was good,” follow up with an explanation of exactly what you liked or thought was good. The same goes for criticism; say exactly what confused you or what was missing.

Ask questions. Use questions to clarify what the writer means, what the resources given are saying, and what the writer is trying to do.

Offer advice based on your own experience. Be specific and provide options, if possible. For example, you could say “If this were my message, based on my experience, you could do A, B, or C.”

Don’t try to make the writer sound like you. If a word is the wrong word, then note that. However, if you just think of a word you like better, that’s just a matter of style and voice.

Don’t edit your peer’s writing for them. If you find the writer has a lot of issues or errors with writing mechanics, such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence construction, paragraphing, please do make note these issues exist. However, the responsibility for correcting these errors and rewriting the material to correct these problems lies with the writer, not with you. Providing feedback is helpful, but rewriting someone’s work is plagiarism and can carry serious academic consequences.

Mention what works well AND what could be improved. Imagine you were throwing a ball at a target on the wall with your eyes closed. It seems reasonable to assume you might be missing the target more than you were hitting it. Now imagine if you only heard from those around you what could be improved. Based on that feedback of what you could improve, you may or may not be able to adjust your throws and get the ball on the target. Conversely, if you only heard from those around you what you were doing well, you again may or may not be able to adjust your throws and get the ball on target. However, by combining these two aspects of feedback–what works well AND what could be improved–you’re providing the person with a more wholesome view of their efforts and work, and providing them better guidance around how to improve. It does not serve them well to only provide one-sided feedback, so make sure you mention what works well AND what could be improved.

Make the most of peer feedback

Let’s now consider your role in receiving feedback. Are you eager to get feedback? Scared to share your work? If you are receiving feedback from your peers, remember that ultimately YOU get to decide what feedback to accept and what to ignore. If you don’t think the feedback is correct, ask your instructor what they think.

One way to improve the feedback you get is to ask for the kind of feedback you want. Don’t be afraid to give your peer reviewer some direction.

Listen to or read the feedback with an open mind. Consider that the peer reviewer is your reader. It’s good to know what a real reader got out of your writing.

If you aren’t sure about the feedback or feel upset about it, reconsider the suggestions after a break. It’s okay to say, “I’ll think about that.” If you feel that the reviewer is trying to change your style so that the paper doesn’t sound like you anymore, consider whether the feedback helps you make the paper better. If not, feel free to set that feedback aside.

Attribution

This chapter contains material from “Giving and receiving feedback” in The Word on College Reading and Writing by M. Babin, C. Burnell, S. Pesznecker, N. Rosevear, and J. Wood and is used under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.

• Scott, D., (2015). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Kretler, L. (2016, September 19). The Benefits of Blogging [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.frazierheiby.com/benefits-of-blogging/
• Dekker, Nick. (2017, June). Personal interview.
• Powers, Lauren. (2017, July). Personal correspondence.
• Dekker, N. “12 ideas for spring brunch season [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.breakfastwithnick.com/2017/04/11/spring-brunch-ideas/
• Dekker, N. (2014, April 4). “How do you want your eggs?” Eleven ways to cook an eggs [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.breakfastwithnick.com/2014/04/08/how-do-you-want-your-eggs-eleven-ways-to-cook-an-egg/
• Powers, L. (2016, September 30). “How to plan a trip to Aspen, Colorado this Fall [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.anexplorersheart.com/plan-trip-aspen-fall/
• Loren, R. (2012, July 20). “Bloggers Beware: You CAN get sued for using pics on Your blog – My story” [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://roniloren.com/blog/2012/7/20/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-for-using-pics-on-your-blog.html
• Winsauer, E. (2017, May 24). “How to Do Keyword Research for Your Next Blog Post” [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.vieodesign.com/blog/how-to-do-keyword-research-next-blog-post/

While watching or listening to a major media network, you may occasionally find yourself thinking, “Why is this story considered news?” Audiences assume that the role of the media is to provide them with the most important information about issues and events happening locally, nationally, and worldwide, however we know this is not always the case. News outlets are businesses (even the CBC is a crown corporation) and they are in the business of building and maintaining audiences that will either watch ads or pay a subscription for access to content. This means what is considered news is based on human interest as much (or more so) than what can be considered the most important information. Nonetheless, audience assumptions that journalists deliver on the most important information. Therefore, media outlets send an indirect message to audiences about a story’s perceived importance through selection and how much time and exposure they give a story. The study of this phenomenon is known as agenda-setting theory.

A story’s newsworthiness is largely determined by its news value, a standard that determines whether an event or situation is worth media attention. News value is referred to as “criteria used by media outlets to determine whether or not to cover a story and how much resources it should receive” (Kraft, 2015). Journalists and reporters are likely to spend their limited time and resources on a story that has many news values. Again this conception of news value is based on assumptions about human interest and what stories are most popular. For example, “If it bleeds, it leads” is an old newsroom mantra that captures the idea that news outlets often lead with stories that relate to violent, dangerous or disturbing incidents.

Public relations professionals who understand what constitutes newsworthy content can increase their chances of gaining media coverage for their brand or organization. In fact, there is a saying that “the most successful public relations professionals are those who think and act like reporters” (Caruso, 2011, para. 1). Because journalists are more interested in stories that will appeal to their readers or listeners, understanding the news value of your messages will help to enhance your company’s media relations and general coverage.

In the 1960s, researchers Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge examined news stories worldwide to determine their similarities (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). Their seminal study created the first news value list, which is still referred to today by journalists and public relations professionals. News values have evolved over time, and there is much debate over whether journalists should consider other criteria to select newsworthy content (see Dr. Meredith Clark’s article on considering a new set of news values). Currently, eight values are used to determine a story’s newsworthiness (Kraft, 2015). Some of the values’ names may differ slightly in other sources, but their meaning is the same.

Immediacy/Timeliness

Events or stories that have recently taken place or will happen in the immediate future have immediacy or timeliness. Breaking news stories or stories about unexpected events that are developing are good examples. Media gatekeepers (e.g. reporters and editors) deem these stories so important that they often interrupt regular broadcast schedules to immediately give audiences the information. Recent happenings typically carry more news value than less timely events.

Timeliness also takes into consideration factors such as seasonal events, commemorations, and holidays. A PR professional may pitch a story to the media about an organizational activity that connects with this type of timeliness—for example, a company fundraiser that distributes toys to low-income children during the holiday season.

Proximity

Proximity considers the location of the event in relation to the target audience of the media outlet. Audiences are more likely to pay attention to stories that take place in their local communities. For example, a news station in Vancouver usually wouldn’t cover day-to-day events about Toronto City Hall. However, happenings at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) often get coverage in British Columbian news outlets.

Human interest

Stories that are emotionally compelling capture the audience’s attention and appeal to their attitudes and beliefs. Feature articles often are good examples of human interest stories when they depict a person, organization, or community in a way that triggers an emotional connection between the audience and the characters. Other examples are a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an athlete or the story of a person struggling to overcome an obstacle.

Currency

Topics that are trending in traditional news media and social media, are considered newsworthy. “Hot topics of the day” or stories that are in the general public discourse are other examples. Many media outlets cover stories about memes that go viral on social media. Since many people discuss and debate these memes, news outlets will often decide to cover the story. However, topics that have currency value generally have a short life span in the news cycle because they are discussed only briefly by the public.

Prominence

Stories that feature well-known individuals or public figures such as politicians and entertainers carry news value. News outlets covered the story when model Tyra Banks completed a management program at Harvard’s School of Business. Banks’s celebrity profile raised the news value of a story that would have received little or no attention had it involved just about anyone else.

Impact

The United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union in June 2016 had global implications, and many media outlets in the U.S. and abroad reported the story. However, British news stations such as BBC News and Sky News covered the event more extensively than American media did because the decision impacts Britain’s economy and citizens much more so than Americans. Generally, people are more likely to care about stories that directly affect their lives; therefore, media gatekeepers often devote more time and resources to stories that have implications for their respective audiences.

Novelty

Stories that are odd, unusual, shocking, or surprising have novelty value. An example would be a story about an unusual animal friendship, such as that between a dog and a deer. Because such a friendship is not a normal occurrence, it sparks the curiosity of audiences. In 2015, CNN covered a story about a weatherman who was able to correctly pronounce the extremely long name of a Welsh village. Take a look at this clip of the story:

[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCGkqUr1kbY” width=”560″ height=”315″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”]

Weatherman pronounces long village name (Source: CNN)

Conflict

Strife or power struggles between individuals or ethnic groups or organizations contain a conflict value and often grab the attention of audiences. For example, stories about war, crime, and social discord are newsworthy because their conflict narrative spurs interest. The continuous coverage by U.S. media outlets of worldwide terrorism is another example. Stories about major sports competitions, such as the National Basketball Association finals or the Super Bowl, also contain a conflict element because teams are vying for a prestigious title.

While the structure of news stories has changed over time, the overall purpose remains the same. News writing informs and entertains readers and listeners. News stories give citizens information about events happening both in their communities and around the world and therefore play an essential role in shaping their viewpoints and general ideas. We can know what is happening in a foreign country without traveling there, or develop an opinion about a public figure without meeting the person.

Public relations writers produce material that they hope will find its way into the news stream. They provide information that helps explain their clients’ facts, framing of a controversy, or opinions. Producing the material in a format that makes it easier for journalists to adapt to their own purposes is very important. Alissa Widman Neese, a Columbus Dispatch reporter, discusses the nature of news writing in the video below.

[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/aj8J2D73SsQ” width=”640″ height=”360″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”]

Discussion on News Writing with Alissa Widman Neese

As you pursue a career in public relations, consider the responsibility you will have in influencing the opinions and attitudes of large numbers of people. PR professionals have the power to affect public opinion, whether through a news release, a feature article, or a website. Therefore, basic understanding of techniques and styles related to news writing is key to effectively using the media to shape the image of your organization, company, or client.

