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When you receive an assignment, determine the real deadline
We’ve all been there. Your supervisor gives you a writing assignment and sets a deadline for completion. But problems can arise. Sources are hard to reach, don’t get back to you, are ill, or are on vacation. You’re just not able to gather the information you need to finish the piece. You start sweating as…
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Don’t put all your effort into just one story pitch
Public relations professionals can learn a lesson in pitching stories from Major League Baseball pitchers. There isn’t a professional baseball pitcher in the world who would succeed if he only threw curves, or fastballs, or sliders, or changeups. Batters would quickly realize it and be able to hit him. After working decades in media relations…
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When you should not send out a communication
As business communicators, we place a high value on transparency in an organization. Our immediate tendency is to bend over backwards to reveal as much information as possible to our employee audiences about any given topic. But I’m here to tell you that there are at least four scenarios I can think of when it’s…
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Maintaining consistency is a must in your business writing
One of the most common errors I encounter when editing others’ business writing is consistency. Maintaining consistency in your writing is easy to do, but only if you keep it top of mind. Here are a few examples: “We must complete this project by noon,” said Lenny Jones. “The entire organization is depending on us,”…
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Four keys for comms pros to win the trust of senior executives
I had not thought about it much before but when I was asked to speak to a bank’s communications team in Texas recently, I had to reflect on my career and the five regional presidents I served during the many years I worked at a multinational financial services company. The Texas bankers requested I speak…
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Why effective business communications is difficult for some pros
The writing we all did in high school and college is vastly different than the writing we need to produce in the workplace. And yet, some things remain the same. I had an epiphany about this first while editing pieces written by my two children when they were in college and then later while working…
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Studying Olympics coverage can make your pitch a gold medal winner
If you want to successfully pitch news stories, you need to think – and write – like a news reporter. That’s one of the strategies I’ve used during my 30+ year career in public relations to place countless stories. And reading some of the news stories coming out of the current Olympic Games in Tokyo…
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Three tips for successfully navigating the approval process gauntlet
You’ve interviewed multiple sources for that news release, speech or internal communications newsletter article. After you write a great draft, you send it out to your reviewers for approval. And you wait… And you wait… You send out a reminder email. And you wait… And your deadline starts getting closer… What should you do? It’s…
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Transparency a key factor in high impact internal comms
A new client recently asked me to present a virtual workshop on internal communications to its comms team. In preparing my presentation, I came up with five characteristics of what I believe constitute a high impact (high quality) internal communications program. I was delighted to read the new issue of American Banker magazine (April 2021),…
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Capt. Tom’s lesson: your most valuable possession is not fortune, fame
The death of beloved Capt. Tom Moore on Feb. 2 at the age of 100 reminds us that our most valuable possession is not fortune or fame. If you’re not familiar with Capt. Tom, last year this World War II vet and British resident set out to raise 1,000 pounds for the healthcare workers in…
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Churchill said it best: Make it brief!
I’m reading the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Erik Larson. In The Splendid and the Vile, Larson recounts the many challenges Winston Churchill faced as prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Germany had already conquered Poland and Czechoslovakia. On Churchill’s very first day in office, Germany invaded Holland…
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Lessons to be learned from the recent presidential election
Regardless of your political affiliation, the recent presidential election holds some major lessons when it comes to news writing and media pitching. Here are just four of them: Timing – The news media usually does not plan ahead. It typically reports on the daily activities of the world around it. But there are a few…
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Word to the wise: Keep your opinions to yourself
This advice goes out to the newer and younger professionals working in corporate communications, public relations and media relations because I’m assuming old dogs such as I already know this: Keep your personal opinions to yourself. I was reminded of the wisdom of this advice yesterday when I read the CNN article that stated, “A public affairs…
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Advice about goal setting applies to creating talking points: less is more
I just finished reading the highly informative, educational and entertaining book The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger. In it, he reveals how he rose from an entry level position at ABC Television in 1974 to eventually become CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005. Obtaining the CEO job was certainly not an…
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Never forget to include the “why” when communicating to employees
I read an excellent article in the new issue of American Banker magazine by John Enger about how experiencing past disasters helped bankers deal with the coronavirus crisis (click here to read the entire article). Some of the past disasters the article mentions include Hurricane Katrina in the southern U.S. in 2005 and the 2017…
