Transcript Presentation Title - National Association of Health
Working with the Media
Writing for the Media
Kathryn Gaglione
Training Webinar © 2013, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
History of American Journalism
• • • • • • • • • • • •
The abridged version
1690: First newspaper printed in America ( Boston’s
Publick Occurrences
) 1791: First Amendment protects freedom of speech 1827: First political correspondents sent to Washington 1846: First news stories delivered by telegraph, Associated Press founded 1861: Rise of inverted pyramid when Civil War armies cut telegraph lines 1898: Yellow Journalism hits peak, shifts focus from hard news to editorial 1920: First radio news broadcast, daily newspaper numbers begin to fall 1930: First television news broadcast, print circulation falls again 1972: Woodward and Bernstein write first Watergate stories 1980: First online newspaper published, print circulation falls again 1994: Fist online news-sharing services (Yahoo! and GeoCities) founded Today: Digital news publications continue to increase in popularity © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Everything I Need to Know
I learned in Comm211: Writing for Communications
• • • • • • General News Writing Letter of Introduction Media Advisory Press Release Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) Letter to the Editor (LTE) www.nahu.org/media/tools/training/guides/MediaGuide.pdf
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Inverted Pyramid
A nonlinear approach to news writing
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Establishing Your Lead
Find your selling point
• • • • Who am I writing for?
Is this topic clear enough for anyone to understand?
Is it specific enough for one article?
How strong is my topic/thesis?
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Everything that Follows
After you’ve hooked your reader
• • Picking your main points, or strength in writing stems from a strong outline Your call to action, or what you leave behind © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Making First Contact
Introduce yourself to local media
• Contact a reporter by: – Sending an email – Making a phone call – Introducing yourself at an event – Networking through a friend • Have a specific purpose or pitch • Don’t: – Send snail-mail or fax – Just “drop by” – Let a month go by without contact © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Making First Contact
Write a letter of introduction
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Proactive Approach
Invite the media with a media advisory
• • • • • Header/logo Who, What, When, Where, Why bullets An agenda of activities open to the public and the media Contact information A boilerplate © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Proactive Approach
Distribute a media advisory
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Passive Approach
Give the details with a press release
• • • • • • A crisp headline that captures the significant news An introductory paragraph that leads with the most newsworthy information Several paragraphs that describe the news and its relevancy in more detail At least one quotation from a credible spokesperson (preferably local) A closing paragraph known as the "boilerplate" that clearly identifies the company or organization issuing the release The date and city from which it is being issued and a contact name and number © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Passive Approach
Distribute a press release
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Everyone Has an Opinion
Formulate your opinion piece
• • • • • Pick a topic that is timely and important to you Know your audience Get your contact information right Look up submission guidelines Turn to NAHU for help © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Big Picture
What is an op-ed?
• • • Addresses a large, communal concern or current event Sometimes written by the invited of the editor Usually between 400 and 500 words © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The Op-Ed
Organization is key
• • • • • • Introduction —emotionally driven Thesis (or claim) —a strong statement Concession —willing to look at both sides of the issue Support —the facts Plan —how to solve a problem Call to action —what readers can do © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
A Community Forum
What is an LTE?
• • • Respond to pieces previously published Address a specific claim in an article or editorial Between 150 and 200 words © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
The LTE
Three paragraphs make a point
1.
2.
3.
Introduction and claim Support Restate your claim © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Formatting for Print
Ten simple ways to look like a pro
1.
Type a single space at the end of a sentence.
2.
Use rhetorical questions sparingly, if ever.
3.
Avoid exclamation points.
4.
Write in plain font.
5.
6.
7.
Remove quotation marks from phrases you wish to emphasize.
Don’t indent points or lists.
Include a word-count directly under your title and byline.
8.
Keep your paragraphs short.
9.
Delete transitional phrases.
10.
Spell out numbers below 10, numerate numbers between 10 and 999,999, and use a combination for 1 million and above.
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
When All Else Fails
Use one of NAHU’s templates
© 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Brokers Making a Difference
A no-pressure, high-impact writing exercise
Visit www.
BrokersMakingaDifference .org to find out what consumers are saying about the difference you make.
Send all stories to [email protected]
and encourage your clients to submit as well.
We greatly appreciate you for helping us reach our goal and your wonderful support of NAHU! © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Writing Resources
Let NAHU help!
• • • • • Media Kits : writing templates organized by topic, type and for chapters "How To" Media Guide for NAHU Members : training manual with detailed information on working with media Webinars : past
Working with the Media
training sessions Media Tools Video : an eight-minute guide to media resources available on our website NAHU PR Staff : we work full time to help you © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org
Q&A
Kelly Loussedes, [email protected]
, 202-595-3074 Kathryn Gaglione, [email protected]
, 202-595-3075 Redonah Anderson, [email protected]
, 202-888-0819 © 2011, National Association of Health Underwriters • www.nahu.org