Straight news/Hard news

Stories that report only the most essential information in a concise and impartial manner are referred to as straight or hard news stories. This type of story typically follows the inverted pyramid style, which organizes information by descending order of importance or places the most newsworthy information at the beginning of the article. This style will be discussed in more detail shortly. Examples of hard news stories include those about political topics and crime.

“Newspapers B&W” by Jon S is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Features

The primary difference between a feature story and a straight news story is the style. A feature article is more in-depth than a traditional hard news article and uses the types of storytelling devices and details that you might find in novels. Feature stories are considered soft news and do not focus merely on the basic facts.

Writers typically have more flexibility to use a wider range of formats, provide rich descriptions, and include scene-setting anecdotes. Features often are given more space on the page and are accompanied by pictures, illustrations, graphics, maps, and other visual components. A profile of an athlete or a political figure is an example of a feature article. The characteristics of feature writing will be explained further in a later chapter.

Editorial

Although journalistic ethical standards call for general news writing to be objective in content and tone, newswriters also have the opportunity to communicate personal points of view about current events and topics. The editorial is a type of news story used to develop an argument about an issue and even sway readers’ opinions. The essay also represents the official view of an editorial board that determines what views to share after some kind of deliberative process.

In general, news stories are organized using the inverted pyramid style, in which information is presented in descending order of importance. This allows the audience to read the most crucial details quickly so they can decide whether to continue or stop reading the story. From an editing perspective, using the inverted pyramid style makes it easier to cut a story from the bottom, if necessary. Invented more than a century ago, the inverted pyramid style remains the basic formula for news writing (Scanlan, 2003).

“Inverted pyramid in comprehensive form” by Christopher Schwartz is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

It is important to note that some news stories do not strictly follow the inverted pyramid style, although the lead for a hard news piece always does. Furthermore, not everyone in the journalism field embraces the style; some detractors believe it is an unnatural way to engage in storytelling and present news to the public. Yet, proponents believe it is an efficient way to organize and share information in a fast-paced society (Scanlan, 2003). Therefore, it’s important for students to learn the style; one good way to do so is to regularly read hard news stories and pay attention to how the leads are structured. The lead (also known as the summary lead) and the body of the inverted pyramid style are discussed in the next sections.

A summary lead concisely tells the reader the main idea of the story or conveys its news value. Most journalists and editors believe that the lead should come in the first sentence or first few sentences of a hard news article. Reporters use the term “burying the lead” or “delayed lead” to describe one placed later in an article. A buried lead may give the impression that the writer wasn’t able to determine what the real newsworthy material was, and can therefore reflect poorly on his or her journalistic judgment. In features or other soft news stories that use more dramatic storytelling techniques, the lead sometimes is buried in order to increase suspense or add an element of surprise.

A summary lead should address the following questions:

• Who is the story about? orWho is involved?

• What is the story about? or What happened?

• When did the event take place?

• Where did the event take place?

• Why did the event take place?

• How did the event happen?

Keeping the 5Ws and H in mind when writing a news story will help you organize the content and find a focus for the article. News judgment consists of figuring out the organization of these aspects of the content and prioritizing them in terms of their importance. It’s not necessary to cram the 5Ws and H into one sentence for the lead; however, the lead usually should contain information about the Who and What.

Take a look at the lead in this article from the CBC.

Now, let’s answer the 5Ws and H for the lead:

• Who? Indigenous man and granddaughter and Bank of Montreal and Vancouver Police Department

• What? Human rights complaint filed

• When? Complaint filed on date of story, but in response to being handcuffed last year (second paragraph specifies Dec. 20)

• Where? Vancouver

• Why? Handcuffed while trying to open an bank account (false report of fraud to police)

• How? Legal action

In this case, the How of the story is not directly addressed in the summary lead, because of the complexity of the issue. Still, the reader can easily understand the main idea of the article. When you’re practicing writing summary leads, remember to keep the sentence(s) relatively concise, with no more than 30 words.

Once you’ve created the lead, give the reader more information in the body of the article. This is your opportunity to elaborate on what else you know about the story. In keeping with the inverted pyramid style, present the information in decreasing order of importance, not necessarily in chronological order. The least important details should appear at the end of the article, where they could be omitted by an editor if necessary.

Use direct and indirect quotes from sources to tell the reader the origin of the information (there is more about this below), and remember to maintain an objective tone. Use the third person; avoid pronouns such as I, me, you, or us that are more suited to opinion pieces. Use short, simple sentences and organize them into paragraphs of no more than three or four sentences.

Indicate the source(s) of the information presented in the article through attribution, which typically takes the form of paraphrases as well as direct and indirect quotes. Attribution is very important in media writing, as it helps to establish an objective tone and adds credibility to an article (Harrower, 2012). Attribution also explains how the writer retrieved the information and why a particular source was quoted. Most of a story’s major information should be attributed, through phrases such as “she said” or “according to a recent report.”

Attribution can be placed at the beginning of a sentence to introduce information or added after a statement. Pay close attention to verb tense and choice when attributing sources. For example, the most common verbs used for attributing human sources are “said,” “stated,” and “asked.” For records or documents, use “reported,” “claimed,” and “stated.” Direct quotes should be surrounded by quotation marks and include the source’s exact words. Paraphrased statements and indirect quotes should not be placed in quotation marks.

Here are examples of attributed statements:

• “The libraries are usually crowded and filled with students around this time in the semester,” said Laura Skyborn, a KPU librarian.

• A heavy cloud of smog hung over the city Wednesday, Metro Vancouver officials said.

• According to a statement from the Premier’s Office, the Premier will announce his cabinet picks on Monday.

When initially referencing a human source, include the person’s full name and titled. Use only the last name for subsequent references.

Include important qualifiers with the first reference to demonstrate that the source has expertise on the topic. For example:

• “Using role-plays in the classroom enhances student engagement,” said Andrew Frank, a public relations instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Notice that the direct quote with attribution uses the qualifier “public relations instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University” to indicate the source’s credibility.

Qualifiers are also used to explain a source’s relevance to the topic. The following example might be used in a news article reporting on a crime.

• “It was just complete chaos in the street. The police were trying very hard to catch the assailants,” eyewitness Angela Nelson said.

The qualifier “eyewitness” helps to establish Nelson’s relevance to the narrative.

Finally, attribution should flow well within the story. Avoid using long qualifiers or awkward phrases.

A headline concisely states the main idea of the story and is further elaborated on in the lead. It should clearly convey a complete thought. Headlines have become increasingly important in today’s society; people tend to look only at headlines rather reading complete stories, especially online. An effective headline encourages the reader to take the time to read the article.

Print versus web headlines

This print news headline includes a subheadline and an image that provides context, and uses an attention-grabbing phrase. “The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON Canada” by Cliff is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Print headlines tend to be concise (using fewer than six or seven words) and straightforward. Online headlines tend to be longer and use catchy language. Images, captions, and subheadlines are more common with print headlines than web headlines (Davis & Davis, 2009).

Web headlines usually appear as links that lead the reader to the actual article. Given the acceleration of media consumption, many readers simply want to know the basic information about an event. The headlines used with web publications give readers enough information to understand what is happening without reading the story.

How to create a headline

Writing headlines take practice. You need to select words carefully and use strong writing in order to entice the audience to read the article.

Create the headline after you finish writing the article so that you have complete understanding of the story. Focus on how you can communicate the main idea in a manner that will capture the reader’s attention. Also focus on key words. Use present-tense verbs for headlines about events in the past or present. For events in the future, use the infinitive form of the verb: for example, “Local store to open new location.”

Caruso, D. (2011). What makes a good PR pro: A degree or a journalism background? Ragan.com. Retrieved from: http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/What_makes_a_good_PR_pro_A_degree_or_a_journalism_43397.aspx

Davis, S. & Davis, E. (2009). Think like an editor: 50 strategies from the print and digital world. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Galtung, J. & Ruge, M.H. (1965). The structure of foreign news: The presentation of the Congo, Cuba and Cyprus crises in four Norwegian newspapers. Journal of Peace Research, 2(1), 64-90.

Harrower, T. (2012). Inside reporting. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Kraft, N. (2015, August 12). COMM 2221-News Value [YouTube video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akgY46ejiQY

Scanlan, C. (2003). Writing from the top down: Pros and cons of the inverted pyramid. Poynter. Retrieved from: http://www.poynter.org/2003/writing-from-the-top-down-pros-and-cons-of-the-inverted-pyramid/12754/

Effective public relations writing draws from news writing principles, because the news media is one of the preferred channels for promoting products, services and issues. However, news writing and public relations writing differ in terms of audience, tone, and media channels. News writing should be objective in tone, with the purpose of presenting information to educate an audience about newsworthy events. On the other hand, public relations writing advocates for the client. It is informative, but also persuasive, and it should influence key publics’ perception of the organization. Some would also argue that public relations writing is even more concise than news writing.

Reporters usually write for one audience: readers or listeners of the respective media outlet. Public relations professionals may have to write for a variety of audiences, including internal audiences (such as employees, shareholders, and distributors) and external audiences (such as the media, customers, volunteers, and influencers). News writing uses one primary communication channel, the news outlet. Public relations professionals use a variety of channels to distribute their messages, including news media, social media, advertisements, blogs, media kits, and many more.

The news release (or press release) is one of the most common communication materials written by public relations professionals. News releases are sent to outlets such as newspapers, broadcast stations, online news sites and magazines to deliver a strategic message from an organization that the media ideally will publish or broadcast. The primary audience for the news release is reporters and editors, although some organizations publish news releases on their own websites for audiences to view. This may be done due to shrinking newsroom staffs and insufficient resources to develop original content.

Journalists use news releases as a reporting tool, relying on them to provide essential information and therefore make it easier for them to cover a variety of events. With the increase in media channels and demand for social content, some view news releases as an uninteresting way to distribute information and connect with audiences (Galant, 2014). Others see them as a concise and straightforward way to communicate to key publics.