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Virus is a once-in-a-career opportunity for earned coverage
The coronavirus has become the number one news story in America and appears it will remain that way for at least the next eight to 12 months. It’s touching practically every segment of society in our country. I’m hard pressed to think of a story as big as this one during my 40+ year career.…
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That memorable day when I met the world’s greatest journalist
In my last journalism job before I switched careers, I worked in the late 1980s as the Los Angeles bureau manager for what was then a small, family-owned, recreational boating newspaper called The Log (as in ship’s log). The Log was based in San Diego and published every other week. It was a free newspaper…
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A local angle to national/international news = a successful placement
Regardless of your political affiliation, the biggest story in the national news right now is the efforts by Democrats to impeach Pres. Trump. My hometown newspaper, The Oregonian (based in Portland, Ore.) published a story in its edition today that is an example of one of the proven strategies I will teach in my News…
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Become a comms hero by using what already exists at media outlets
I was watching a news story the other day on the local ABC-TV affiliate where I live and noticed they have a feature called “Everyday Heroes.” It highlights someone in the community who does great things for others with not much fanfare. I later realized that what I did next would make a good lesson…
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Here’s how to boost your success when making a media pitch
One of the highlights for me of the 2019 Portland Communicators Conference was a panel discussion among three members of the Portland Business Journal (PBJ) editorial staff. Editor Suzanne Stevens was joined on stage by reporters Pete Danko and Elizabeth Hayes. Their topic: how to best interact with the PBJ staff so you don’t waste…
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Lessons from this year’s Portland Communicators Conference
I had the pleasure of attending the Portland Communicators Conference on May 3, presented by the Oregon chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Here are a few of the many gems I learned that day: 1) Our mind makes 35,000 decisions each day. 2) Today’s children don’t expect to wait for anything. 3)…
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Don’t forget that every story has a beginning
Every story has a beginning, middle and end. But many public relations professionals neglect to emphasize what can be the most important part: the beginning. Let me explain by giving you two examples. At a large bank where I was once employed, I started working with a new regional president who had transferred to my…
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Avoid crises by being aware that times constantly change
Many years ago I took a media training class in Portland, Oregon presented by veteran journalist and communications consultant Paul Hanson. The wise Paul explained that one cause of a corporate communications crisis is that “times change”. Paul explained that behavior on the part of a senior executive that was acceptable in the past might not be acceptable…
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When it comes to media relations, do you want to be the Apple or the Donut?
At PRSA’s annual international conference in Boston last October, I had the opportunity to hear a variety of speakers from a large number of different companies. Speakers at two of the breakout sessions I attended represented a vast difference in media relations strategy that I wanted to share with you. One of the breakout session…
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How to get the most out of attending a national communications conference
During my career, I’ve attended more than a few of the national communications conferences organized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Association of Business Communicators. The most recent one I attended was 2017 in Boston when I was among the 2,300 attendees at PRSA’s national conference. These conferences can be…
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The instant nature of today’s news: Will your organization be ready when CNN calls?
My hometown newspaper, The Oregonian, reported today that a small airport in the small Oregon city of Hillsboro was the site of a bizarre helicopter hijacking attempt yesterday (July 3). The incident ended when police shot and killed the would-be hijacker. The last paragraph of story caught my eye because it contains an important lesson…
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The news topic that attracts the most eyeballs
The topic people most want to read about in their newspaper, hear about on the radio or see on their television news is … other people. Don’t believe me? Let’s say the front page of your newspaper today includes three stories. One story is about the latest argument in Congress. Another story is about a…
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Comedic tv show has scary lessons for PR pros
My son and wife recently introduced me to a Comedy Central show entitled “Nathan For You.” I watched an episode dubbed “The Movement”* and found myself laughing hysterically but, in the end, wound up quite scared for the lessons it taught about the news media and the public relations profession. The premise of the episode…
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Here’s some advice for PR pros from two national reporters
I attended a “Meet the Media” event today that I helped organize on behalf of the Portland Metro chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The two speakers were Portland-based reporters from national news media outlets: John Maxfield from the Motley Fool and Tim Dickinson from Rolling Stone magazine. I want to share some of…
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Communications lessons from almost 40 years of experience
