A Hard To Imagine Press Release

As all of you know by now, an individual was trampled to death on Black Friday at a Wal-Mart in New York.  I read the first press release about the incident sometime that afternoon, and remember thinking this has to be fake, or something has to be missing.  I felt sick after I finished the release.  It wasn’t just the concept of a tragic untimely death that bothered me, because like it or not that happens in this world, but the thought of that much greed in people is just unimaginable.  A man is dead today because of that greed to save a few bucks.  I hope I never have to write a press release like this ever.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-walmartdeath_02nat.ART.State.Edition1.29fdaca.html

Opinions

Hey guys.  It’s going to be a short one from me today, but I am curious, which assignment has been your favorite so far in our writing for PR course?  Hopefully I’ll get a few responses from you guys, or this will look like a really dumb post.  I had fun putting together the social media news release, but I also had fun with the audio news release.  Although, I will say that I somewhat struggled with putting all my information in the 15 sec piece in the audio news release.  I am excited about the final project (media kit) as well.  So…in conclusion, what has been your favorite assignment?  And why?  Please reply.

Storytelling article

I found this interview article the other day while looking at some graduate school programs.  It is not a bad read at all, and it really got me thinking about the storytelling aspect of PR. 

Storytelling and PR

A novel way of telling your tale.

Once upon a time, a former CBS newsman devised a new strategy for telling a company’s story:classic storytelling. Robbie Vorhaus founded his own Public Relations firm based on this principle. He shares the story of how it works in this interview with About Public Relations.

APR: Exactly how does storytelling relate to PR?

Robbie Vorhaus: Public relations is a form of classic storytelling, but for business. It is pure non-fiction — truth — told in the exact same context as any other story form, such as movies, novels, advertising and journalism.  Essentially, storytelling, and that includes PR, is having a point of view or theme, focusing on one person or thing (the hero) and taking your audience on that hero’s journey through trials and tribulations to arrive at some new point, but now changed. It doesn’t matter if you’re promoting a country, company, product, person or cause; if you tell the story with the same structure, elements, archetypes and path of all great stories, your message will be heard and acted on. And, in business, whoever tells the best story wins.

APR: What are the components of an effective story?

RV: First, you need a strong beginning, which is always the hero’s ordinary, believable world.  Then, add the middle, which is the hero’s journey into some extraordinary world. And the end is the hero’s return to his ordinary world, but changed, very changed. Other components of an effective story are a compelling point of view or theme, such as “nothing takes the place of persistence,” or “true love never dies,” or “it’s all in the delivery.”

APR: What is an example of storytelling done well?

RV: In fictional storytelling, Titanic, Ghost, Romeo & Juliet and West Side Storyare exactly the same story: true love never dies. In classic storytelling for business, I immediately think of Domino’s Pizza: A young man who grows up in an orphanage goes into the Marines, returns and buys a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, thinking he can make more money delivering pizza than waiting for customers to come to him. He opens other stores, buys out his brother for the price of a VW, and builds the company into a $3.3 billion dollar global enterprise. He sells it for $1.1 billion and is quoted as saying “I want to give all my money away and die broke.” The theme here is: nothing takes the place of persistence.

APR: What is an example of storytelling done poorly?

Robbie Vorhaus: Walk with me through any news organization’s assignment area and pick up any of the hundreds of recently faxed press releases. I visit my friends at newspapers, network and local news organizations, and radio stations, and I’m stunned at the poor grammar, spelling errors and complete lack of any apparent writing skills. There is a huge disconnect between journalists and public relations practitioners because of the lack of writing skills and storytelling ability. Imagine some unkempt person walking up to you at a party and saying in a sloppy voice, “Hi, my name is Bob. Let’s talk about me.”

APR: How does one develop storytelling skills?

