Writing for PR Exam 2

List and describe the 7 news values.

1. Impact

2. Timeliness

3. Prominence

4. Proximity

5. Conflict

6. Uniqueness

7. Currency

Describe the motivational method of persuasion. Tell me how to persuade someone.

Persuading someone to change their attitude to fulfill a need. You must:

• appeal to their needs

• persuade them to take the course of action you want.

• tell them why they should care

The cognitive method of persuasion involves persuading someone to your position using a simple association technique. It’s based on the idea that if two things are seen or heard together often, people tend to think of one when they see or hear the other.

True or False

False

What do you need to know about a media outlet before you can pitch to them? Be specific

You need to know:

• Their audience

• Their choice of topics

• Their “proximity” to the story

• Why they should care about your pitch

Name 2 editor symbols used on feature stories and news releases, and explain where they go on the document and what they mean.

1. ###: Under boiler plate.

2. Slugs on subsequent pages

3. -MORE-: End of page when there is more than 1 page.

The last paragraph of a news release is called a…

Boiler plate

We discussed two reasons to create a media advisory vs. a news release. Give me one.

1. the news is timely

2. the news doesn’t need a full release

3. you’re using it to remind the journalist of a previously sent news release

Which media document is written like a ready-to-publish news article?

News release

Which media document is written as a series of soundbites?

Media advisory

Which media document is an exclusive offer to a particular journalist?

Pitch