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Answer Upon - Write a Media Release that Gets Results
Managing anyone beside your self can be challenging. First you have to be sure you are going into it for the right reasons. Don't do it to feel important, you're bound to be tripped up and shown how insignificant you really are in the general scheme of things. Don't do it to have control, nobody will let you control them if they have a choice, even if that choice is to quit. Do it because you want to serve. That's a great beginning.Now, what character traits will you need? Selflessness, generosity of spirit, patience, kindness, interest in others, the ability to prioritize, discernment and the ability to get out of your box when dealing with others. That means you can look at them as they really are, not as you react to them. You have to be able to look at an employee and accept them as they are at that moment in time. Then you have to decide if they can do the job. You have to be able to separate the characteristics of their personality traits from their ability to do the job. If you like them and they are able to perform well, that's a great situation for you. If you don't like some of their personality quirks, but they can do the job, you have to honestly decide whether their personality is detrimental to the team, practice and patients or just something that bugs you.If it just bugs you, find a way to deal with it. Now, if you like them, but they just can't do the job, you have to have the guts and ego to admit it. Guts because it's hard to dismiss someone you like. Ego because it's hard to admit y
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation.
CMNs for medical billing are some of the most important pieces of information that are sent. In this installment of our electronic medical billing series, using NSF 3.01 specifications, we'll be continuing with our review of the GD0 record, which is a generic CMN, picking up with field number 26.GD0 field 26, positions 69 - 71, is the insulin dependent indicator. This is a very strange field in the GD0 record. While the field is three characters long, it is still an indicator and each response is only one character in length. The field is used to tell the carrier if the patient is insulin dependent. The codes are as follows:A 1 is entered if the patient is dependent on insulin because of widely fluctuating blood sugars. A 2 is entered if the patient is dependent on insulin because the patient has frequent episodes of insulin reactions. A 3 is entered if the patient is dependent on insulin because the patient has significant ketosis. An N is entered if the patient is not insulin dependent.GD0 field 27, position 72, is the poor diabetic control indicator. This field tells the carrier if the patient has poor diabetic control, meaning that even with insulin, control is not easy. If true, a Y is entered. If not true, an N is entered.GD0 field 28, position 73, is the episodes of apnea indicator. Just a note. If it seems that these fields are all over the place, it is because this is a generic CMN and has to cover many areas. This field tells the carrier if during a 6 to 7 hour nocturnal study, a
By following a simple formula, and sticking to a handful of rules, you can write a clear and effective media release that has the best opportunity possible of being picked up and published, and ensures the long-term integrity and media interest of the organisation you represent.
1. A MEDIA RELEASE IS NOT AN ARTICLE
One of the first mistakes when preparing a media release is to write as though it will be printed as an actual article. Almost nobody will print your media release as it stands, unless they are a seriously understaffed small publication, like a local newspaper, or else, frankly, extremely unprofessional.
When you are writing a media release you need to bear in mind that you must cater for two very different, often complementary but sometimes competing, needs. On one side, you have a great product or you’ve done a great deed, and you want to get the news out. On the other, the journalist wants a fresh, new story to tell, one that will have a broad appeal to their audience.
Essentially what this means is that you should not write a media release for the public, you should write it for one person: the journalist on whose desk it will land.
Your aim with a media release is to try to step into the shoes of the journalist; figure out what they want, then give it to them. This, in turn, will maximise your chances of that journalist using your media release as the basis for their story, and of them giving it the spin that you want to see.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry: I used to be a journalist and read scores of media releases before lunch every day, so I’ll lend you my shoes for the duration of this article.
2. GIVE THE JOURNALIST A STORY TO TELL
A journalist’s job is to tell stories, and it’s not always easy to come up with fresh, interesting stories every week or every day. So if something’s going on at your organisation that is potentially “newsworthy”, you have a valuable commodity to offer.
Remember: this is not about writing the release in such a way that you believe the story should be written; instead, it is about having something newsworthy to say in the first place. So your cat won first place in a show? Big deal: a lot of cats win prizes. Your cat won for the 10th year in a row? That’s a little more interesting, and some of the pet magazines might be interested. Your cat won first place in a dog show? Now that’s newsworthy, and you might even get a feel-good piece on one of the morning news channels.
Make sure you give the journalist the facts about your story that will make it worth telling. The golden rule? A piece of information is likely to be newsworthy if it is either:
a) New: nobody has ever heard of or done it before b) A fresh, new angle on an old story
3. PITCH TO THE RIGHT PUBLICATIONS
Think about our cat show example above. If your cat won first place in a show, it might rate a mention in the newsletter of your breeders’ club. If your cat won for the 10th year in a row, one of the nation’s pet magazines might be interested in doing a little story about your talented cat. If your cat took out top honours in a dog show, then not only the newsletters and industry magazines may be interested – you might get a piece in some of the national newspapers and television news shows.
Choosing the publications to which you send your press release is very important. Think about the type of story you have to tell, then strategically select the publications that best suit your story. You may be wanting the front page of the Herald, but let’s face it, even a prize-winning cat in a dog show is not likely to be front page news. So don’t send the release to the news editor, look for the “lifestyle” sections, and pitch your release to a journalist or editor of that section. Being smart (and realistic) about where your story could be published will greatly increase the likelihood of you receiving that all-important ‘phone call or email from a journalist.
There are many media tomes available to help you target your publications wisely. In Australia, the Australian Writers’ Marketplace is a great tool for writers and public relations professionals alike, listing every publication in Australia and New Zealand. It shouldn’t have to be said, but it is also very important that you carefully read the publications to which you send your press release, so that you are aware of their styles and the types of stories they usually publish.