RV: First, stop trying to sell. Learn how to engage an audience, not manipulate it.  Second, read some books on writing non-fiction and journalism.  My favorites are still “On Writing Well,” by William Zinsser, and “The Elements of Style,” by Strunk and White. Finally, practice. Find someone who has no vested interest in your story and tell it. Be prepared for what that person has to say. In comedy, the saying is “if they don’t laugh, it’s not funny.” In public relations the same is true. If your audience doesn’t get it, they won’t buy it.

APR: Are clients receptive to the storytelling approach?

RV: Our clients, yes. Companies that didn’t hire us, no. Usually, CEOs who understand the importance of telling their brand story to myriad audiences, such as customers, media, employees, analysts, the trade, government and even competitors, find our approach exactly in line with their goals. For example, Buick, the company that started the world’s largest corporation, General Motors; Bertolli, a 100% agricultural product, the world’s leading olive oil; and Lipton, founded by Sir Thomas Lipton, the world’s leading tea brand, all have magnificent stories that deserve to be told well.

APR: How do the media respond?

RV: Both the media and our clients are happy. The media get a good, compelling story; our client gets incredible coverage. It’s win-win.

APR: What’s your best storytelling tip?

RV: Know your story, know your audience, and tell your story better than anyone else. And don’t forget to smile.

 

Robbie Vorhaus, president and CEO, Vorhaus & Company Inc., founded the New York City based public relations firm in 1989 when he left CBS TV to create a new model for public relations: classic storytelling for business.  He can be contacted at vorhaus@vorhaus.com, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.vorhaus.com.    

 

 

 

 

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Diversity…Not an Old Wooden Ship

It just hit me that a lot of you probably won’t get my blog title, but o well.  Get out from under your rock, and go watch the movie Anchorman (it’s funny).  Anyways, the other day I was sitting around in a relaxed social environment having a beer with friends, when the whole political conversation came up.  Trust me I tried to avoid the topic because frankly I’m burnt out with politics at the moment.  Even with my consistent efforts, the conversation still took place and got somewhat heated as I expected.  You know how it goes:  McCain is this…Obama is that…etc.  It got me thinking about how different we are as people.  My friends from up north on average are so different from my friends here.   I mean with certain people it’s like night and day, no middle ground, no compromise, I’m right, you’re wrong.  It made me think about the different publics we will face in this profession.  There are so many areas that come into play with PR: location, income, gender, beliefs, the list goes on and on.  It is so crazy to me how a person can say the simplest thing, and it can be construed in so many different ways. It really made me think about how this job (PR) really does require strong people skills, and the ability to choose the right words on the spot.     

PR and the Holidays

So… the other day during class I was thinking about how much PR is related to certain types of the year.  It seems that major PR events or situations for PR events can be directly tied to the different types of the year.  For example, the independent candidate, Ralph Nader, held a Halloween ball/campaign rally after a handful of speeches on October 31st.  Another example could be our dear classmate, Phil, putting together the No-shave November event.  It really made me think that the holidays might be the primetime of the year for PR representatives.  Think about how many charities, public events, parties, etc. happen during the holidays.  I am really going to try to follow PR activity the next few months to see if my hypothesis is correct.

Education

I keep hearing that to get to a high level public relations position you really need to have at least a master’s degree in the field.  All along I have planned on continuing my education through a master’s program, so no big deal there, but I have never felt that it was something that I must get done to be successful.  I sat down for a long conversation a few days ago with our department head, Dr. Moorman, whom I am sure you all know well.  Anyways, we discussed the ideas of furthering my education: Where?  When? How? etc.  Dr.  Moorman was really pushing for me to think about going into a graduate program as soon as I am done at MSSU, his reasoning being the struggling job market for recent communication graduates.  So just being the curious guy I am, how many of you guys are planning to go to graduate school?  If so when?  The purple post is for Halloween….happy face.

