HOW TO WRITE FOR THE MEDIA Public Service Announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is used to inform the public – through the media – of a university event or activity that promotes public service aims and objectives. Every television, radio and newspaper outlet has policies governing PSAs. The organization issuing the PSA must be able to demonstrate that the information contained in the PSA is in the public interest. For example, a PSA could be used to promote a lecture series, an art or architecture exhibit or even a public book signing – as long as the events either raise money for a recognized charity or are nonproofit PSAs differ from news releases in that they are short, contain only the bare facts, and should be written in a style that is broadcast ready. The idea is that an announcer should be able to read the text as is with little or no editing. A PSA should be no more than 30 seconds long. When writing a PSA remember the ‘inverted pyramid’ principle: focus on the most important information at the beginning and leave information of lesser importance to the end. You would want to include the following information (a) what the event is (b) when it is being held (c) location of the event (d) the sponsor (e) correct contact information including a name and phone number. Media Advisory A media advisory is used to invite the media to an important event or to advise reporters and editors about a change in a previously announced program. It can also be used to remind the media about a news conference or other Carleton University event to which they have already been invited. A media advisory should contain the facts with little editorial comment. A suggested format would be to include basic information under the following headings: Event, When, Where, Contact information (phone numbers and email address), and Background. Under this category, you could include more information about a speaker, event, or sponsoring group/department. The advisory can be used in conjunction with other communication tools e.g. public service announcement and/or news release. Typically, a news release would be available on the day of or after the event while a media advisory would be sent out about one week in advance. It is a good practice to phone the media a day in advance to remind them of the event. News Release A news release is used to inform the news media about an initiative that your department and/or the University believe is important aan interesting tt the public. The objective of a news release is to get the information it contains to the public – through the media – accurately. A news release is generally used when making an appointment announcement; to support a media advisory and/or public service announcement about a conference, event or book launch; or, to announce an award. News releases are longer in length than a public service announcement or media advisory and more detailed information is usually included. They offer an excellent opportunity to put forward key university themes and messages.Before beginning to write your release, think about the key messages by asking the following questions: What are your departmental goals and objectives for this initiative? How do they fit with the university’s key public themes? For example, Carleton University issued a news release about a Carleton professor who spends his spring term teaching at Harvard University and was named a “favourite professor” by the Harvard graduating class. The news release was directly tied to a universitywiid goal of publicizing Carleton’s topnootc faculty. Excellence in teaching is a key public theme for the university. Here are some key University themes and messages: · A researchinteensiv University · Outstanding student experience · High quality teaching and programs · Ongoing improvements to campus · Capital Advantage · Community Outreach and Carleton Cares · Student/alumni/faculty success Carefully choosing language that supports these themes helps to build a cohesive picture for the outside world that Carleton University is at the forefront of postsecoondar education in Canada. Here are a few key rules to follow when writing a news release: 1. Remember that you are writing the news release for journalists – so write it using the form and style that a journalist would use. A good rule of thumb is to use “CP Style” tth style adopted by the Canadian Press (CP). A ‘CP Style’ news release would use the ‘inverted pyramid’ approach: focusing on the most important information in the first paragraph, adding information of lesser importance in the paragraphs that follow; 2. The first (or lead) paragraph is the most important paragraph of a news release. It should be no more than 30 words long. It should read the same way the opening sentence of a news story reads: simple, clear and direct; 3. A news release should be no more than two pages long. In the case of a conference, an agenda can be included at the end of the release. However, it is often sufficient to include a web site where this information is available. A full program/agenda can be included in a media kit to be distributed at the event; 4. Answer ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ in the first few paragraphs; 5. Keep sentences short and concise (CP style). Use commonplace words; 6. Keep quotes natural sounding.