Although the emergence of digital media has challenged public relations professionals to think of nontraditional ways to garner publicity, the use of news releases is still widespread in the profession. Therefore, public relations practitioners should know how to write an effective news release.

Traditionally, news releases use the inverted pyramid style, which makes it easy for journalists and editors to receive the most essential information first. This means the news hook should be revealed in the headline, subhead and lead of the release. Journalists will not take your news release seriously if the content is not newsworthy and it is not written in an accepted style, such as CP style. Make sure that the news release contains attributed information with proper sources and is error free.

Before writing the release, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the announcement or event newsworthy? Does it appeal to the media outlet’s audience? Some announcements do not warrant a release and can simply be posted on the company website.
• What is the key message? What should the reader take away?
• Who is the target audience for the release? Although you’re writing the release for the media, you need to keep in mind the kind of readers or listeners you hope to attract.

In this video, Gina Bericchia, senior media strategist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, discusses proper news release writing.

[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdZz5mBsLZU” width=”640″ height=”360″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”]

Discussion on Press Release Writing with Gina Bericchia

News releases are sometimes written on company letterhead, with the words “News Release” at the top left corner of the page, however for most applications, releases are sent directly to journalists by email or via a newswire service like Canada Newswire and the formatting is just simple text.

The body of the news release should be written using news writing techniques and style. Be sure to include a headline (often 14 pt bold); you also may include a subheadline which is normally written as a single sentence (12 pt), followed by dateline (location and date where the news is taking place), a summary lead paragraph and the body of the news release (12 pt or 11 pt unbolded). Foe example, below is the news release that was written and sent to media resulting in the CBC article referenced earlier. 

Be sure to use the inverted pyramid to organize the information throughout the news release. Include at least two quotes, one from the company or organization and another from a third party (example: customer, volunteer, current or former attendee at the event) if possible. After you’ve finished with the body, you can include boilerplate at the end of the document. The boilerplate provides information about the company or organization, similar to the “About Us” section that you might find on a company website.

The news release should be as concise as possible and ideally no longer than one page.

Media kits (sometimes called press kits) are packages or website pages that contain news resources for editors and reporters and sometimes promotional materials. The purpose is to provide detailed information about a company in one location. Although a media kit delivers more information than a news release, the overall goal is similar: to secure publicity for a company or client.

Major events or stories that require more information than is typically included in a news release warrant a media kit. Examples include a company merger, the launch of a new product, a rebranding campaign, or a major change in organizational leadership. Media kits can be hard copy or digital. Hard-copy media kits use folders with the company logo, whereas digital media kits use a website page or are sent in a zip file via email.

The following materials are often found in a media kit:

• Backgrounder
• News release
• Fact sheet
• Publicity photos or list of photo opportunities
• Media advisory / Media alert

Click here for information on how to assemble a media kit.

Backgrounder

A backgrounder contains the history of a company and biographies of key executives. The purpose is to supplement the news release and explain the company’s story or event, products, services, and milestones. It is in paragraph format and relatively brief (one to two pages). Click here for a sample corporate backgrounder from GainSpan, a semiconductor company (creator: Javed Mohammed).

Fact Sheet

A fact sheet provides a summary of an event, product, service, or person by focusing only on essential information or key characteristics. It is more concise than a backgrounder and serves as a quick reference for reporters. However, the fact sheet is not meant for publication. The headings of a fact sheet vary; the creator of the document chooses how to categorize major information. The most common type of fact sheet is the organizational profile, which gives basic information about an organization. This includes descriptions of products or services, annual revenues, markets served, and number of employees.

The standard fact sheet contains a company letterhead and contact information. The body is single-spaced, with an extra space between paragraphs and subheadings. Although the fact sheet is typically one page, put the word “-more-” at the bottom of the first page to indicate additional pages. To make it easy to read, group similar information together and include bulleted items if appropriate.

Click here for an example of a fact sheet. Keep in mind that the subheadings/categories used in this example may not be used in another one. Writers have flexibility in the categories they choose in a fact sheet.

Media Advisory or Media Alert

There are times when announcements do not require the distribution of a news release, but rather a concise notice to the media. This is called a media alert or media advisory. Media alerts are memos to reporters about an interview opportunity, press conference, or upcoming event. They use the 5Ws and H format to quickly deliver information.

The illustration below explains the key differences between a press release and a media advisory:

Here are some examples of media alerts:

• Economic Policy Institute
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Galant, G. (2014). The end of the press release? PR Say: The Voice of Public Relations. Retrieved from: http://prsay.prsa.org/2014/05/22/the-end-of-the-press-release/

White, R. (2016). 13 PR truths—how many do you believe? PR Daily. Retrieved from: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/0eb7ac16-f3f1-4fc5-a467-32d56b4ba7f4.aspx

At the core of all public relations writing is research. You can’t write knowledgeably or persuasively about something without a clear understanding of it. Whether a new product, service, technological process or pressing social issue, the PR writer needs to develop an above-average understanding of what they are writing about to write convincingly and strategically about the subject. This information can be gathered through a mixture of primary research, including interviews, and secondary research, including accessing company materials, articles and academic studies. In most organizations, there will be experts or specialists who can help the PR writer understand what is being written about, but it all starts with asking and answering clear questions.

Both professional researchers and successful student researchers develop research questions. That’s because research questions are more than handy tools; they are essential to the research process.

By defining exactly what you are trying to find out, these questions influence most of the rest of the steps taken to conduct the research. That’s true even if the research is not for professional or academic purposes but for other areas of our lives. For instance, if you’re seeking information about a health problem in order to learn whether you have anything to worry about, research questions will make it possible for you to more effectively decide whether to seek medical help–and how quickly. Or, if you’re researching a potential employer, having developed and used research questions will mean you’re able to more confidently decide whether to apply for an internship or job there. The confidence you’ll have when making such decisions will come from knowing that the information they’re based on was gathered by conscious thought rather than serendipity and whim.

Narrowing a topic

Narrowing a topic is a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your specific writing task/project) and narrow down until you’ve focused enough to be able to tell precisely what you want or need to find out, instead of only what you want to “write about.”

Process of narrowing a topic

Visualize narrowing a topic as starting with all possible topics and choosing narrower and narrower subsets until you have a specific enough topic to form a research question.

All possible topics – You’ll need to narrow your topic in order to do research effectively. Without specific areas of focus, it will be hard to even know where to begin.

Assigned topic – Ideas about a narrower topic can come from anywhere, but in the PR context, they will be based on the communication goals of your written piece, as determined by a communications plan or creative brief (or an informal set of communication goals relayed to you by a client or manager/director).

Topic narrowed by initial exploration – It’s wise to do some more reading about the narrower topic to a) learn more about it and b) learn specialized terms used by professionals and scholars who study it.

Topic narrowed to research question(s) – A research question defines exactly what you are trying to find out. It will influence most of the steps you take to conduct the research. A PR writing project may require answers to more than one research question. The best way to determine what these questions might be is to put yourself in the shoes of your audience: what do they need or want to know about the subject? What questions might they ask? What questions would a journalist ask?

Background reading

It’s wise to do some more reading about your narrower topic once you have it. For one reason, you probably don’t know much about it yet. For another, such reading will help you learn the terms used by professionals and scholars in the field of your narrow topic. Those terms are certain to be helpful when you’re looking for sources later, so jot them down or otherwise remember them.

For instance, if you were going to do research about the treatment for humans with bird flu, this background reading would teach you that professionals and scholars usually use the term avian influenza instead of bird flu when they write about it (often, they also use H1N1 or H1N9 to identify the strain.) If you didn’t learn that, you would miss the kinds of sources you’ll eventually need for your project.

Most sources other than journal articles are good sources for this initial reading, including the Globe and Mail or other mainstream news outlets, Wikipedia, encyclopedias for the discipline your topic is in, dictionaries for the discipline, and manuals, handbooks, blogs, and web pages that could be relevant.

After this upfront work, you’re ready to start developing the research question(s) you will try to answer.

Developing your research question

Because of all their influence, you might worry that research questions are very difficult to develop. Sometimes it can seem that way. But luckily, none of us has to come up with perfect ones right off. It’s more like doing a rough draft and then improving it. That’s why we talk about developing research questions instead of just writing them.

Steps for developing a research question

The steps for developing a research question, listed below, can help you organize your thoughts.

Step 1: Pick a topic (or consider the one assigned to you).

Step 2: Write a narrower/smaller topic that is related to the first.

Step 3: List some potential questions that could logically be asked in relation to the narrow topic.

Step 4: Pick the question(s) that most closely align with your communications goals.

Step 5: Revise the question(s) you’ve selected so that they are more focused and less vague.

Attributions

This chapter contains information taken from multiple sources:

• The Purpose of Research Questions, Narrowing a Topic, Background Reading, Developing your Research Question, and Regular vs Research Questions in Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research, which is used under a CC-BY 4.0 International license
• The Research Process in Business Writing for Everyone, which is used under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.

This section about categorizing sources will increase your knowledge about them and save you time in the long run because you’ll understand the “big picture”. That big picture will be useful as you plan your own sources for a specific writing project.

You’ll usually have a lot of sources available to meet the information needs of your projects. In today’s complex information landscape, just about anything that contains information can be considered a potential source.

Here are a few examples:

• Books and encyclopedias
• Websites, web pages, and blogs
• Magazine, journal, and newspaper articles
• Research reports and conference papers
• Field notes and diaries
• Social media posts
• Photographs, paintings, cartoons, and other art works
• TV and radio programs, podcasts, movies, and videos
• Illuminated manuscripts and artifactsArchitectural plans and maps
• Pamphlets and government documents
• Music scores and recorded performances
• People with expertise or experience on a particular topic

With so many sources available, the question usually is not whether sources exist for your project but which ones will best meet your information needs.

