Lessons learned in public relations from a former journalism student
The McKinley Avenue Agency
The McKinley Avenue Agency is a student-run, full-service strategic communication and media sales agency.
By Richard Kann
Senior at The McKinley Avenue Agency, Public Relations major at Ball State University
When I first came to Ball State University, I planned on becoming a news journalist because I wanted to use storytelling to empower those around me. My goal was to write articles about the “little guys” and find the stories that the big news outlets tossed to the side. However, after two years of telling story after story, I didn’t feel like I had empowered a single person. On the contrary, it felt like I was just trying to talk louder than everyone around me.
It wasn’t until being introduced to public relations that I truly saw that I was making a difference. So, after just one semester of getting public relations experience at the McKinley Avenue Agency, I decided to flip the switch and pursue an education in public relations. I loved garnering media attention for small businesses, refreshing brands, and faithfully representing clients. However, even though I was satisfied with the path that I was on, I had to ask myself a big question. Did I waste the first two years of college pursuing journalism? No.
It’s quite the contrary. Learning about news journalism probably taught me more about how to work in public relations than some of my actual public relations classes. Even after changing my major, I continued to write articles for the Ball State Daily News every opportunity that came to me.
Every story I wrote was a chance to improve my writing and -- more importantly -- a lesson on how to write for a journalist.
Tough Crowd
Journalists are one of the most important audiences we appeal to in public relations.
How do we appeal to them? First, take a look at the press release—a classic asset of public relations, yet one with quite a strong stigma around it. From what I’ve experienced, people believe that press releases are boring documents with information that journalists will make attractive and appealing. Unfortunately, in some cases, they’re not wrong. In my journalism days, I read press releases before bed to help alleviate my insomnia. Okay, that’s not true, but it would’ve been a good idea because some of the press releases I read through were terrible.
So how do we avoid putting out press releases that work better as a Nyquil substitute? Simple, don’t write a press release; write a story. Journalists aren’t all-knowing, walking vessels of information devoid of human emotion. Most of us were bored human beings with comically short attention spans. So don’t write a press release to a journalist. Write a story for an audience.
Admittedly, that’s easier said than done. So what can you do to ensure that your press release is newsworthy enough for the newspaper?
The Big Seven
When they get a press release, journalists will probably only read the first two paragraphs.
What was that? You worked so hard on the other eight paragraphs? Well, too bad!
Journalists are a harsh audience and brutal critics, so it’s important to understand two things about them:
To put it simply, if you’re going to write for a journalist, you'll need to write like a journalist. While it’s true that each journalist is different and will write in a way that’s unique to others, there are storytelling values that they share. Seven, to be specific.
Timeliness, proximity, impact, prominence, relevance, conflict, and my favorite – novelty.
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You can find these values easily without reading too far into an article. You only have to get past the headline. In every news article you read, you’ll find the most impactful information in the first paragraph or two, the lead and the nut graph. The lead hooks you onto a story, and a nut graph gives you the context. After that, the information trickles down into less and less important information until the end of the article.
In a press release, you should do the same thing. Lead with the most important information, the juiciest details you can find. Then break these details down and elaborate on them further into your press release.
You want to make it immediately clear what makes the story you’re telling unique and impactful. Show them what happened, when it happened, where it happened, who it happened to, and why it happened. If you lead with this information and give context for it right at the beginning, your audience in the newsroom will take an interest.
The Angle
Every story you read is going to have an angle. When information comes out, or situations escalate, the first thing a journalist will do is find an angle. Here's an example.
At a press conference, Tony Stark reveals that he is the "Iron Man" that's been ruthlessly pranking the United States Military and fighting the Ten Rings terrorist group. Here are some possible angles:
One of these angles is not like the other. Four of them would make a fantastic headline for an article I'd write for the Ball State Daily News. The fifth one is just bland and will get discarded.
When you look at news outlets, you will see many conflicting angles. While they may come off as contradictory or biased, the truth is these perspectives are necessary, not only to tell a story but to find the truth. Once again, all of these angles are absolutely true given the context of the situation. There are many Marvel fans that might disagree with the more negative headlines, but agree that they do make good points and offer unique perspectives that help paint a more complete picture of the situation. This is how journalists inform their audiences about newsworthy situations to keep the general public well informed.
So how do us PR pros write for our audience... the journalists? Unlike journalists, in public relations, you must represent a client and present the facts in an objective manner. But you still need to find an angle on a story. Journalists don't leave it up to me and you to find a story within a disorganized jar of information. So, PR pros should never want to put a journalist in a position where they need to find the story if the goal is to get them to use your press release as a primary source. Of course, this angle will look different than a news article, but it's necessary nonetheless.
Let's say you're writing a press release for Stark Industries and performing crisis communications. After all, the publicists didn't expect Mr. Stark to toss aside the note cards they prepared for him. An angle could be, "Stark Industries CEO is leading the fight against terrorism with groundbreaking, weaponized suit."
On the other hand, let's say you're writing a press release for the US Department of Defense. You can take the angle, "Defense Secretary Ross condemns Stark for causing billions of dollars in damages to US Army."
Or you can get fired for taking no angle and writing, "Tony Stark reveals he's the 'Iron Man' at press conference; people are shocked."
A journalist will read through and write about the first two angles. However, the third one may not get an article. Why? There's no real angle and, therefore, no good story. A journalist isn't going to write about a press conference when they can write about a billionaire playboy fighting terrorism or the US Department of Defense fuming about it. So when you write for a journalist, rather it's a media pitch or a press release, find an angle.
The answer is NO
The fact is that sometimes your story is not going to get picked up even when you do everything right. I know you put the good stuff at the top, followed every news value you could, and found a juicy angle – but sometimes every news media outlet will hate it. That's perfectly fine because no matter what you do, sometimes a story isn't newsworthy.
When I was writing for the Daily News, there were a lot of stories I wanted to write about that I couldn't. Sometimes it was because I couldn't get an interview; other times, it was because the topic was too touchy. However, a big reason was that the stories I wanted to tell were ones I wanted to be told, not my audience. Were they good ideas? Maybe. It still doesn't change the fact that the article isn't happening.
It's discouraging, but you know what I did as a journalist that I do now as a public relations professional? I get back up, find a new story, and try to learn what I could've done better.
Reflect on how you approached a press release or media pitch for a client and ask yourself how you can improve. For example, you may need to reach out more in advance, you contacted the wrong reporter for the story, or the angle wasn't the right one to take. There's always something to be learned and areas to be improved. Don't let "No" be a show-stopper. Instead, let it be an indication of how you can improve for next time.