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Exam 2 Flashcards

Ch 5-9 (63 cards)

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1
Q

Why should PR professionals know about news?

A

We are essentially trying to get some “free publicity” by presenting organizational news in a newsworthy light

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2
Q

Media gatekeepers

A

decide whether what we present to them is newsworthy or not
Gatekeepers provide news, not the PR Professionals

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3
Q

Paid Media

A

Controlled, paid, multi-channel
Paying for content to be seen by whom, where and when a brand seeks to place its message
Has gatekeeping

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4
Q

Earned Media

A

uncontrolled, credible, outlet-droven
PR Pros pitch journalists, blogs, social media influencers to “earn” media coverage.
No $$ is exchanged!!
Has gatekeeping

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5
Q

Shared Media

A

Uncontrolled, co-created, audience-centric
Brand ‘owns’ the content on its socials, but social media platforms control how their own platform works
No gatekeeping function

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6
Q

Owned Media

A

Controlled, diverse, brand-focused, content a business/organization owns
Things that consumers can’t mess with, any communication consumers can alter (ex: website, brochures you hand out)

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7
Q

News Interest

A

different media (print vs broadcast; local vs regional vs national) have different priorities when it comes to news based on their audience preferences

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8
Q

Elements of News Value

A

action
adventure
change
conflict
consequence
contest
controversy
drama
effect
fame
importance
interest
personality
popularity
prominence
proximity

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9
Q

4 characteristics most important for the PR writer to look for in news

A

significance
local interest
balance
timeliness

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10
Q

Categories of News

A

Hard news, breaking news, soft news and specialized news

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11
Q

Hard news

A

Information with an edge to it
Momentous events: accidents, crime, death, disaster, scandals and activities with immediate results such as elections and legal trials
Usually PR people do not generate hard news (except giving background information if asked for) but are often forced to respond to it especially if it is negative to the organization/industry

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12
Q

Breaking News

A

When events are underway even as the media are covering it
PR people are often forced to respond and should be ready to do so

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13
Q

Soft News

A

Lighter information
Human interest stories, leisure information, entertainment industry, development without major or immediate repercussions
EX: profile of a noted figure - Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce

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14
Q

Specialized News

A

Information that is important to particular publics and particular segments of society
- Financial/Business news
- Religion
- Sports
- Agriculture
- The arts

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15
Q

Systems Approach to finding news

A

gives us the concept of “linkages” between an organization and 4 key publics

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16
Q

4 Key Publics of the Systems Approach

A

Consumer publics
Producer publics
Enabling Publics (friendly groups)
Limiting publics (opposing activists)

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17
Q

Functional approach to finding news/creating news

A

identify the major activities of the organization and try to give a news angle to it

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18
Q

Components of the functional approach to finding news/creating news

A

Events: assemblies; open houses; special observances
Issues/Trends: environmental trends/issues; employee unionization…
Policies/Governance: vaccination mandates; mask mandates
Personnel: Accomplishments of organizational members
Relationships: neighborhood projects (community relations); CSR activities

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19
Q

Creating News

A

savvy PR professionals “create” news that is of public interest and thereby media interest also

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20
Q

How to effectively generate news on behalf of your client

A

Knowledge of the media - especially their news format and what they consider newsworthy
Knowledge of your organization/client - its mission and activities as well as goals especially in relation to specific publics
Knowledge of your publics - audience segmentation; audit of publics
Knowledge of your wider environment

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21
Q

News Peg

A

generating news by linking your organization to a topic already on the media agenda

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22
Q

10 activities PR practitioners can use to generate news for their clients and organizations

A

Award
Contest
Personnel
Local need
Report
Localized report
Campaign
Speech
Celebrity
Public Issue

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23
Q

News Style Writing

A

News writing has its own style, such as short sentences, stylistic practices (identifying people or attributing quotes), and conceptual factors such as objectivity
Short sentences: short sentences (average 16 words per sentence) that use short words (average 1.5 syllables)
Paragraphs also short – 6 lines max

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24
Q

Simple Language - News Writing

A

Past tense
Basic words
Distinguish between assertive statements vs statements of fact
Avoid opinion based superlatives (best, most useful, etc)
Avoid hard sell advertising terms
Prefer future forms of verbs

