Guest-blogging for Paradux Media Group, Internet marketer Jeff Gross states that press releases are published “as is.”
The subject of Gross”s entry is whether submitting press releases are worth the effort anymore. I believe he offers valid advice about submitting press releases and using social media to support a company”s PR.
But as I stated in comments left in response to his post, it isn”t entirely or always true that a news outlet will publish a press release “as is.” This is certainly not the practice at the Lake County Record-Bee, where I edit themed pages.
When preparing press releases for publication, both online and in print, I require them to be written in compliance with Associated Press style.
(When serving two terms as vice president of PR for my local Toastmasters club, No. 8731, I wrote press releases against the standard set by the Associated Press.)
Recognizing that press releases are often layman submissions, I don”t expect them to follow the exact format. That is where editing comes in, as do education and outreach through in-person presentations and handouts.
Editing may mean contacting the submittor and asking questions about information that is unclear. It may mean conducting an online search to verify an organization”s name.
From the initial edit and placement on a page, it passes to a second editing.
By the time a page is exported to composing and stories uploaded to the web, it has been viewed by at least two people who have edited for newsroom standards. That is a far cry from merely publishing the press release “as is.”
Read Gross”s blog at http://paraduxmedia.com/2012/06/press-releases-are-they-worth-the-effort/.
Value of ?Buy local” journalism
Record-Bee staff reporter Kevin N. Hume made a guest appearance recently at a children”s summer reading program. I think it illustrates the value of “reading local” that journalist Mandy Jenkins recently blogged about.
Jenkins is digital projects editor for Digital First Media.
In her recent blog entry, Jenkins cites a story, broadcast by This American Life, about the “hyperlocal news company” Journatic, which uses a “largely foreign workforce to assemble local data, rewrite press releases and parrot online obituaries for eventual publication on local and hyperlocal news sites from likes of the Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle and Newsday.” She suggests that as outsourced news grows, local newsrooms should promote buying (and reading) local.
I posted a response to Jenkins” piece that summarizes her recommendations for engaging with the community: sharing observations on social media, writing or contributing to a blog, holding live chats with readers and meeting readers in person. An in-person appearance like Hume”s certainly advances that aim.
As Jenkins states:
“?Buying American” and ?Shopping Local” have become a priority to some American consumers on goods from clothes to veggies ? so why not newspapers? We should encourage our readers to ?Read Local”.
“For local journalists, there is no better time to show our readers that we are them. We live in the same neighborhoods. We shop at the same grocery stores. We attend the same local festivals and root for the same football teams. Our kids attend the same schools. We may have even gone to high school together.”
Jenkins” complete post can be viewed at http://zombiejournalism.com/2012/07/as-outsourced-news-grows-local-newsrooms-should-promote-buying-local/. I also created a Pinterest board that shows Record-Bee employees engaging with their community; view it at http://pinterest.com/recordbee/.
Cynthia Parkhill is the focus pages editor for the Record-Bee. She can be contacted at rbinfocus@gmail.com or 263-5636 ext. 39. Follow on Twitter @CynthiaParkhill.
