484 lines
13 KiB
HTML
484 lines
13 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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>Selling Your Story to the Media</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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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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REL="UP"
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TITLE="Working with the Media"
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HREF="working_with_media.html"><LINK
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REL="PREVIOUS"
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TITLE="Targeting Other Medias"
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HREF="target_other_media.html"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Do's and Don'ts When Dealing with the News Media"
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HREF="dos_donts.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="section"
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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="target_other_media.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 4. Working with the Media</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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><A
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HREF="dos_donts.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"></DIV
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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="selling_to_media"
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></A
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>4.3. <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Selling"</SPAN
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> Your Story to the Media</H1
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><P
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>Clearly, editors and producers have to know the interests
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of their audiences. Often this knowledge comes from the
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editors' strong identification with their
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readers, which can develop into an almost paternal attitude.
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Editors are constantly making decisions about what their readers
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will and won't see—any
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editor would correctly say that is their job. Part of this
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judgment is based on what the editor feels the readers are
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currently interested in, and part is based on what the editor
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feels the readers <EM
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>should</EM
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> or <EM
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>will</EM
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>
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be interested in. An astute editor keeps their sights as much on
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the future as on the present.</P
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><P
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>Keep in mind that the role of the news media has never been
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confined to just reporting the news, but also includes analysis
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and interpretation. Analysis and interpretation are considered
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the domain of <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"experts,"</SPAN
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> which
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presents a perfect opportunity for specialists in your
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organization to share their knowledge and bring visibility to
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your organization.</P
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><P
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>Editors, being journalists, abide by the five Ws tradition
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of reporting: who, what, where, when, and why (with an unofficial
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"how"</SPAN
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>tagging along).
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Always include clear, engaging answers to the five Ws in all news
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releases. Also, you can use the five Ws as a guideline for how to
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most effectively catch the attention of editors.</P
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><P
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><EM
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>The way</EM
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> in which you present this information
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is crucial to being accepted by an editor as newsworthy for their audience.
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You have to <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"tell a story,"</SPAN
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> make the news
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interesting and relevant, and choose an appropriate time and
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place to present the story.</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_who"
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></A
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>4.3.1. Who</H2
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Who"</SPAN
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> usually consists of your
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organization, spokespersons, and authorities quoted in your news
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releases. Your organization and those speaking as representatives
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must be presented as professional, authoritative, influential,
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and with strong credentials for speaking on matters related to
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your industry. By positioning your organization in this way, you
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have a much better chance of generating visibility and
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prestige.</P
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><P
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>The goal is to make your organization a recognized
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authority in your field. With this distinction, any time you
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issue a statement, your news will draw the attention of editors
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whose readers are interested in the specific work you do. All
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things being equal, the more influential your spokesperson, the
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better the chance your news has of being selected.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_what"
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></A
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>4.3.2. What</H2
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><P
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>The <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"what"</SPAN
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> is the subject of
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your release—a new application, a new
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appointment, or any interesting event you choose to announce.
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Naturally, unusual or exciting announcements have a better chance
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of being covered. Anything you can do to make your story stand
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out from the ordinary will be viewed as a refreshing change and
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will increase the chance of your story being published.</P
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><P
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>If the <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"what"</SPAN
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> in your story
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is a personnel appointment (either paid or volunteer), look for
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some human interest in either the person or the job at hand. If
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this person is a well-known Linux expert or a pillar of their
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local community, all the better. The more noteworthy the
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individual, the more newsworthy the story.</P
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><P
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>If the <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"what"</SPAN
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> is an event
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such as a Linux trade show, that is a plus. Editors regard events
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as more urgent and newsworthy than other announcements.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_where"
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></A
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>4.3.3. Where</H2
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><P
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>The <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"where"</SPAN
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> of your release
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plays a key role. As you begin to understand public relations,
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you will appreciate the role of staging events to generate news.
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Since the media appreciates visuals, try to produce events with
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images as well as a pertinent story.</P
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><P
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>In planning a pitch or a release, ensure that you clearly
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indicate the address of every event you hope to have reporters
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attend. Reporters' time is wasted if they have
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to call for directions to every event. A special media contact
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person is a good idea to have at all events. This person can
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prevent reporters from missing important or visual parts of
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events. Be aware of upcoming events or activities that you might
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be able to capitalize on or borrow interest from. Again, the goal
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is promote the unusual, the unique, the unexpected that will
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pique the editor's curiosity or sense of
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humor—and get your story into print.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_when"
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></A
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>4.3.4. When</H2
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><P
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>Remember that for most organizations,
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"when"</SPAN
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> can be just about any time.
