It’s not uncommon for a modern day news editor in a mid-size city to receive about:
- 1,300 e-mails every week (about 250-300 each day)
- 35-40 pieces of U.S. mail
- About 40 phone calls
News editors in larger markets receive even more. So guess how long an editor will take to review each inquiry and news story they receive? Put yourself in his or her shoes. When you go home tonight and pick up your mail, how long does it take you to decide whether or not a piece is junk mail or something you need to open and read? I’m guessing about 4-5 seconds.
A news editor will spend the same amount of time deciding if he or she should include your release in his or her list of possible stories, or to throw it away.
I was reading an article in The Oregonian today [June 15, 2013] with the headline: “Are workplaces falling victim to communications overload?”. The author, Phyllis Korkki from the New York Times News Service, writes how email and other technologies have led to information overload to the point where we have lost the ability to concentrate.
“Nobody can think any more because they’re constantly interrupted,” the author quotes Leslie Perlow, a Harvard Business School professor.
So it’s important now, more than ever, to make your news stories easier to read and understand for the editor whose attention is constantly wandering. To do so, I emphasize three strategies in the news writing classes and seminars I teach:
- Brevity
- Simplicity
- Clarity
What to learn more? Check my web site on a regular basis for the latest news about upcoming classes and seminars, or contact me for a customized class. – Tom Unger, APR, ABC, CTM, Fellow PRSA
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