I was among the speakers at the 20th annual Portland Communicators Conference held recently in Portland, Ore. In my presentation, I shared 14 of the lessons I learned from my almost 40 years of working in journalism, public relations and corporate communications. The focus of my remarks was how to survive, thrive and even prepare…
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Two words of advice: Try harder
Many years ago the Avis car rental company’s slogan was “We try harder.” I loved that slogan. The company was acknowledging that it was not as big as market leader Hertz, but that it wanted your business because its staff would try harder to please you (according to an article I read online by AdvertisingAge,…
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Love might mean never having to say you’re sorry, but not when it comes to mistakes by the news media
Many years ago there was a well-known book that became a popular movie in 1970. Both were named “Love Story.” And the most famous lines from that film was, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” For years after the film came out you would see that line printed on everything from pillows to…
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Our attention span is shrinking: so get to the point quickly in your news release
I had heard recently on the radio that a new study showed our attention span has gotten shorter. So I went online to see what I could find. I came across a 2014 study (not exactly new) from the National Center for Biotechnology Information that said the average human’s attention span was eight seconds in 2013, as…
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Your deadline is “Now!” (but you can still control the timing)
Adam Kress in Arizona, a former reporter now working in the public relations industry, wrote a column recently with five tips for PR pros about how to deal with the news media (read his column here). I really liked his thoughts and I encourage you to read his piece. One of the tips Adam shared…
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The Bill Cosby crisis and what he’s doing wrong to address it
I’ve been a big Bill Cosby fan since I was a child. I bought his comedy records (back in the day when there were records). I have also seen him perform live at least three times, the most recent was just before the crisis hit. I always thought he was one of the best comedians…
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Local Ebola news coverage an example of “what if it happened here?”
The outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa and its subsequent spread into the United States has caused the news media in the city where I live (Portland, Oregon) to produce stories about what would happen if the virus came to this part of the country. I’d be surprised if the same isn’t happening in…
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Do your homework before pitching a reporter
A Newsweek reporter who writes about music decided to try an unusual experiment. Instead of ignoring the multitude of news releases and pitches that public relations “professionals” send him, he decided that one for week he would read and respond to every email he received from a PR person. His resulting column (which you can…
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Newspaper reporters can now keep up with their broadcast peers
I read an interesting opinion piece entitled “Writing Online: You Have to Feed the Machine — And the Machine Likes Junk Food” that I want to comment about. The writer, John Reinan, wrote that, among other things, reporters at my hometown daily newspaper (The Oregonian) now have to post “multiple news items a day, piecing…
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Keys to success straight from the source: the news media
Whenever a new professional approaches me for career advice, I always give the same advice: join either PRSA or IABC, go to their professional development events and volunteer for them. These organizations and their events are not only a great networking opportunity, they are also a way to showcase your skills to others in the…
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Yes, PR is a stressful profession not meant for the faint of heart
The jobs website CareerCast.com has released its annual list of the Most Stressful Jobs of 2014 and it includes something I have known for years but might come as a surprise for those contemplating a career in public relations. According to the web site, the four most stressful jobs, in order, are: 1) Enlisted military…
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The end of the news release? I think not!
I was reading an article online from the Business Journal in Portland, Ore., in which public relations executive Ashley Brown from Coca-Cola is quoted as saying, “If there is one thing I want to do at Coke it’s to kill the press release.” The article explains that through Brown’s efforts, Coca-Cola has jumped headfirst into…
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Make your news releases newsworthy (and shareworthy)
I think the secret to making a news release newsworthy is to focus on the aspect(s) of your announcement that people will care about most and not on those that are perhaps more important to the entity releasing the news. Here’s an example. Let’s say you work at a hospital whose foundation just received a…
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Write your news release from the reader’s viewpoint
I am reading “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs” by Carmine Gallo who, according to the jacket bio, has a background in public relations. In the midst of his describing Jobs’ public speaking secrets, Gallo inserts a rant about PR pros who write poor news releases. “The majority of press releases are usually self-indulgent, buzzword-filled…
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When to send both a media advisory and a news release
In my last post I explained the differences between a media advisory and a news release. There are times when you should send out only one or the other. But there are certain situations where it’s appropriate to send both. Let me explain. Let’s say you work at a nonprofit group and it’s planning to…
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What is a media advisory?
