ARC: Community: ELMAR: Posting

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WORDSMITHING
The Art and Craft of Writing for Public Relations
Ron Rhody and Carol Ann Hackley

ISBN: 0-536-12277-6
Publisher: Pearson Custom Publishing

Table of Contents

UNIT ONE

OVERVIEW: Context and Fundamentals

CHAPTER 1. A Short Overview of the Public Relations Function and Writing’s Role Therein
Creating, Packaging, and Marketing Ideas * The Basic Forms of Writing for Public Relations

CHAPTER 2. Write It Right: A Short Primer On Grammar and Spelling
Spelling "Demons" * Homonyms: They Sound the Same but Aren’t * Proper Nouns * Pronoun Problems * Media or Medium? * Reflexive Pronouns * Apostrophes * "Could of" – Ouch! * A Few Thoughts on Punctuation * Watch Your Words * Numbers * Dates and Times * "News" Releases – Says, Said, and Got * Tips for Writing Leads * Other No-Nos

CHAPTER 3. The Professional’s Code of Conduct: A Matter of Ethics
The Perils of Group-Think * The PRSA Code * The Code of Athens

UNIT TWO

THE BASICS: The Forms, Formulas, and Uses of Various Types of Releases

CHAPTER 4. The Five Ws and the Fwsh: Formulas for Writing Effective Copy
Two Fundamental Rules and Two Key Formulas * News and the Five Ws * What is News? * The Inverted Pyramid * The Five Ws at Work * The Fwsh: The Five Ws of Public Relations Writing * Example of How Fwsh Works

CHAPTER 5. What Makes a Story?
Grab and Hold Their Attention * The Importance of Self-Interest

CHAPTER 6. Getting the Information You Need
Go to the Source * Answering the "So What?"

CHAPTER 7. The Fives Types of Releases and How to Write Four of Them
Hard News Releases * News-Feature Releases * Product and Marketing Releases * Personnel Releases * Financial Releases * Example: Hard News * Example: A Feature Release * Example: A Product/Marketing Support Release * Example: A Personnel Release

CHAPTER 8. A Step-By-Step Template for Constructing a Release from the Lead to Clearances and Distribution
The Facts * The Fwsh * The Five Ws * Writing the Story Step-by-Step * The Lead * The Second Paragraph * Remaining Paragraphs * The Boilerplate * Clearances * Distribution * A Short Recap

CHAPTER 9. Targeting: Getting to the Right People with the Right Message
Where are They? * Getting to Them * Make It Personal * The Hitters List

UNIT THREE

BEYOND THE BASICS: Pieces That Sell, Persuade, Inform, and Motivate

CHAPTER 10. Op-Ed Pieces, Signed Articles, and Letters as a Tactical Tool
Use Sparingly * Signed Articles * Reprints for Cross Marketing * Letters

CHAPTER 11. Conventional Letters, Newsletters, and Brochures
Newsletters * Brochures

CHAPTER 12. Media Kits and Fact Sheets
Fact Sheets

CHAPTER 13. Writing for Radio and TV: News, Features, and PSAs
The Basics Stay the Same * A Premium on Hooks * General Rules of Writing for Broadcast * The Radio Release * The Television Release * VNRs and Other Packages * Talk Shows and Magazine Formats * The 10-Second Sound Bite * PSAs

CHAPTER 14. Position Papers and Formal Statements
Position Papers * A Foundation of Facts * A Template for Writing Position Papers * Statements * A Controlled Message * Believability

CHAPTER 15. Briefing Papers and Q&As
What a Briefing Paper Should Contain * Constructing a Briefing Paper * Q&As * Good Q&As Are Built on Good Research

CHAPTER 16. Pitches and Précis: Selling Story Ideas
Writing Pitches and Précis * Know Your Target

CHAPTER 17. Writing for the Internet
Focus on Relevance: Brevity and Punch * The Guidelines

CHAPTER 18. Writing for Crisis Management and Damage Control Situations
Crises Come in Two Varieties * The Fundamentals of Crisis Management * Communications in the Crisis Mode

CHAPTER 19. Writing Speeches
The Mechanics Are Simple * Know the Audience * The "Tell Them" Rule and the "Rule of Three" * A Template for a Speech * Scripting Something Someone Else Can Deliver * The Importance of Rehearsal * Shapers and Articulators

CHAPTER 20. Writing for the Internal Constituency
Slick Magazines to Simple Letters * Credibility and Confidence * The "But…" * Of Fundamental Importance * Packages: The Intranet * Packages: Newsletters and Letters * Packages: Magazines and Video

UNIT FOUR

ET CETERA: Special Words and Special Readings

Jargon * Suggested Readings * Bibliography * About the Authors

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