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25
Titles of People - News Writing
Formal titles - denote authority, professional activity or academic achievement Short functional titles - precede the name with no commas and without capitalization Long functional titles - precede or follow the name, set off by commas without capitalization
26
Attribution of Quotes - News Writing
Attribute information and opinions to a news sources of some repute or expertise A news source should be a person and not an organization (a spokesperson for the company said..) Words associated with the news sources are quotations (quotes) emerging from the interviews or printed sources Speech tag: “she said …” “he said…”
27
Five criteria in dealing with quotes in news writing
Authorized Natural Strong Strategic Appropriate
28
Objectivity, legal issues - news writing
True news writing involves dissemination of objective facts now opinions (news vs op-ed); attributed opinions are okay
29
Neutrality
distinguish news from promotion
30
Accuracy
spellings (especially or proper noun)
31
Defamation
the communication of false info that reasonable and average people in the community believe impugns the honesty, virtue, or reputation of a person, who is thereby exposed to public hatred, contempt, and ridicule
32
6 elements of defamation
Defamatory content: any communication (including photos and drawings) that holds someone to public hatred, contempt, and ridicule Falsity: the content should be proven to be false Identification: not necessarily by name but also by innuendo and clues Publication: information is disseminated publicly to a third party Fault: by the writer either due to carelessness or malice Harm: personal harm has to occur to the object of defamation
33
Defense against defamation
Substantial truth must be able to be proven in court Privilege is also a defense – public interest, judicial or official proceedings, etc Fair comment and criticism: right to critique and criticize in matters of public interest, as also parody (comedians) Statutes of limitations and comments in good faith (without malice) are some of the other defenses against defamation The bar is quite high in the US
34
Privacy
The right to be left alone – invasion of privacy is punishable
35
Three aspects of law may affect the PR writer
Private facts: personal info that is intimate and now legitimate public concern (health info, financial info) Intrusion: gathering info secretly from private interactions (not in the public sphere); checking individual state laws on rules Misappropriation: using a person’s name or image for commercial purposes without permission
36
Benefits of Earned Media
Often referred to as “information subsidy” we often give background information, facts, figures, etc that helps journalists Apart from being “free”, earned media also have higher credibility
37
Social networking such as facebook
Short text 40-140 characters Consistent posts (perhaps daily) Asking a question requiring a Y/N response gets engagement Invite readers to your website or youtube post for more info Keep videos short (2 min MAX)
38
Social Media Categories
Social networking such as facebook Microblogging such as twitter and tumblr Photo Sharing sites such as instagram and snapchat Video sharing sites such as youtube or vimeo
39
Difference between blogs and wiki
Blogs: like a call in talk show with one host and many callers Wiki: a panel show with several participants asking questions and giving comments while the audience listens
40
Wiki Ethics - Whitewashing
Writing that deceptively glosses over failings, scandals, crimes and any other problems
41
Wiki Ethics - Greenwashing
unwarranted touting of an organization or product as being environmentally friendly
42
Wiki Ethics - Bluewashing
unwarranted touting of an organization as being socially responsible or having humanitarian motivations
43
Key elements of websites and blogs
examples of owned media - total control over the message, timing and presentation structure, graphics, organization and writing
44
Website Writing
Combined with organization of your thoughts, we also need to pay attention to writing Communicating messages - unfortunately many techies are given control over websites and they are not the most effective in communication of messages
45
Effective web writing tips
Write half as long as in other venues Use meaningful subheads Highlight key words, either with hypertext or with different font or color Use bulleted lists Keep one idea for each paragraph
46
Online writing should be...
concise, scannable and objective
47
Concise Online Writing
Short text Active voice Clear writing Accurate Stylistically consistent
48
Scannable online writing
the ease with which the reader can move through the information presented
49
Key components of scannable online writing
Inverted pyramid Chunked text Links and navigation tools Table of contents Display visual elements Simple background
50
Objective online writing
Avoid hyperbole - let the information stand on its own merit without embellishing it unduly
51
Interactivity
Websites have a huge advantage by being interactive; the following help increase interactivity of a website
52
How to achieve interactivity on a website
Email link Search feature Audio and video options Animation Cookie technology E-Commerce Pop up window
53
Pros and cons of Blogs
PROS: almost total control over the content distributed CONS: consumers know that without an “objective” intermediary (gatekeeper), the information presented is biased
54
Benefits of blogs to PR
Blog newsletters foster long term relationships between an organization and its publics, creating loyalty and a reason for people to stay engaged Blog newsletters can invite subscribers to receive email notices when a new blog is posted thus creating more traffic on the site The comments section of blogs increase interaction with key publics Some organizations use blogs for media relations (helpareporter.com)
55
Elements of effective blog content
Pages Informational post Tips Calculator Articles Links Survey Poll Call to action button
56
Writing for Blogs
Writing style Inverted pyramid Edit your post Brevity (concise) Scannable Consistency Attribution Pay attention to legal issues People focus
57
Blog format
Searchable Scannable Verifiable Photos Comments
58
News Fact Sheet
Bits of strategic and newsworthy information for reporters and other stakeholders Both news fact sheets and FAQs answer standard journalistic questions such as who, what, when, where, why and how May also provide background information, benefit statements, quotes, social media links, similar info of interest to readers
59
Structure of the fact sheet
Organization ID: Name, address, phone number, web url, email Contact: Name and contact details of a person who can provide details Subject or Topic: clearly identify it as a fact sheet and highlight topic Content headings: list section headings with key information
60
Background Fact Sheet
Event based news fact sheet serve as substitute news release Sometimes called a factoid or breaker box
61
Components of a background fact sheet
The background fact sheet is a simple presentation of complex information helping reporters become familiar with a topic of concern to the organization EX: A hospital preparing for an experimental heart surgery may prepare a background fact sheet on the elements of the procedure and its novelty
62
Media News Advisory
A media news advisory merely alerts the media to a newsworthy activity and may provide access to some advance information EX: Payton Manning is coming to CU to inaugurate a new program in sports communication
63

APRD 3013 (3 decks)

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