PR and the media: PR and the media: Educating the public about Educating the public about

sciencescience

Kay Colley

Manager of News and Information

UNT Health Science Center

Who am I?

• Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Texas A&M

• Master of International Journalism, Baylor University

• PhD candidate Higher Education, UNT• 18 years of journalism experience at

newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, other agencies in PR

• 10 years of teaching experience

What is News?

• From Bill Sloan, former National Enquirer editor, the two undeniable truths about the news business:

1. Journalism is at least as much about playing on the reader’s emotions as about disseminating information.

2. The best way to sell lots of papers is by entertaining the masses, not educating them.

Elements of News or News Values

• Impact—matter in people’s lives

• Immediacy—timeliness is crucial

• Proximity—the closer the better

• Prominence—famous people

• Novelty—unique or unexpected

• Conflict—drama

• Emotions—does it have human interest?

News Flow

• Whether or not a story gets play often depends on news flow

• Each medium has a slightly different flow

• Visuals are also important and fit into the flow as well

How a story makes it to print/air

• Where do the ideas come from?

• Role of editors/producers

• Role of reporter

• Role of editor/producers

• Role of design/anchors

The News Story Structure

• 5 Ws and H

• Inverted pyramid

• The lead’s the thing

How to Write an Effective Lead

1. Collect all of your facts.

2. Sum it up. Boil it down.

3. Prioritize the 5 Ws and an H

4. Rethink. Revise. Rewrite.

News Story Checklist

• Be concise—S-V-O • Be accurate• Remember the day if it’s relevant• Don’t name names• Use strong verbs• Ask “Why should I care?”• Sell the story• Leave the lead if need be• Move attributions to the end of the sentence

How Public Relations Fits In

• The majority of stories are generated from an idea given to media by someone in PR

• What is PR?

• How is PR different than news?

• How is PR different than advertising?

• How do PR people affect the news?

Tools that PR People Use

• The press release

• The pitch

• Internal newsletters

• External newsletters

• Brochures

• Flyers

Conclusion

• Examples

• Questions