Being able to categorize a source helps you understand the kind of information it contains, which is a big clue to (1) whether it might meet one or more of your information needs and (2) where to look for it and similar sources.

A source can be categorized by:

• Whether it contains quantitative or qualitative information or both
• Whether the source is objective (factual) or persuasive (opinion) and may be biased
• Whether the source is a scholarly, professional or popular publication
• Whether the material is a primary, secondary or tertiary source
• What format the source is in

As you may already be able to tell, sources can be in more than one category at the same time because the categories are not mutually exclusive.

Quantitative or qualitative

One of the most obvious ways to categorize information is by whether it is quantitative or qualitative. Some sources contain either quantitative information or qualitative information, but sources often contain both.

Many people first think of information as something like what’s in a table or spreadsheet of numbers and words. But information can be conveyed in more ways than textually or numerically.

Quantitative information – Involves a measurable quantity—numbers are used. Some examples are length, mass, temperature, and time. Quantitative information is often called data, but can also be things other than numbers.

Qualitative information – Involves a descriptive judgment using concept words instead of numbers. Gender, country name, animal species, and emotional state are examples of qualitative information.

Data Differences

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Fact or opinion

Thinking about the reason an author produced a source can be helpful to you because that reason was what dictated the kind of information they chose to include. Depending on that purpose, the author may have chosen to include factual, analytical, and objective information. Or, instead, it may have suited their purpose to include information that was subjective and therefore less factual and analytical. The author’s reason for producing the source also determined whether they included more than one perspective or just their own.

Authors typically want to do at least one of the following:

• Inform and educate
• Persuade
• Sell services or products
• Entertain
• Combined purposes

Sometimes authors have a combination of purposes, as when a marketer decides he can sell more smart phones with an informative sales video that also entertains us. The same is true when a singer writes and performs a song that entertains us but that she intends to make available for sale. Other examples of authors having multiple purposes occur in most forms of public relations writing and scholarly writing.

In those cases, authors certainly want to inform and educate their audiences, but they also want to persuade their audiences that what they are writing is a true description of a situation, event, or phenomenon or a valid argument that their audience must take a particular action.

Why intent matters

Authors’ intent usually matters in how useful their information can be to your research and writing project, depending on which information need you are trying to meet. For instance, when you’re looking for sources that will help you decide your answer to a research question or evidence for your answer that you will share with an audience, you will want the author’s main purpose to have been to inform or educate their audience. That’s because, with that intent, they are likely to have used:

• Facts where possible.
• Multiple perspectives instead of just their own.
• Little subjective information.
• Seemingly unbiased, objective language that cites where they got the information.

The reason you want that kind of resource when trying to answer your research question or explaining that answer is that all of those characteristics will lend credibility to the argument you are making. Both you and your audience will simply find it easier to believe—will have more confidence in the argument being made—when you include those types of sources.

Sources whose authors intend only to persuade others won’t meet your information need for an answer to your research question or evidence with which to convince your audience. That’s because they don’t always confine themselves to facts. Instead, they tell us their opinions without backing them up with evidence. If you used those sources, your readers will notice and may not believe your argument.

Fact vs. opinion vs. objective vs. subjective

Need to brush up on the differences between fact, objective information, subjective information, and opinion?

Fact – Facts are useful to inform or make an argument.

Examples:

• The sky is blue.
• Some countries follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and others follow International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Beethoven had a reputation as a virtuoso pianist.

Opinion – Opinions are useful to persuade, but careful readers and listeners will notice and demand evidence to back them up.

Examples:

• That was a good movie.
• Strawberries taste better than blueberries.
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are better than International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Beethoven’s reputation as a virtuoso pianist is overrated.

Objective – Objective information reflects a research finding or multiple perspectives that are not biased.

Examples:

• “Several studies show that some font types are more easily read by people with vision impairment than others.”
• “A 2017 study from Kwantlen Polytechnic University showed that adults have the same ability as toddlers in taking the perspective of another person.”

Subjective – Subjective information presents one person or organization’s perspective or interpretation. Subjective information can be meant to distort, or it can reflect educated and informed thinking. All opinions are subjective, but some are backed up with facts more than others.

Examples:

• “The simple truth is this: You should never use the Comic Sans font to write a business message.”
• “Resumes for graduating students should be as short as possible—ideally one to two pages.”

Primary, secondary & tertiary sources

Another information category is called publication mode and has to do with whether the information is:

• First-hand information (information in its original form, not translated or published in another form).
• Second-hand information (a restatement, analysis, or interpretation of original information).
• Third-hand information (a summary or repackaging of original information, often based on secondary information that has been published).

When you make distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, you are relating the information itself to the context in which it was created. Understanding that relationship is an important skill. Noting the relationship between creation and context helps us understand the “big picture” in which information operates and helps us figure out which information we can depend on.

Primary sources – Because it is in its original form, the information in primary sources has reached us from its creators without going through any filter. We get it first-hand (or are sometimes doing the original research ourselves). Here are some examples that are often used as primary sources:

• Diaries
• Advertisements
• Performances
• Interviews, focus groups and eyewitness accounts
• Data
• Artifacts such as tools, clothing, or other objects.
• Original documents such as tax returns, marriage licenses, and transcripts of trials
• Journal articles that report original research for the first time (the parts about the new research, plus their data)

Primary research is research that we conduct ourselves and often focuses on answering questions about current trends, issues, human behaviour, or is used to reinforce secondary research. For example, a telephone survey gathering opinions on the best options for the housing crisis, or an in-depth interview administered with the goal to gather personal insight on the culture and values of an organization. It is often undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into the topic by reviewing and analyzing secondary research. 

Secondary sources – These sources are translated, repackaged, restated, analyzed, or interpreted from a primary source. Thus, the information comes to us second-hand, or through at least one filter. Here are some examples that are often used as secondary sources:

• All nonfiction books and magazine articles other than autobiography
• An article or website that critiques a novel, play, painting, or piece of music
• An article or web site that synthesizes expert opinion and several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event
• The literature review portion of a journal article

Secondary sources allow you to broaden your research by providing background information, analyses, and unique perspectives on various elements for a specific communications goals. Bibliographies of these sources can lead to the discovery of further resources to enhance your research.

Secondary research involves the collection of data and information that exists and has already been published. Secondary research focuses on answering questions with past research studies and existing information.

Tertiary sources – These sources further repackage the original information because they index, condense, or summarize the original. Tertiary sources are usually publications that you are not intended to read from cover to cover but to dip in and out of for the information you need. You can think of them as a good place for background information to start your research but a bad place to end up. Here are some examples that are often used as tertiary sources:

• Almanacs
• Dictionaries
• Guide books
• Survey articles
• Timelines
• Bibliographies
• Encyclopedias, including Wikipedia
• Most textbooks

Popular, professional & scholarly sources

We can also categorize information by the expertise of its intended audience. Considering the intended audience—how expert one has to be to understand the information—can indicate whether the source has sufficient credibility and thoroughness to meet your need.

There are varying degrees of expertise:

Popular – Popular newspaper and magazine articles (such as The Walrus, the Globe & Mail, and Maclean’s) are meant for a large general audience, are generally affordable, and are easy to purchase or available for free. They are written by staff writers or reporters for the general public.

Additionally, they are:

• About news, opinions, background information, and entertainment
• More attractive than scholarly journals, with catchy titles, attractive artwork, and many advertisements but no footnotes or references
• Published by commercial publishers
• Published after approval from an editor

Professional – Professional magazine articles (such as Communication World) are meant for people in a particular profession and are often accessible through a professional organization. Staff writers or other professionals in the targeted field write these articles at a level and with the language to be understood by everyone in the profession.

Additionally, they are:

• About trends and news from the targeted field, book reviews, and case studies
• Often less than ten pages, some of which may contain footnotes and references
• Usually published by professional associations and commercial publishers
• Published after approval from an editor

Scholarly – Scholarly journal articles (such as Journal of Management Information Systems and Business Marketing) are meant for scholars, students, and the general public who want a deep understanding of a problem or issue. Researchers and scholars write these articles to present new knowledge and further understanding of their field of study.

Additionally, they are:

• Where findings of research projects, data and analytics, and case studies usually appear first
• Often long (usually over ten pages) and always include footnotes and references
• Usually published by universities, professional associations, and commercial publishers
• Published after approval by peer review or from the journal’s editor

Attributions

This chapter contains information taken from Categorizing Sources, Qualitative or Quantitative, Fact or Opinion, Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources, and Popular, Professional & Scholarly in Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research, which issued under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.

This section talks about how to identify relevant and credible sources that you have found online and through searches of library databases and catalogs, Google Scholar, and other specialized databases. Relevant, credible sources will meet the information needs of your research project.

Evaluating your sources is critical to the process of research. The CRAAP test allows you to analyze your sources and determine if they are appropriate for your research or just plain crap! The CRAAP test uses a series of questions that address specific evaluation criteria like the authority and purpose of the source. This test should be used for all your sources and it is not intended to make you exclude your sources, but to help you to analyze how you intend to use them to support your own arguments.

C = Currency: The timeliness of the information.

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?

R = Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
• Would you be comfortable citing this source in your writing project?

A = Authority: The source of the information.

• What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic? Do you trust the author?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .ca .com .edu .gov .org .net

A= Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

• Where does the information come from?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?

P = Purpose: The reason the information exists.

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

Attributions

This chapter contains information taken from Thinking Critically About Sources in Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide To Academic Research (used under a CC-BY 4.0 International license) and Evaluate What You Find With The “CRAAP Test” in Write Here, Right Now: An Interactive Introduction To Academic Writing And Research (used under a CC-BY 4.0 International license).

In this section, we’ll tackle how to use sources ethically, analyze them, and combine them to create effective public relations writing. 

But first: a note about the difference between workplace citation and academic citation.

