District 5790 Public Relations

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District 5790 Public Relations
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District 5790 Public Relations

• Spreading our Message

A special how-to with tips and resources for
clubs
Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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• About this show

This show is meant to give tips on spreading your
Rotary messages and resources to help you find
answers to questions.
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Quick Links

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  links below.

• Newsworthiness
• Writing a News Release
• Media List
• Experts and Sources
• Planning Your PR

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Public Relations - Everyones Job

• Spreading Rotarys message is everyones job

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What is Public Relations?

• Public Relations is
• Developing and spreading your message
• Maintaining goodwill understanding with your
  audiences

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Not the Enemy

• Our area journalists are not the enemy
• Media outlets are looking for stories for their
  audiences
• Newsworthy vs. noteworthy

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Is it News?

• Making our news their news

Adage about media perspective

• Its not news if a dog bites a man, but it is
  news if a man bites a dog.

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What makes something newsworthy

• How media outlets determine newsworthiness

Journalists make judgments about what is
newsworthy and what is not for their readers and
viewers. There is a limited amount of time and
space for the news. The more newsworthy your
story is, the better chance it has of making the
news.
Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Proximity story happens in media outlets
reach Example An Abilene Rotary clubs
activities wont normally make the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram Rotary Example Its hard to get
your local media to cover a Rotary event in India
unless people from your area were at the event.
Media outlets look for ways to localize news.
Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Timeliness/Immediacy - the story happens now or
soon. You dont want to wait weeks after the
4-way test speech contest to pitch a story about
it to the media. Example An event two weeks ago
is way too old for most media outlets. They would
prefer to look ahead (preview) than review a
story. Rotary Example Youd want to pitch a
story about your RYLA participants before the
June conference.
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Prominence - a prominent person or place is
included in the story Example Your doctors
report doesnt make the news, but your countrys
presidents does. Its only because of
prominence that the story is reported. Rotary
Example If the mayor or other local prominent
people (like your clubs president) are involved
in programs, you have an element of prominence.
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Impact/Consequences - the larger the impact or
potential impact of a story, the more newsworthy
it is. How many people will your story affect?
The media outlet needs to see how your story
impacts readers. Example A snow storm that
shuts down most of America and leaves millions
without heat is more newsworthy than a storm that
shuts down your neighborhood pool. Rotary
Example A district-wide Polio effort has more
than 3,000 Rotarians behind it. Polio efforts
themselves impact millions.
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Conflict/Controversy - a story might have an
element of conflict or controversy Example Look
at the front page of todays newspaper or news
website. Media outlets are drawn to
conflict. Rotary Example Your water drilling
team cant travel to Mexico because of bandits
at the border.
Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Human Interest/Emotional Appeal - a story has
heart or talks about individuals and their
lives Example A personality profile about your
mayor and her struggles with polio as a
child. Rotary Example A feature story about
your Ambassadorial Scholar and why he chose to
study social work in America
Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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What makes something newsworthy

• Qualities of Newsworthiness

Unusual/Bizarre/Singularity- a story is bizarre
or unusual or unexpected. It could also be a
first or historical kind of story. Example Long
lost sisters find each other at the local
supermarket because of a billing error. Rotary
Example Your club is the only one in the world
chosen to conduct a special pilot program.
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Is it News?

• Making our news their news

• Telling our story in their terms, with
  newsworthiness

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Is it News? - Practice

• Making our news their news

After you decide which column the story idea
will fall into, hit the space bar for the
answer
X
X
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• So you have news. What now?

This will be covered in the next PowerPoint show
called PR201. It outlines how to create a news
release and how to contact media outlets.
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District 5790 PR Network

• Connecting club public relations chairs and
  others to share ideas, successes, etc.
• Public relations chairs are encouraged to join
  the network
• Simply send an e-mail to Rotary5790PR-subscribe_at_ya
  hoogroups.com (use Subscribe as your subject
  line)

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Great Resource for Your Club

• Effective Public Relations is a book available
  through Rotary.org.

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Resources for Your Club

• Rotary International site www.rotary.org
• RI Public Service Ads/Announcements
• District site www.rotary5790.org
• PR Network for District 5790 Rotary5790PR_at_yahoogr
  oups.com
• PR Tips e-mail through www.rotary.org
• Jeff Crilleys e-newsletter www.realnewspr.com
• Effective Public Relations a book from Rotary

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Concluding Thoughts

• ALL of us are responsible for spreading our
  message
• Journalists are not the enemy
• You CAN spread Rotarys message
• Think newsworthy, not noteworthy
• District PR Committee is here to help

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org
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Sources Contact

• Images and logos from Rotary.org
• Effective Public Relations A Guide for Rotary
  Clubs (pr_at_rotary.org)
• Inside Reporting by Tim Harrower
• The PR Style Guide by Barbara Diggs-Brown
• Sarah Maben, Rotary Club of FW SouthDistrict
  5790 PR Chair, 817-291-1997
• mabens_at_charter.net, http//www.rcfws.org

Rotary District 7590 www.rotary5790.org