Bad News

I have never really had to do, or for that matter really ever thought about a bad news press release.  To me it seems like they would be one of the most difficult types of press releases to do.  As I am sure some of you have heard, about a month ago Travis Barker, former drummer of Blink 182 and Boxcar Racer, was in a terrible plane crash.  The crash killed 4 people and left Barker, and his long time friend, Adam Goldstein in critical condition for weeks.  I have been a fan of Barker for a long time, so naturally I have been reading a lot of press releases dealing with his recovery, details of the crash, other related things.   All of these bad news press releases really made me think about how hard it could or can be to write one.  Especially, if it is about something or someone you care about.  It’s almost like you need to be careful not to show your own emotions. 

Busy…So Book Blog

Don’t really have a ton to talk about this week.  I have been stupid busy with this week being mid-terms and all.  So I decided I would tell you guys about a new book my pops just got me.  I haven’t finished it yet, but so far it has been extremely interesting.  The book is titled Jacked Up.  It was written by Bill Lane.  Many of you (along with myself, until I got this book) probably don’t know who that is.  Bill Lane was the speechwriter for Jack Welch for over 20 years.  So far the book goes into extreme detail about how Welch, Chairman and CEO of GE from 1981 to 2001, was able to transform GE into what the author calls the world’s greatest company.  Welch was able to accomplish such a task by creating a communication revolution within the company.  I have only covered the first few chapters of the 300+ page book, but so far it has been an extremely interesting read.

Debate…Maybe

So as we all know the first Presidential debate took place last Friday, September 26th.  I sadly missed the debate as I was driving down I-44 for a weekend at home.  I will watch the debate on youtube.com or something like that since I have a report due over the debate for another class.  My question to you guys is; was it not ridiculous how much this thing went back and forth this last week.  Is it going to happen or not?  Will McCain show?  PBS says it’s still on.  McCain says he’s not going to show.  It got extremely frustrating for me as I really tried to follow every step of this situation for my report.  It seemed like the PR people for this thing were working overtime, and still had trouble keeping up.  One of my classmates and I took turns texting each other this last week giving updates about the confusing scenario.  So did any of you guys get lost in this cluster? 

The Life of a Writer

Recently I have been receiving emails from one of my professors former students.  He is a photojournalists for a news station in Virginia.  He is cool enough to send out random emails almost daily about what is going on in his work life.  Where he is at?  Who he saw or spoke with?  He does an awesome job of going really indepth and explaining all the places and people he interacts with.  As I sit here looking through the last few days of emails I have received from him I can’t help but to get jealous of the adventures he has experienced.  I know this doesn’t completely relate to PR, but the thought of writing and traveling for a living is a pretty attractive offer.  The stories he tells make me want to become a better writer.   One of his emails.

So I thought I was flying in a Blue Angels f-18 tomorrow…not the case…
we are going to take a quick ride on their FAT ALBERT, a big c-130…

more to follow, pics and all that…

info here:
http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/

FAT ALBERT INFO:

An all-Marine Corps crew of three officers and five enlisted personnel operate the Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules, affectionately known as Fat Albert Airlines. Fat Albert joined the team in 1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles each season. It carries more than 40 maintenance and support personnel, their gear and enough spare parts and communication equipment to complete a successful air show.

Fat Albert cruises at a speed of more than 320 knots (approximately 360 miles per hour) at 27,000 feet. Four Allison turboprop engines, which produce more than 16,000 shaft-horsepower, provide Fat Albert Airlines with the power to land and depart on runways as short as 2,500 feet.

At select show sites, Fat Albert demonstrates its jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) capability. Eight solid-fuel rocket bottles, four on each side, attached near the rear paratrooper doors thrust the Hercules skyward. Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the mammoth transport aircraft to takeoff within 1,500 feet, climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an altitude of 1,000 feet in approximately 15 seconds. Getting Fat Albert airborne in minimal time and distance simulates conditions in hostile environments or on short, unprepared runways.

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Jason Walsh
13 News Photojournalist
WVEC-TV
jwalsh@wvec.com
cell: 757.350.0244
office: 757.628.6200
fax: 757.628.5855
613 Woodis Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23510