In the workplace, especially in public relations, you may often find yourself using your colleague’s words without crediting them. For example, your boss might ask you to write a news release using text from a product description and to write quotes for the lead product developers. Many people might work on the same set of speaking notes or you might update a document written by someone else.

In public relations, your employer usually owns the writing you produce, so PR materials don’t often cite individual authors (though contributors are usually named in an acknowledgements section if it’s a large project/report). That doesn’t mean that you should take credit for someone else’s work, but in general a lot of sharing and remixing goes on within an organization.

That said, writers in the workplace often use a wide range of sources to build their credibility. Citation is not only an ethical practice, but it is also a great persuasive strategy, showing that your work is credible and anchored based on facts and information from other reputable sources. The citation practices you learn in school will therefore serve you well in public relations and the workplace in general.

In school in North America, the context is different. Unless your instructor specifically tells you otherwise, they will assume that you wrote everything in your assignment, unless you use quotation marks.

What is academic integrity?

Different universities have different definitions. Here is the definition we use at Kwantlen Polytechnic University:

It’s worth noting that other cultures have different – equally valid – definitions of academic integrity. By making you aware of what we mean by academic integrity in this context, you can be aware of the expectations that are being placed on you.

What is plagiarism?

Let’s take a look at a common definition of plagiarism. This one comes from Ohio State University’s First Year Experience Office: “At any stage of the writing process, all academic work submitted to the teacher must be a result of a student’s own thought, research or self-expression. When a student submits work purporting to be [their] own, but which in any way borrows organization, ideas, wording or anything else from a source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, [they are] engaging in plagiarism.”

While academic integrity calls for work resulting from your own effort, scholarship requires that you learn from others. In the world of “academic scholarship” you are actually expected to learn new things from others AND come to new insights on your own. There is an implicit understanding that as a student you will be both using other’s knowledge as well as your own insights to create new scholarship. To do this in a way that meets academic integrity standards you must acknowledge the part of your work that develops from others’ efforts. You do this by citing the work of others. You plagiarize when you fail to acknowledge the work of others and do not follow appropriate citation guidelines.

What is citing?

Citing is basically giving credit. If your source is well-cited, you’ve told the audience whose ideas/words belong to whom and you’ve told the audience exactly where to go to find those words.

Why cite sources?

There are many good reasons to cite sources.

To avoid plagiarism and maintain academic integrity

Misrepresenting your academic achievements by not giving credit to others indicates a lack of academic integrity. This is not only looked down upon by the scholarly community, but it is also punished. When you are a student this could mean a failing grade or even expulsion from the university. In the professional world, plagiarism can result in damage to your reputation as a PR practitioner, and you could lose your job.

To acknowledge the work of others

One major purpose of citations is to simply provide credit where it is due. When you provide accurate citations, you are acknowledging both the hard work that has gone into producing research and the person(s) who performed that research.

To provide credibility to your work and to place your work in context

Providing accurate citations puts your work and ideas into an academic or professional context. They tell your reader that you’ve done your research and know what others have said about your topic. Not only do citations provide context for your work but they also lend credibility and authority to your claims.

For example, if you’re researching and writing about sustainability and construction, you should cite experts in sustainability, construction, and sustainable construction in order to demonstrate that you are well-versed in the most common ideas in the fields. Although you can make a claim about sustainable construction after doing research only in that particular field, your claim will carry more weight if you can demonstrate that your claim can be supported by the research of experts in closely related fields as well.

Citing sources about sustainability and construction as well as sustainable construction demonstrates the diversity of views and approaches to the topic. Further, proper citation also demonstrates the ways in which research is social: no one researches in a vacuum—we all rely on the work of others to help us during the research process.

To help your future researching self  and other researchers easily locate sources

Having accurate citations will help you as a researcher and writer keep track of the sources and information you find so that you can easily find the source again. Accurate citations may take some effort to produce, but they will save you time in the long run. Think of proper citation as a gift to your future researching self!

Other challenges in citing sources

Besides the clarifications and difficulties around citing that we have already considered, there are additional challenges that might make knowing when and how to cite difficult for you.

You learned how to write in a different school system

Citation practices are not universal. Different countries and cultures approach using sources in different ways. If you’re new to the Canadian school system, you might have learned a different way of citing. For example, some countries have a more communal approach to sources. Others see school as “not real life,” so you don’t need to cite sources in the same way that you would on the job.

Not really understanding the material you’re using

If you are working in a new field or subject area, you might have difficulty understanding the information from other scholars, thus making it difficult to know how to paraphrase or summarize that work properly. It can be tempting to change just one or two words in a sentence, but this is still plagiarism.

Running out of time

When you are a student taking many classes, working and/or taking care of family members, it may be hard to devote the time needed to doing good scholarship and accurately representing the sources you have used. Research takes time. The sooner you can start and the more time you can devote to it, the better your work will be.

Shifting cultural expectations of citation

Because of new technologies that make finding, using, and sharing information easier, many of our cultural expectations around how to do that are changing as well. For example, blog posts often “reference” other articles or works by simply linking to them. It makes it easy for the reader to see where the author’s ideas have come from and to view the source very quickly. In these more informal writings, blog authors do not have a list of citations (bibliographic entries). The links do the work for them. This is a great strategy for online digital mediums, but this method fails over time when links break and there are no hints (like an author, title and date) to know how else to find the reference, which might have moved.

This example of a cultural change of expectations in the non-academic world might make it seem that there has been a change in academic scholarship as well, or might make people new to academic scholarship even less familiar with citation. But in fact, the expectations around citing sources in academic research remain formal.

How to cite sources

Now that we know why we cite, let’s learn how to cite. Citation and source use are all about balance. If you don’t use enough sources, you might struggle to write something that is convincing or well-developed. If you cite too much, you won’t leave room for your own voice in your piece.

To illustrate this point, think of a lawyer arguing a case in a trial. If the lawyer just talks to the jury and doesn’t call any witnesses, they probably won’t win the case. After all, a lawyer isn’t an expert in forensics or accident reconstruction or Internet fraud. The lawyer also wasn’t there when the incident occurred. That’s where witnesses come in. The witnesses have knowledge that the lawyer doesn’t.

But if the lawyer just lets the witnesses talk and sits there quietly, they’ll likely also lose the case. That’s because the lawyer is the one who’s making the overall argument. The lawyer asks the witnesses questions and shows how the testimony of different witnesses piece together to prove the case.

To cite sources, you should make two things clear:

• The difference between your words and the source’s words.
• The difference between your ideas and the source’s ideas.

This diagram illustrates the difference:

Attributing a source’s words

When you quote someone in your document, you’re basically passing the microphone to them. Inviting another voice into your piece means that the way that person said something is important. Maybe that person is an expert and their words are a persuasive piece of evidence. Maybe you’re using the words as an example. Either way, you’ll likely do some sort of analysis on the quote.

When you use the source’s words, put quotation marks around them. This creates a visual separation between what you say and what your source says. You also don’t just want to drop the quote into the document with no explanation. Instead, you should build a “frame” around the quote by explaining who said it and why it’s important. In short, you surround the other person’s voice with your own voice.

Tip: The longer the source, the more analysis you’re likely going to do.

Here’s an example of a way to integrate a quote within a paragraph.

According to Haudenosaunee writer Alicia Elliot (2019, p. 18), “We know our cultures have meaning and worth, and that culture lives and breathes inside our languages.” Here, Elliot shows that when Indigenous people have the opportunity to learn Indigenous languages, which for generations were intentionally suppressed by the Canadian government, they can connect with their culture in a new way.

As you can see, Elliot’s words are important. If you tried to paraphrase them, you’d lose the meaning. Elliot is also a well-known writer, so adding her voice into the document adds credibility. If you’re writing about Indigenous people, it’s also important to include the voices of Indigenous people in your work.

You can see that in this example, the author doesn’t just pass the microphone to Alicia Elliot. Instead, they surround the quote with their own words, explaining who said the quote and why it’s important.

Attributing the source’s ideas

When the source’s ideas are important, you’ll want to paraphrase. For example, Elliot goes on to say that when over half of Indigenous people in a community speak an Indigenous language, the suicide rate goes down (2019). Here, it’s the idea that’s important, not the words, so you should paraphrase it.

What is paraphrasing? Paraphrasing is when you restate an idea in your own words. It’s this last bit — the “own words” part – that is confusing. What counts as your own words?

When you’re paraphrasing, you should ask yourself, “Have I restated this in a way that shows that I understand it?” If you simply swap out a few words for synonyms, you haven’t shown that you understand the idea. For example, let’s go back to that Alicia Elliot quote: “We know our cultures have meaning and worth, and that culture lives and breathes inside our languages.” What if I swapped out a few words so it said “We know our cultures have value and importance, and that culture lives and exhales inside our languages.”?

Does this show that I understand the quote? No. Elliot composed that line with a lot of precision and thoughtfulness. Switching a few words around actually shows disrespect for the care she took with her language.

Instead, paraphrase by not looking at the source material. Put down the book or turn off your computer monitor, then describe the idea back as if you were speaking to a friend.

What information do I cite?

Citing sources is often depicted as a straightforward, rule-based practice. In fact, there are many grey areas around citation, and learning how to apply citation guidelines takes practice and education. If you are confused by it, you are not alone – in fact you might be doing some good thinking. Here are some guidelines to help you navigate citation practices.

Cite when you are directly quoting. This is the easiest rule to understand. If you are stating word for word what someone else has already written, you must put quotes around those words and you must give credit to the original author. Not doing so would mean that you are letting your reader believe these words are your own and represent your own effort.

Cite when you are summarizing and paraphrasing. This is a trickier area to understand. First of all, summarizing and paraphrasing are two related practices but they are not the same. Summarizing is when you read a text, consider the main points, and provide a shorter version of what you learned. Paraphrasing is when you restate what the original author said in your own words and in your own tone. Both summarizing and paraphrasing require good writing skills and an accurate understanding of the material you are trying to convey. Summarizing and paraphrasing are important skills that become easier to perform over time with practice.