Many people in the public relations profession confuse a news release with a media advisory. Yet there are distinct differences between the two in terms of their purpose and format. A news release is sent to the media with the hopes that they will publish the story, cover your event or write their own story.…
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When a news release is NOT necessary
I was talking to a new communications professional the other day about two news story ideas involving the company where she works. One possible story was about a special event her company was planning to hold. Her other topic was “family-owned companies where fathers and daughters work together.” Both are potentially newsworthy topics, I told…
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The Three Questions Every Community Newspaper Editor Asks
When an editor of a community newspaper receives your news release, he or she is going to ask three questions to determine if they’ll either publish it or discard it. The first question they’ll ask is: Is the topic of this news release really news? An editor defines “News” as something that is: • Actually…
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Consider all factors before holding a news conference
There are a few good reasons to hold a news conference, and many reasons not to. Let me explain. It’s my belief that you should only hold a news conference when you have something of major important and/or news significance to announce. The media might come to your first news conference but if you wind…
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Avoid the boiler plate lead
When writing a news release, too many people in the public relations profession confuse the boiler plate with the lead. Let me explain. A boiler plate is one paragraph that has background information about the entity putting out the release. The boiler plate is put at the end of the news release. Typical information in…
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Editors love round numbers
For some strange reason, people generally gravitate towards round numbers, and that includes news editors. Look what happened last year with the 9-11 Memorial in New York City. There was a ton of focus on it and on the entire tragedy in 2011. Why? Because it was the 10th anniversary. I’m guessing we won’t see…
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My holiday gift to you: a media placement tip
‘Tis the season for easy news media placements! This is due to a few factors: 1) Newspapers typically run “fatter” this time of year because their ad sales are up (due to the holiday retail sales season). So editors face a situation where they need to fill more pages with news content. 2) Many news…
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Your target audience consists of one person
When you’re writing a news release, your target audience consists of only one person. Can you guess who it is? It’s the news editor who is going to receive your release. The news editor has the ultimate decision on whether or not your release is going to get published or aired. So your news release…
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New crisis management guidebook includes chapter by Tom Unger, APR, ABC
PR News Press has just published a new “Crisis Management Guidebook Vol. 5”. The 233-page book includes a chapter by Tom Unger, APR, ABC, on the importance of communicating with employees during a crisis. Tom drew upon his more than 32 years of communications experience in writing the chapter. It focuses on maintaining internal communications…
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Use target audiences’ established information sources
Many target audiences possess unique expectations and characteristics and sources of information. As a communications professional, you must be aware of them in order to reach the desired audience. For instance, in many large metro areas numerous ethnic groups have their own newspapers, radio stations and television channels. This is good for a communications professional…
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New media training guidebook includes chapter by Tom Unger, APR, ABC
PR News Press has just published “Media Training Guidebook – Vol. 4” that includes a chapter by Tom Unger, APR, ABC. Unger drew upon his 10 years as a news reporter and his more than 20 years of public relations experience to write a section for the book about relationship building with reporters entitled “7…
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Stop, Think and Consider Before Writing, Sending A News Release
Communications professionals can learn a valuable lesson from reading about the boy who cried “Wolf!” too many times. I’ve heard editors complain about organizations that send out so many news releases that they reach a point where the editor doesn’t pay attention to them. So before you write any news release, ask yourself if the…
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Add the Power of “ST” to your news writing
If you can apply an adjective to your announcement that ends in the letters “s-t”, you stand a better chance of success. Those adjectives are very powerful when trying to gain the attention of the news media. Let me explain. Is your organization the first to market with a product? Is it the first to…
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8 Tips for Winning A Communications Contest Award
Winning a communications award is a great way to boost your self confidence. It’s validation of the quality of your work and lets others know you are a superior communicator. It can also boost your career. Years ago I lived in Los Angeles and applied for a job at a major company. I didn’t hear…
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Successful News Placement Depends on Win-Win Situation
One great way to increase your chances of success when trying to place a news story is to study your target news outlet to see what type of news it covers on a regular basis. If you have news that fits into the news outlet’s existing format, you stand a good chance of success. Let me…
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The Importance of Developing Your News Writing Skills
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) publishes a high quality, monthly tab newspaper called Public Relations Tactics, which is filled with great articles about the industry. Every so often the publication runs a special focus edition on writing. I’m a big fan of Public Relations Tactics and feel it is one of the best benefits I receive…
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News Writing with Brevity, Clarity and Simplicity
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…