229 lines
5.6 KiB
HTML
229 lines
5.6 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>Feature Articles</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="HOME"
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TITLE="Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community
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"
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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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REL="UP"
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TITLE="Other Public Relations Tools"
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HREF="other_pr_tools.html"><LINK
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REL="PREVIOUS"
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TITLE="Other Public Relations Tools"
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HREF="other_pr_tools.html"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Bylined Articles"
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HREF="byline_articles.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="section"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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><TR
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><TH
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COLSPAN="3"
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ALIGN="center"
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>Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community</TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="other_pr_tools.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="80%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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>Chapter 6. Other Public Relations Tools</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H1
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="feat_articles"
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></A
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>6.1. Feature Articles</H1
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><P
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>Feature articles, which explore a subject at length, are
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not constrained by the tight deadlines of regular news articles.
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Features may be submitted at any time, depending on the
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editor's needs. Features often stem from a
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regular news item.</P
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><P
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>Imagine that the Linux operating system has been
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successfully implemented at a large organization in your
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community. This story is newsworthy, but begin to look for
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"the rest of the story."</SPAN
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> What
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difficulties did they experience in the transition, or what part
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did your organization play in their implementation? This could be
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the start of a feature article.</P
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><P
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>More research and creativity will go into a feature story,
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but the must still be accurate. You will provide more facts, more
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statistics, more examples and anecdotes, and more analysis than
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in a news release. You can humanize and dramatize what may appear
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unexciting at first glance (a Linux implementation). You can
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openly focus on a particular angle or viewpoint, so long as you
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avoid outright advertising. Readers dislike advertorials
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masquerading as <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"articles,"</SPAN
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> and no
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editor will accept an article that blatantly sells.</P
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><P
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>Another bonus is that editors are quite open to features,
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because they provide much needed content for filling an issue.
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When the feature is written by a reliable source and does not
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require payment (unlike a commissioned article), the article
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becomes a real asset.</P
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><P
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>All writing needs to engage the reader. The first sentence
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or two must be compelling enough for the editor to read on.
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Features require a strong lead—something to
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hook your target audience. A headline or a photograph may
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help.</P
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><P
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>For a feature, you have a wide repertoire of leads to
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choose from. Some leads are designed to startle and shock, some
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will excite readers' curiosity, some will
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vividly describe a real or imagined scenario, and some will
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succinctly state the nature of the story.</P
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><P
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>The body of the feature then unfolds in a logical sequence,
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and ends with a strong and memorable close. Every feature will be
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different, depending on the subject, the anticipated audience,
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and the skill of the writer. Reading features written by others
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in the Linux community is a good way to learn and pick up
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possible story ideas.</P
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><P
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>You can direct a feature to the <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"feature
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editor"</SPAN
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> at a daily newspaper or your targeted trade
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magazines. Before going to the trouble of writing the article,
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you should pitch the idea to see if the publication has any
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interest at all. The pitch should include an outline, an
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estimated length (number of words), and a description of
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illustrations or photos you can supply. You could also include a
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selected portfolio of previously published articles about your
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organization.</P
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><P
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>The upfront consultation is invaluable. Since the editor
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knows their readership better than you do, they might suggest an
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angle of specific interest to their readers and indicate where
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this piece might fit in their publishing schedule. The more
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complete your package, the more seriously your work will be
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considered.</P
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><P
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>Another possibility is to plant the story idea with the
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editor, and let the publication take care of writing the feature.
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In this case, you can supply expertise and interview
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subjects.</P
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><P
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>Whatever your approach, keep in mind that the ultimate goal
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is to generate favorable coverage and visibility for your
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organization.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="other_pr_tools.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="index.html"
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ACCESSKEY="H"
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>Home</A
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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HREF="byline_articles.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Other Public Relations Tools</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="other_pr_tools.html"
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ACCESSKEY="U"
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>Up</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Bylined Articles</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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></HTML
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> |