Cite when you are citing something that is highly debatable. For example, if you want to claim that an oil pipeline is necessary for economic development, you will have to contend with those who say that it produces few jobs and has a high risk of causing an oil spill that would be devastating to wildlife and tourism. To do so, you’ll need experts on your side.

When don’t you cite?

Don’t cite when what you are saying is your own insight. Research involves forming opinions and insights around what you learn. You may be citing several sources that have helped you learn, but at some point you are integrating your own opinion, conclusion, or insight into the work. The fact that you are NOT citing it helps the reader understand that this portion of the work is your unique contribution developed through your own research efforts.

Don’t cite when you are stating common knowledge. What is common knowledge is sometimes difficult to discern. Generally quick facts like historical dates or events are not cited because they are common knowledge.

Examples of information that would not need to be cited include:

• Partition in India happened on August 15, 1947.
• Greater Vancouver is the 3rd largest population centre in Canada.

Some quick facts, such as statistics, are trickier. A guideline that can help with determining whether or not to cite facts is to determine whether the same data is repeated in multiple sources. If it is not, it is best to cite.

The other thing that makes this determination difficult might be that what seems new and insightful to you might be common knowledge to an expert in the field. You have to use your best judgment, and probably err on the side of over-citing, as you are learning to do research. You can seek the advice of your instructor, a writing tutor, or a librarian. Knowing what is and is not common knowledge is a practiced skill that gets easier with time and with your own increased knowledge.

Creating in-text citations and references

Now that we know what to cite and how to quote and paraphrase, we need to decide what format to use when creating our in-text citations and references. Your instructor will tell you whether they prefer MLA, APA, Chicago or another style format. Luckily, the Kwantlen Library librarians have come up with handy citation guides, which you can access on the Citation Styles section of the KPU website.

When to quote, paraphrase, or summarize

To build everything but the research question, you will need to summarize, paraphrase, and/or directly quote your sources. But how should you choose what technique to use when?

Choose a direct quote when it is more likely to be accurate than would summarizing or paraphrasing; when what you’re quoting is the text you’re analyzing; when a direct quote is more concise that a summary or paraphrase would be and conciseness matters; when the author is a particular authority whose exact words would lend credence to your argument; and when the author has used particularly effective language that is just too good to pass up.

Choose to paraphrase or summarize rather than to quote directly when the meaning is more important than the particular language the author used and you don’t need to use the author’s preeminent authority to bolster your argument at the moment.

Choose to paraphrase instead of summarizing when you need details and specificity. Paraphrasing lets you emphasize the ideas in resource materials that are most related to your term paper or essay instead of the exact language the author used. It also lets you simplify complex material, sometimes rewording to use language that is more understandable to your reader.

Choose to summarize instead of paraphrasing when you need to provide a brief overview of a larger text. Summaries let you condense the resource material to draw out particular points, omit unrelated or unimportant points, and simplify how the author conveyed his or her message.

Attributions

This chapter contains material taken from Chapter 10a – Citing Sources and Chapter 10b – Making An Argument Using Sources in Business Writing for Everyone (used under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license).

Social media are online communications platforms that allow people to share content. The phrase typically brings to mind sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok; however, there are many other forms of social media where people share photos, text, videos, podcasts, music, discussions, and ideas. Social media also include a range of professional communication forums, online review sites (for example, Google Reviews and Rotten Tomatoes), and microblogging (for example, Twitter).

Social media have become everyday communication tools for almost every demographic in modern society.

Many brands use social media to leverage their marketing and public relations efforts. Specifically, organizations can use social media to enhance brand awareness, roll out promotions, and build online traffic (e.g. for websites and online stores). Social media also provide opportunities to develop relationships with audiences through engagement and key messaging. Valentini and Kruckeberg (2012) note that “social media provide a relatively inexpensive means to communicate with, and, more importantly, to enter into a dialogue with strategic publics” (p. 11).

Several characteristics make social media a unique communication tool. First, social media users are content creators. People can create their own blogs, write a Facebook or Twitter post expressing their thoughts on an issue, or post a video blog (“vlog”) about their latest travel or food adventures on YouTube. This enables users to be active participants in the communication process. Audiences are more engaged with brand messages because they can provide feedback to companies, creating a two-way conversation.

Another characteristic of social media is instant communication. Audiences do not have to wait until scheduled news broadcasts to receive information because reporters and media outlets can bring the news directly to social media platforms. Furthermore, people can easily share and post news content on their networks. Social media also foster a sense of interconnectedness and community by bringing people across the globe together online. Those living in Canada can easily interact with those living in Australia. Valentini and Kruckeberg (2012) write that social media could not exist without their users, given that the interactivity characteristics create a community feeling. As noted by Green (2012): “Social media [provide] the means by which clusters of like-minded individuals can easily swap ideas and scrutinise data on public matters” (para. 4).

The rise of social media has had significant effects on society and communication professionals who write with purpose. Marketers use social media to enhance traditional efforts such as direct mail fliers and television advertisements. Social media also enable marketers to create interactive content for audiences. In the public relations field, social media give professionals easier access to journalists and news media outlets. For example, it is common for public relations professionals to reach out to reporters via Twitter.

In many ways, social media have made it easier for consumers to hold organizations, public figures, and large institutions accountable (Green, 2012), which is a good thing. Users can easily find and reveal information about a previous event involving an organization or individual, whether it was advantageous or damaging to the brand or the person’s reputation. Users can also provide instant public feedback by voicing their opinions via social media networks. Furthermore, social media have made it challenging for many organizations to control their brand and present a consistent message across platforms. Audiences can also generate information that can be damaging to a brand’s reputation. Take a look at this video from Sherry Lloyd, social media and marketing manager for Vineyard Columbus, who discusses brand management and the challenges of controlling a company’s identity in the social media age.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/writingforpublicrelations/?p=806

Many campaigns effectively use social media to produce beneficial effects. For example, Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign is a multi-year, multimedia campaign that bills itself as “the world’s biggest conversation about mental health,” with a goal of raising awareness and de-stigmatizing mental health issues. Since its start in 2011, the campaign claims to have generated over a billion interactions while raising millions of dollars in donations to support mental health-facing non-profit organizations and support services in Canada. Using the hashtag #BellLetsTalk the company’s initiative has successfully become a major convenor of mental health discussions, with social media influencers like the Duchess and Duke of Sussex (Meghan and Harry) sharing posts as part of the campaign. To help incentivize the sharing of its content, the campaign links sharing, starting discussions and watching short educational videos on the topic, to donations (e.g. every view of a video results in a small donation to mental health organizations). The company has also created online and offline supporter toolkits for people to share their stories online with friends and family using graphics, stickers, and discussion guides to have healthy conversations about mental health.

To be sure, this campaign has enhanced Bell’s reputation and increased brand awareness among consumers, but it has also made a significant impact. This example demonstrates the powerful utility of using social media to create reputation and relationship management campaigns for a good cause.

Instagram post from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex supporting the #BellLetsTalk campaign.

Identify the message goal

As with all purposeful communication, it is counterproductive to create social media messages that do not have a specific goal. Furthermore, social media message goals should reflect the organization or individual’s overall mission. Message goals can include increasing brand awareness, creating a favorable perception of an organization, and convincing an audience to buy a product. The goal should be clearly articulated in the content. It is also important to select the social media platform that would be the most effective at reaching the intended audience and accomplishing the message goal. Each social media tool has specific characteristics and audiences, which will affect whether the message goals are achieved.

Identify the target audience

Similar to other forms of public relations writing, social media messages need to be targeted. After identifying the key audience, examine what they’re talking about: their interests, attitudes, and beliefs. Social media content should reflect audience analysis and research findings. As you tailor the content of the message to this audience, do not exaggerate attempts to be interesting or relevant. Because social media messages are audience centered, they’re not necessarily grounded in what you personally think is appealing.

The lack of attention to audience analysis can have serious consequences. One example (and a good contrast from #BellLetsTalk) is a series of tweets from Sunny D in 2019, as explained by Inc.com in an article titled, “The 10 Worst Social Media Fails of 2019”:

These kinds of mishaps demonstrate the need for careful message and audience analysis. They also reinforce the point that although you may react favorably to a message (or think its funny, viral or catchy), your target audience may not.

Identify the organization’s social media approach

Communication choices should reflect organizational strategies. Wilson et al. (2011) have identified four general ways in which companies use social media. They are determined by the “company’s tolerance for uncertain outcomes and the level of results sought” (para. 2):

1. The Predictive Practitioner: This approach uses caution when sending out social media messages. Instead of launching a social media strategy that involves all departments in a company, only a specific department (example: marketing or human resources) uses its social media platforms. This allows more control of social media messaging and guarantees some level of certainty in accomplishing the stated objectives.
2. The Creative Experimenter: This approach accepts uncertainty and deploys small social media “experiments” to learn and improve overall business functions. Sometimes, businesses will take to Facebook or Twitter to receive feedback on products or business practices from internal (example: employees) or external (example: customers) audiences. The overall goal is to listen and learn from interactions; therefore, unpredictable results are accepted. 
3. The Social Media Champion: This approach takes strategies to a more advanced level. A designated team is in charge of the organization’s overall social media presence. The team also creates an official social media policy and guidelines for the organization. Larger social media projects typically use this strategy. Unlike the predictive practitioner strategy, this approach does not confine social media use to a particular department and considers social media messages across various functions. 
4. The Social Media Transformer: This strategy targets both internal and external audiences by launching large-scale projects that involve multiple departments. As with the social media champion approach, a team is devoted to planning, creating, and launching the organization’s social media projects. However, these projects are usually larger and more advanced than those using the social media champion approach. This strategy specifically considers how social media can influence business strategy, brand, and culture.

Organizations can use multiple approaches when designing a social media message. What is important is that they carefully consider their approach before writing and posting any content to social media platforms.

