Week 8: The media release

This weeks readings were of great interest to me because media releases obviously are an essential tool for the PR practioner.
Some key points of interest in Writing a Media Release (Lazar) was the importance of finding a "hook" for your release and targeting the appropriate media. The reading particularly reinforced the importance of identifying the newsworthy elements of the information you are trying to present. This reading built on my knowledge of how to generate a successful media release. WHile I've previously been taught how to construct a media release i think a key learning for me in this reading was the importance of presentation. Tips such as:
-use one side of paper only
-keep the release to 2 pages max if possible
-clearly indicate if there is more to follow
were of particular use to me and the fact that embargoed releases are mostly undesriable to journalists.
This reading really highlighted that a PR practioner must also think like a journalist to ensure their media releases are successful.
This point was made even more obvious in To contact....or not (Sallot and Johnson). Perhaps the most shocking part of this reading was the large number of journalists that are frustrated by poorly constructed media releases. I found this reading really interesting and helpful to have tips as such from the other side. While I previously knew that developing and maintaining media relations would be an important part of a practioners job this reading made it obvious that its an integral part of our job!!!
Of particular interest to me were the following learnings:
-Journalists respond better to releases written by practioners with a journalism background.
-It is important not to seem biased (journalists don't responde well to this)
-Journalists noted that a practioners inability to create a local angle in their releases was one of the major reasons a release isn't used
-Be careful of innaccurate information...journalists are very unforgiving of this!

Although there were many helpful hints in both readings (especially the tips on emailing!) I have been left with two obvious conclusions.
The first is that it's esssential that a PR praticioner not take their writing skills for granted. We need ensure our media releases are written clearly, concisely and with correct grammar. We need to write our releases so that journalists are able to "cut and paste" if neccessary. Rather than churn out 2-3 media releases a week that end up in recycling bins surely its better write 2-3 quality releases a month that are published. This idea is supported by the figures in To contact....or not.
From these readings I also concluded that it is essential as practioners that we be creative. Of course we need to target the correct media outlets for our publics but more important than that is presenting our ideas so that they're interesting. If we are working for a company that has a new product then we cannot just send a media release listing all the features/benfits of this product. We need to work to find that "hook", that is that one thing that makes it relevent. We need to create human interest and localise it. If its a new insurance policy than perhaps its relevant to a particular area because there's been alot of bushfires.
These readings made me start thinking creatively about media releases and realise we need to be very pro-active and acutely aware of our audiences and create contacts in the media industry.
Finally, I was given the opportunity to speak with the Corporate Affairs officer of AAMI through the week and he was able to give me an example of a media release he wrote recently which ended up on the front page of a local newspaper in Queensland. His media release and the article were almost identical which proves the importance of a well written press release. He had also ensured that the media release he sent out had relevence locally. I just thought that it was a pretty good example of how important it is that we understand the key elements of a media release!!