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There is no need to wait for once-a-year events (like trade
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shows) to provide news. With creative thinking, you can come up
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with news stories that capitalize on current events. For example,
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news about the economy and what proprietary operating systems
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cost organizations to run can provide a background for Linux
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news. New computer applications running on Linux also present
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rich opportunities.</P
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"When"</SPAN
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> is extremely important
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in terms of releasing the news. For instance, if you are
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publicizing special events or trade show appearances, you want to
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allow ample time for an editor to assign a reporter to cover the
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story (if the news is deemed of interest). If the editor
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doesn't have enough time to assign a reporter
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to cover your event, you can count on no reporters being
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available.</P
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><P
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>Fortunately, though, while timing is critically important,
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avoiding bad timing is easy. The first rule is always to provide
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a reasonable amount of advance notice. For news-breaking media
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such as radio, television, and some newspapers, two days is an
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absolute minimum, and a week is more prudent. For magazines and
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trade journals, one to two weeks is the minimum in most cases,
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and three to four weeks is even better.</P
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><P
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>The second rule is to use your common sense and avoid
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scheduling pitches when you know the editor is on deadline or is
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involved with other events. Also avoid periods when the editor is
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working with little or no support staff (such as when reporters
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are away at an important trade show). Generally, business hours
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between 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. is best, since this gives
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reporters time to write and file their stories. Mondays and
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Fridays are always more difficult than midweek, but
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don't be afraid to ask if the editor prefers
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specific days.</P
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><P
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>If you are requesting reporters attend and cover an event,
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never ask the editor to confirm their attendance. The editor will
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not appreciate the pressure, and besides they cannot guarantee
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they will have the resources (reporters and camera operators) at
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the appointed time. News changes by the second. A reporter may be
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ready to go to your event and, at the last minute, be reassigned
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to something else. This happens all the time, so
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don't take the rejection personally.</P
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><P
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>If you show respect for the editor's
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time, they will appreciate your consideration and may be more
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likely to cover at least some of your stories.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_why"
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></A
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>4.3.5. Why</H2
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><P
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>So far, we have discussed <EM
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>who</EM
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>
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the news media is interested in, <EM
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>what</EM
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>
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news is most likely to be covered, and <EM
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>where</EM
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>
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and <EM
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>when</EM
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> you are going to make your pitch.
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Now, in looking at the <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"why"</SPAN
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> of your
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organization's story, we will address two questions. First,
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<EM
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>why</EM
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> did your news item come to pass, and second,
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<EM
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>why</EM
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> should an editor (and their readers, listeners,
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or viewers) find your event newsworthy?</P
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><P
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>Unless there is something terribly interesting about the
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who, what, where, or when, <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"why"</SPAN
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> is
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the single most compelling factor available to an editor in
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determining newsworthiness. Why is the news important to the
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audience? Why do they need to know about this? Why is your
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particular event unusual or out of the ordinary?</P
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><P
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>Most organization's activities can be
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analyzed in terms of their cause and/or their effect. The more
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you can identify causes or effects in your story, the better
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chance your organization has of receiving coverage. As an
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example, if there is a trend of Linux being increasingly used in
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the enterprise, there must be a reason why. Giving the editor
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just a few of these reasons can make your story more newsworthy
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than just a simple, bland announcement. Even including some
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statistics to support your why will likely have a tremendous
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effect.</P
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><P
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>The same principle holds true for something as seemingly
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mundane as a new personnel selection. Why was there a vacancy?
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Why was this person selected to fill the spot? Adding either or
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both pieces of information to the release greatly increases the
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news interest.</P
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><P
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>One of the cardinal rules of media and public relations is:
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Never promote features, always promote
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benefits."</SPAN
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> A feature is any specific aspect that
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makes a product or service unique; features belong to products or
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services. A benefit is an advantage gained by the user in
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selecting a specific product or service; benefits belong to
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users. What a product or service does is nowhere near as
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meaningful as why there is some advantage or benefit to the
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user.</P
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><P
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>You don't need to completely ignore
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describing features, but you do need to present them in the
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context of their benefits to the end user. The reason for doing
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this is simple. Readers are potential users, and the better job
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you do of relating to the user, the more you will attract
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readers. Readers, as we already know, are the
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editor's Holy Grail.</P
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><P
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>If your release is about an event, there are numerous
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"whys"</SPAN
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> you need to address. Why
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now? Why is your organization involved or being a sponsor? Why
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would anyone want to come to the event?</P
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><P
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>Be proactive and open in sharing the causes and anticipated
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effects of these accomplishments. Don't leave
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the editor wondering: <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"So what?"</SPAN
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>
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Failing to provide answers to why your activity is news is a
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sure-fire way of getting your release
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"filed"</SPAN
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> in the recycle bin.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="selling_how"
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></A
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>4.3.6. How</H2
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><P
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>Cause and effect, and explaining why your news is
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happening, will very naturally lead to the
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"how"</SPAN
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> of your story. How did this
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come to pass? How are you accomplishing this? How did your
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organization decide to embark on this new and exciting
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initiative? How will this change affect people and the
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marketplace? Describing the <EM
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>hows</EM
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>
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gives color and interest to your story.</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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>Next</A
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Targeting Other Medias</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="working_with_media.html"
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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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>Do's and Don'ts When Dealing with the News Media</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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