The goal of creating social media messages is not only to reach your audience, but also to achieve an intended effect. Proper grammar and punctuation are important in social media writing, as is accuracy. A careless error could undermine the credibility of your brand. Here are a few other factors to consider when writing social media messages.

Engagement, engagement, engagement

More than many forms of communication, social media messages need to motivate the audience to engage with the content. Several strategies can encourage engagement, such as responding quickly to feedback from audience members, creating contests, and inviting the audience to respond to a question. Including photos and videos in social media posts substantially increases engagement, as does integrating trending topics (Redsicker, 2014). This requires careful consideration and research that will pay off if the trending hashtags are chosen wisely. Hai Poke, a startup restaurant in Columbus, did this by tapping into the Pokemon Go craze in the summer of 2016. The restaurant launched a social media contest and created a fun, timely, interactive message.

“Poké” social media campaign image from Hai Poké’s Facebook page.

Consistency

The core message needs to be articulated across all social media platforms in a consistent way that conveys a unified voice. The message also needs to reflect the brand image; in other words, it should reinforce the brand “feel” or personality. When you think about the various social media fails you’ve no doubt encountered online, a major reason audiences often dislike a message is because its tone or content is inconsistent with the company’s brand personality.

Timeliness

Studies have shown a significant correlation between social media engagement (e.g. sharing activity, views and clickthroughs) and common work and break schedules (e.g. higher engagement before, after and during breaks in work, as well as on the weekend). Being aware of your audience’s social media habits is key to posting content at the right time to increase engagement.

#GetFound

Ensuring that your content is seen by your intended audience is largely dependent on a longer term social media strategy (building relationships, community, social capital and credibility), however hashtags (#) can be used to flag/signal that your content is part of a larger ongoing discussion (e.g. #COVID19). Depending on who your audience and stakeholders are, they may be using different hashtags to continue an online discussion about a specific issue. In the case of Twitter, doing a quick keyword or hashtag search can help reveal what hashtags are being used most often for any issues that your content and communications goal might relate to. Make sure to use hashtags correctly and somewhat sparingly (a long list of hashtags can sometimes come across as “spammy” and may be criticized by members of your audience).

Concise writing

Similar to news writing, social media writing is straightforward. Because you’re competing against countless other messages in the social media sphere, you do not have much time and space to capture the audience’s attention. This is especially the case with platforms that have character limits. You have to think carefully not only about what the message will say but how to say it in a concise manner that has the intended effect.

For more information on effective social media writing, take a look at this video with Nicholas Love, social media director at The Ohio State University:

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/writingforpublicrelations/?p=811

A/B Testing 

Social media content creators will often do small tests of their social media messages, almost like mini-focus groups, using either internal or external audiences. This is typically done by issuing two versions of the same message on a social media platform (the only difference being one key element that the writer wants to test), and seeing which version elicits more immediate and significant interaction from the audience. Through ongoing A/B testing, a social media writer can become aware of what forms of messaging resonate the most with their audience (e.g. specific words, phrasing, length, hashtags, use of emoji, images, invitations for engagement etc.). Hootsuite has an excellent short article on A/B testing here. 

Black, L. (2011). 5 smart social PR campaigns to learn from. Mashable. Retrieved from: http://mashable.com/2011/03/08/social-pr-campaigns/#zE8n38EXNOqB

Green, D. (2012). How to think about social media. New Statesman. Retrieved from:  http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/david-allen-green/2012/01 social-media-regulation

Redsicker, P. (2014). Social photos generate more engagement: New research. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved from: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/photos-generate-engagement-research/

Valentini, C. & Kruckeberg, D. (2012). New media versus social media: A conceptualization of their meanings, uses, and implication for public relations. In S. Duhe (ed.), New media and public relations (pp. 3-12). New York: Peter Lang.

Wilson, H., Guinan, P., Parise, S. & Weinberg, B. (2011). What’s your social media strategy? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2011/07/whats-your-social-media-strategy

Among the many tools and writing forms available to the PR practitioner for achieving communication goals is the feature article. Features are more in-depth than traditional news stories and go beyond providing the most important facts. The purpose of these stories is to provide a detailed description of a place, person, idea, or organization.

Although reporters and editors classify features as news stories, they are not necessarily structured using the inverted pyramid style. Instead, features use storytelling devices to help the reader connect with the overall narrative and its central characters. Features are particularly common in magazine writing, although they frequently appear in other mediums as well including newspapers, blogs, company websites and various social media channels. They can be written by anyone who wants to tell an in-depth story about their organization, a person, or even a product or service.

Profiles or personality features that give insight into a person’s role, experience, or background are one type of feature. Among the most common subjects of profiles are celebrities, athletes, individuals who overcome challenges, and high-profile executives.

Click here for more information on the different types of features.

It is important to understand the circumstances that warrant a feature piece from a strategic communication perspective. Communication professionals write feature articles to provide in-depth exposure for their client or organization. A feature can increase a client or company’s visibility and even help find new key audiences.

If you need to quickly get information about your client or organization to the media, a feature article may not be the best tool because it typically is longer than a traditional news story. However, you could write a feature article on, for example, your company’s new CEO to provide more background information to key audiences. Feature stories are also used in an organization’s internal communications, such as newsletters and magazines.

Overall, feature articles use an informative tone while incorporating creative and descriptive devices in order to increase audience appeal. Here is an example of a feature article from the New York Times. 

There are several important differences between feature articles and traditional news stories. Features typically are longer. Also, while traditional stories use a summary lead, feature stories use delayed leads or begin with an anecdote. The writing style is different. Traditional news articles tend to paraphrase information rather than state it verbatim, while feature articles use many quotes and emotional cues, focusing more on showing the reader what’s going on instead of telling. In this video, Chris Davey, assistant vice president for media and public relations at The Ohio State University, summarizes some of the differences between traditional news stories and feature stories and provides general tips for news writing.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/writingforpublicrelations/?p=852

Discussion on News Writing with Chris Davey

Unlike the traditional summary lead, feature leads can be several sentences long, and the writer may not immediately reveal the story’s main idea. The most common types used in feature articles are anecdotal leads and descriptive leads. An anecdotal lead unfolds slowly. It lures the reader in with a descriptive narrative that focuses on a specific minor aspect of the story that leads to the overall topic. The following is an example of an anecdotal lead:

Sharon Jackson was sitting at the table reading an old magazine when the phone rang. It was a reporter asking to set up an interview to discuss a social media controversy involving Jackson and another young woman.“Sorry,” she said. “I’ve already spoken to several reporters about the incident and do not wish to make any further comments.”

Notice that the lead unfolds more slowly than a traditional lead and centers on a particular aspect of the larger story. The nut graph, or a paragraph that reveals the importance of the minor story and how it fits into the broader story, would come after the lead. There will be more on the nut graph later in this chapter.

Descriptive leads begin the article by describing a person, place, or event in vivid detail. They focus on setting the scene for the piece and use language that taps into the five senses in order to paint a picture for the reader. This type of lead can be used for both traditional news and feature stories. The following is an example of a descriptive lead:

Thousands dressed in scarlet and gray T-shirts eagerly shuffled into the football stadium as the university fight song blared.

For each article below, identify whether it uses a descriptive or anecdotal lead:

• A thin line of defense
• Pediatric patient
• Inside Jay Z’s Roc Nation

The content in a feature article isn’t necessarily presented as an inverted pyramid; instead, the organization may depend on the writer’s style and the story angle. Nevertheless, all of the information in a feature article should be presented in a logical and coherent fashion that allows the reader to easily follow the narrative.

As previously stated, the nut graph follows the lead. This paragraph connects the lead to the overall story and conveys the story’s significance to the readers (Scanlan, 2003).

The nut graph comes from a commonly used formula for writing features, known as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) formula (International Center for Journalists, 2016). The formula was named after the well-known and respected publication, which created the term “nut graph” and mastered feature news writing (Rich, 2016).

The formula consists of beginning the story with feature-style leads to grab the reader’s attention, followed by the nut graph (Scanlan, 2003). After this comes a longer body of the story that provides the usual background, facts, quotes, and so on. The formula then specifies a return to the opening focus at the end of the story using another descriptive passage or anecdote, also known as the “circle kicker” (Rich, 2016). This could be, for example, an update on what eventually happened to the main character or how the event or issue turned out. This blog post provides a detailed example of the WSJ formula.

Literary Devices

Feature writers use a particular style of writing to convey the story’s message. The use of literary devices helps in this task. These devices include similes and metaphors, onomatopoeia (use of words that mimic a sound), imagery (figurative language), climax, and more. Here are a few examples of onomatopoeia and imagery:

Onomatopoeia: The tires screeched against the concrete as she hit the pedal.

Imagery (example modified from Butte College, 2016): The apartment smelled of old cooking odors, cabbage, and mildew; . . . a haze of dusty sunlight peeked from the one cobwebbed, gritty window.

Click here for more information on literary devices, including specific examples.

Descriptive Writing

A good feature writer uses plot devices and dialogues that help move the story forward, while focusing on the central theme and providing supporting information through descriptive language and specific examples. You want to show readers what’s happening, not simply tell them. They should be able to visualize the characters, places, and events highlighted in the feature piece.

Show versus tell

Tell: Friends describe Amariah as a generous and vibrant person who was involved in several nonprofit organizations.

Show: Tracey proudly recalls her friend’s generosity. “Amariah is usually the first person to arrive at a volunteer event, and the last to leave. She spends four hours every Saturday morning volunteering at the mentoring center. It’s rare to not catch her laughing, flashing her perfect smile. She’s just a burst of positive energy.”

It’s often tempting to end a feature piece with a summary conclusion. Instead, consider using an anecdote, passage, or compelling quote that will leave a lasting impression on your readers.

