Chapter 14: Writing E-mail, Memos, and Proposals

This information is found in PUBLIC RELATION WRITING AND MEDIA TECHNIQUES, 6th edition, by Dennis L. Wilcox 

The Challenge of Managing Communication Overload:

• You should follow basic guidelines”
  • Completeness
  • Conciseness
  • Correctness
  • Courtesy
  • Responsibility

E-mail:

• Purpose:
  • Reduces the cost of employee communication
  • Increases the distribution of messages to more employees
  • Flattens the corporate hierarchy
  • Speeds decision making
• Format:               
  • Subject line
  • Salutation
  • First sentence or paragraph
  • Body of message
  • Closing

Memorandums:

• Purpose:
  • Can serve any communication purpose
  • Public relations firms require a memo to be written whenever there is a client meeting or telephone conversation.
• Content:
  • Specific and to the point.
• Format:
  • Date
  • To
  • From
  • Subject
  • Message

Letters:

• Purpose:
  • To give information, to ask for information, to motivate, to answer complaints, to soothe or arouse, to warn, to admit, or to deny
• Content:
  • Most important part of a letter is the first paragraph
• Format:
  • Should be written on standard business stationery
  • Should have the name, address, and telephone number of the organization
  • Body should be about four or five paragraphs
  • Proofread, proofread, proofread

Proposals:

• Purpose:
  • To get something accomplished – to persuade management to approve and authorize some important action that will have a long-lasting effect on the organization or its people.
• Organization:
  • Show a need
  • Satisfy the need
  • Show benefits
  • Call for action

Chapter 12: Tapping the Web and New Media

This information is found in PUBLIC RELATION WRITING AND MEDIA TECHNIQUES, 6th edition, by Dennis L. Wilcox 

The Internet: Pervasive in Our Lives:

• Traditional Media:
  • Is centralized
  • Expensive
  • Staffed by gatekeepers known as editors and publishers
  • Features one-way communication with limited feedback channels
• New Media:
  • Widespread broadband
  • Cheap/free
  • New distribution channels
  • Mobile devices
  • New advertising paradigms

The World Wide Web:

• Can update information quickly
• Allows interaction
• Researchers can find more about their interests
• Great amount of material can be posted
• Cost-effective
• Reach niche-markets and audiences
• Users can reach your organization information within 24 hours

The Basics of Webcasting:

• One survey found that more than 90 percent of public companies use Webcasts for everything from employee training to briefings for financial analysts and news conferences launching a new product.
• Be aware of (1) quality, (2) computer capabilities of the intended audience

The Rise of Social Media:

• Blogs are the most dominant manifestation, but social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube are also a major presence in today’s world, even more social networks are being created almost daily.
• Conversations can’t be controlled, so organizations and their public relations staffs must get used to the idea that everything an organization does is more transparent and fair game for comment.

The Explosion of Blogs:

• Although the vast majority of blogs are still the province of individuals who post their diaries and personal opinion, they are now widely recognized by business and public relations personnel as an extremely cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people.
• Corporate Blogs
• Employee Blogs
• Third-Party Blogs

The Continuing Role of Traditional Media:

• July 2008 an estimated 220 million Americans had Internet access at home or work, and 73 percent of them went online in May.
• Internet has no space or time constraints.

Chapter 11: Getting Along with Journalists

This information is found in PUBLIC RELATION WRITING AND MEDIA TECHNIQUES, 6th edition, by Dennis L. Wilcox

The Importance of Media Relations:

• Public relations personnel are the primary contact between the organization and the media.

The Media’s Dependence on Public Relations:

• Although many reporters deny it, most of the information that appears in the mass media comes from public relations sources, which provide a constant stream of news releases, features, planned events, and tops to the media.
• Public relations materials save media the time, money, and effort of gathering their own news.

Public Relations’ Dependence on the Media:

• The purpose of public relations is to inform, to shape opinions and attitudes, and to motivate.
• Reporters and editors make independent judgments about what is newsworthy and what will be disseminated.
• Today, public relations professionals are less dependent on the traditional mess media to reach large audiences, because, for the first time in history, an organization, or even an individual, can literally reach billions of people, bypassing traditional mass media gatekeepers.

Areas of Friction:

• Hype and Hews Release Spam
• Name Calling
• Sloppy/Biased Reporting
• Tabloid Journalism
• Advertising Influence

Working with Journalists:

• Media Interviews
• News Conferences
• Teleconferences and Webcasts
• Media Tours
• Previews and Parties
• Press Junkets
• Editorial Board Meetings

A Media Relations Checklist:

• Know your media
• Send newsworthy information
• Be available
• Be truthful
• Protect exclusives
• Explain
• Correct errors politely

Crisis Communication:

• A good working relationship with the media is severely tested in times of crisis.
• Guidelines:
  • “No comment” fuels hostility
  • Always try to be helpful
  • Be familiar with print and broadcast deadlines
  • Got to know the journalists in your area before a crisis hits