According to Wikipedia, “…lead generation (/ˈliːd/) is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business. Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition or for sales leads. The methods for generating leads typically fall under the umbrella of advertising, but may also include non-paid sources such as organic search engine results or referrals from existing customers.” 

In the context of lead generation, feature writing can be used as a form of content marketing, which involves creating content of value for specific online audiences, with the ultimate goal of converting them to leads. This form of writing requires the writer to be mindful of additional writing techniques like search engine optimization (SEO) and the strategic use of keywords to improve the likelihood of content being found by the audience through searches on search engines like Google.

In terms of a lead generation continuum, marketers often refer to a “conversion funnel” or “sales funnel” with audiences beginning at an “awareness” stage before progressing through to an “action” stage. Because feature writing is focused on creating a compelling narrative and less about “how-to” styles of explanatory writing or “take action” forms of persuasive writing, it is best positioned as content that can help to create awareness at the broad beginning of the conversion funnel.

Content can and should include common types of feature writing, but with additional thought given to the audience’s interests and values in the context of lead generation. For example, a compelling personal story might be used to offer insight about a specific issue or problem your audience might have, and may even briefly introduce them to a potential solution to the problem (ideally offered by your company or organization).

In the early stage of awareness building, the primary goals of your writing might be to position you or your organization as a trusted authority on a topic that matters to your audience, providing them with high value content that they enjoy reading and sharing. By building a relationship of trust with your audience, it’s more likely they will share your content and become potential leads themselves (e.g. signing up for a company newsletter or mailing list, following you on social media, becoming a member of your non-profit organization, or making a donation or purchase).

International Center for Journalists. (2016). Use these tools for the story structure. Retrieved from: http://www.icfj.org/resources/who%E2%80%99s-running-company-guide-reporting-corporate-governance/use-these-tools-story-structure

Literary Devices Editors. (2013). What are literary devices? Retrieved from: http://literarydevices.net/

Rich, C. (2016). Writing and reporting news: A coaching method. Cengage Learning: Boston, MA.

Scanlan, C. (2003). The nut graf, Part I. Poynter. Retrieved from: http://www.poynter.org/2003/the-nut-graf-part-i/11371/

In today’s job market, recent graduates entering the fields of public relations and professional communications need to demonstrate job preparedness beyond academic achievements. Excelling in the classroom is important, but many employers are just as interested in your work experience, expertise, and job-related skills.

Demonstrating your writing skills is an especially important component of a portfolio, and creating a collection of samples will help you in your next job interview. Portfolios, and their writing sections in particular (other sections might include examples of design work, earned media coverage, a resume detailing job experience and skills etc.), supplement what you’ve learned in the classroom. They provide an advantage in today’s competitive market by illustrating and marketing your skills and personal brand. Regardless of career level, strategic communication professionals should have a portfolio to showcase their work.

Online portfolios are increasingly common because many communication materials are digital. However, some employers may ask you to bring a hardcopy portfolio to an interview.

Click here to see an online portfolio for a Canadian Social Media and Content Marketing Professional (please note this portfolio includes sophisticated transitions between sections which are not a requirement, but do reflect the ability to work with customized website templates and designs): http://www.laurenmarinigh.com

It’s recommended that you create an online portfolio, such as a professional website, so that the general public can see your work. Send the online portfolio to professional contacts in your network or to potential employers before the job interview so they can see your writing samples and other examples of your work. As a precautionary measure, also print some of the writing samples and put them in a zip-up portfolio or a professional binder when you’re preparing for a job interview.

When considering what to include in the writing section of your portfolio, look at relevant class assignments or work produced in a previous or current role. Save everything in a file, especially work from a class that requires you to write common communication materials such as news releases, explanatory articles, features and social media content. If you do not have co-op, internship or other work experience, try to do volunteer writing for a nonprofit organization or small business that you might have a personal connection to. What matters is that you have writing samples to show, not whether you were paid to do the work (although you should be paid for your work!).

The first page of a hard-copy portfolio is usually a resume. Online portfolios include a description or summary of your professional background. From there, create clear sections and headings and arrange the content by article or document type. Tailor the portfolio to jobs or industries you’re interested in and by chronological order, with the most recent work first or at the top of the online portfolio. For example, if you’re applying for a job that requires proficiency in CP writing style, include writing samples that use this style, such as news releases or feature articles. If you’re applying for a job that requires social media writing skills, include social media posts that you’ve created for an organization.

Here’s a list of some of the materials you could include in the writing section of your portfolio:

• News releases
• Backgrounders
• Bios and profiles
• Website copy
• Feature articles
• Social media and blog posts (ideally that you have created for an organization)
• Media pitches (and ideally copies of any resulting news media coverage you secured from the pitch)
• A detailed communications plan for a public relations campaign

Include brief information about each document, such as the name of the organization it was created for and the date. Be ready to discuss your writing samples during a job interview and the purpose and strategy behind each one. You may explain why you created the material and the results that came from it, such as increased website traffic or social media followers.

For more examples of portfolios, ideas for how to organize them, and how-to articles on creating them, click on the following links:

• http://www.laurenmarinigh.com 
• https://generationpr.ca/what-to-include-in-your-online-communications-portfolio/
• https://maggiestanton.com
• Gari Cruze, copywriter
• Brandi Uyemura, features writer
• https://prsahouston.org/blog/id/37

An online portfolio can be created using a content management system (CMS). Common and popular examples, both free and paid, include WordPress (this is a link to KPU’s WordPress installation site for students), Drupal, Wix, and Squarespace. Other options for creating and hosting your online portfolio include purpose-specific CMS’s such as clippings.me or portfolio building options within social media platforms like LinkedIn.

As you work on more projects and articles, remember to include them in your portfolio. Make sure to constantly update your portfolio so that employers and professional contacts can see your most recent work. Include a minimum of two to three writing samples, although the quality of the portfolio materials matters more than the quantity (Lovering, 2016).

Lovering, C. (2016). How to make an impressive writing portfolio. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from: http://work.chron.com/make-impressive-writing-portfolio-3214.html

News Writing Versus Public Relations Writing

Effective public relations writing draws from news writing principles because the news media is one of the preferred channels for promoting products and services. However, news writing and public relations writing differ in terms of audience, tone, and media channels. News writing should be objective in tone, with the purpose of presenting information to educate an audience about newsworthy events. On the other hand, public relations writing advocates for the client. It is informative, but it should also influence key publics’ perception of the organization. Some would also argue that public relations writing is even more concise than new writing.

Reporters usually write for one audience: readers or listeners of the respective media outlet. Public relations professionals may have to write for a variety of audiences, including internal audiences (such as employees, shareholders, and distributors) and external audiences (such as the media, customers, volunteers, and bloggers). News writing uses one primary communication channel, the news outlet (which can be a newspaper or a television or radio broadcast). Although journalists are increasingly using Twitter to post their articles, this usually entails posting a link that directs the audience to the news outlet’s primary website. Public relations professionals use a variety of channels to distribute their messages, including news media, social media, advertisements, blogs, press kits, and many more.

Storytelling and the Information Strategy

The way information is crafted into the final media message depends on two key factors:

• how the message is being delivered (a story in a newspaper versus on a mobile device, a TV brand ad or one in an interactive magazine)
• the audience for whom the message is intended

The storytelling techniques you use must take into account the media format in which the information is delivered and the audience’s expectations for the message.

Storytelling by Beth Kanter. Source: Flickr. CC BY 2.0

While this course does not delve into the actual construction of the messages themselves – you will get those skills in your reporting or strategic writing classes – it is worthwhile to acknowledge some of the considerations that message creators must keep in mind – and the information requirements there might be for different storytelling conventions.

Goals of Storytelling

Storytelling can serve different kinds of goals. Determining the intention or purpose of the story or message is an important first step in crafting the message. As you have learned, messages can inform or enlighten people about current events or issues or about the availability of products or services. They can provide background and context to a discussion of ideas. Stories can be written to persuade people to make certain purchases or hold certain views. News, advertising and public relations messages perform some or all of these functions while employing different storytelling techniques and formats to communicate with audiences in the most effective way.

There are a number of different storytelling decisions to make as a producer of media content. Regardless of which type of media you are working within, it is important that you, the communicator, are aware of the fundamental storytelling devices you might want to use to tell your story in a way that is direct, efficient, and appropriate for the story’s objective. Therefore, you will want to have a full and accessible set of tools that you are ready to employ for any kind of message, depending on the type of media you are creating, your chosen channel of communication, as well as the specific style, tone, and needs of your story subject.

Characteristics of Good Storytelling

Usually the word “story” implies something fictional. But in the case of media messages, “story” refers to fact-based information about products, or events, or the actions taken by a company. The distinction between fiction and non-fiction stories is an absolutely critical one for you to grasp. It affects every decision that you make about the selection and evaluation of information for messages.

Good storytelling consists of knowing your audience. Is the audience going to be reading the story, hearing it, experiencing it in a non-linear fashion online? What kind of background information does the audience for the story already have about the topic?

Good storytelling also begins with a foundation in the subject matter. The storyteller must have a firm grasp of the subject matter in order to effectively communicate the story to someone else.

Good storytelling demands that the storyteller have command of the mechanics of writing.

Good storytelling understands how different media elements play into the effective telling of the story.

Good storytelling demonstrates ethical standards for accuracy, truth, verifiability, sufficient evidence, and information reliability. Non-fiction stories, especially, require a solid grounding in factual information that can withstand scrutiny by the most skeptical audience members.

Storytellers must deliver within the parameters and requirements of the story assignment.

They must:

• meet the deadline
• follow directions on the expected length and focus for the story
• meet the expectation for clean, distribution-ready copy
• use proper grammar, word choice, and style
• apply the appropriate story characteristics for the channel of message delivery

The information strategy skills you will learn in this course will provide you with the tools you need to meet these storytelling requirements. Moving confidently through the information strategy process will help you identify your audience, locate the relevant content for your message, ensure the accuracy of your information and provide the details that will make your message stand out.