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation.
Sewing seamless cloths? Sounds unbelievable, right? But the fact is sleeves and necklines require traditional stitching with thread and needle. However, the Italian knitting technology produces beautiful designs that features fashion with basic function. The soft micro fibres utilized in these cloths need particular threads, and enhanced sewing technology for the elasticity.The seamless clothing has transformed the overall worldwide production process. This technology can directly produce finished products, and lessens traditional process of the production. This leads to saving of production costs up to 40 percent compared to the customary knitting. The seamless knits are in tubular shape, which is laid-in elastic yarns, placed in the welt bands and prepared in the compressed areas.Circular knitting machines were mostly used by underwear makers since the beginning of the circular knitting technology in early 19th century. But the manufacturers in Italy merged the reciprocation technology for tips and heels of socks with intarsia for swimwear, underwear and outerwear during 80s. The machine manufacturing company, Santoni in Brescia is currently leading the market; although other companies like Sangiacomo, Italy and Merz, Germany are also famous players in similar knitting machine technologies.Within just three years, production of seamless underwear assortment reached nine percent of the total global production in this segment in year 2001, comparing two percent reached in the year 1998, with climb of 18 percen
Essentially what this means is that you should not write a media release for the public, you should write it for one person: the journalist on whose desk it will land.
Your aim with a media release is to try to step into the shoes of the journalist; figure out what they want, then give it to them. This, in turn, will maximise your chances of that journalist using your media release as the basis for their story, and of them giving it the spin that you want to see.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry: I used to be a journalist and read scores of media releases before lunch every day, so I’ll lend you my shoes for the duration of this article.
2. GIVE THE JOURNALIST A STORY TO TELL
A journalist’s job is to tell stories, and it’s not always easy to come up with fresh, interesting stories every week or every day. So if something’s going on at your organisation that is potentially “newsworthy”, you have a valuable commodity to offer.
Remember: this is not about writing the release in such a way that you believe the story should be written; instead, it is about having something newsworthy to say in the first place. So your cat won first place in a show? Big deal: a lot of cats win prizes. Your cat won for the 10th year in a row? That’s a little more interesting, and some of the pet magazines might be interested. Your cat won first place in a dog show? Now that’s newsworthy, and you might even get a feel-good piece on one of the morning news channels.
Make sure you give the journalist the facts about your story that will make it worth telling. The golden rule? A piece of information is likely to be newsworthy if it is either:
a) New: nobody has ever heard of or done it before b) A fresh, new angle on an old story
3. PITCH TO THE RIGHT PUBLICATIONS
Think about our cat show example above. If your cat won first place in a show, it might rate a mention in the newsletter of your breeders’ club. If your cat won for the 10th year in a row, one of the nation’s pet magazines might be interested in doing a little story about your talented cat. If your cat took out top honours in a dog show, then not only the newsletters and industry magazines may be interested – you might get a piece in some of the national newspapers and television news shows.
Choosing the publications to which you send your press release is very important. Think about the type of story you have to tell, then strategically select the publications that best suit your story. You may be wanting the front page of the Herald, but let’s face it, even a prize-winning cat in a dog show is not likely to be front page news. So don’t send the release to the news editor, look for the “lifestyle” sections, and pitch your release to a journalist or editor of that section. Being smart (and realistic) about where your story could be published will greatly increase the likelihood of you receiving that all-important ‘phone call or email from a journalist.
There are many media tomes available to help you target your publications wisely. In Australia, the Australian Writers’ Marketplace is a great tool for writers and public relations professionals alike, listing every publication in Australia and New Zealand. It shouldn’t have to be said, but it is also very important that you carefully read the publications to which you send your press release, so that you are aware of their styles and the types of stories they usually publish.
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation.
The charm of the silk fabric has allured mankind since thousands for years. The dazzle, broad range of colors and the excellent texture has made this fabric - the most amicable of all. Silk fabric is manufactured by both, naturally and artificially. There are four types of natural silk is available, namely tasar, mulberry, muga and eri. However, the higher demand for natural silk led pressure to find out other options to make silk. The four natural silk sources seem incapable to cater the increasing demands. Now here a significant question arises - Is there any other source available to get natural silk? The answer is "YES", it's a "Spider Silk". It is true that irritate ting and ignored insect can produce good silk fibre.Spider silk is a fibre, which is extracted from spiders. It is strong fibre, even its tensile strength is compared to the steel. The tensile strength for one type of steel at 1.65 Gpa, whereas spider silk is nearly at 1.3 Gpa. But, the density of spider silk less than steel and its tensile strength to density is about five times more than steel, such as DuPont's Kelvar, aromatic nylon filamentsSpider silk's Structure Within a distinctive fibre, there are crystalline sectors with amorphous linkages. These crystal sectors are beta-sheets, which are put together. Spider silk is very flexible, and can be stretched up to 40 percent of its original length with no breakage problems. This results in a high ductility. Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silk is similar to aromatic nylon.Spider silk
Remember: this is not about writing the release in such a way that you believe the story should be written; instead, it is about having something newsworthy to say in the first place. So your cat won first place in a show? Big deal: a lot of cats win prizes. Your cat won for the 10th year in a row? That’s a little more interesting, and some of the pet magazines might be interested. Your cat won first place in a dog show? Now that’s newsworthy, and you might even get a feel-good piece on one of the morning news channels.
Make sure you give the journalist the facts about your story that will make it worth telling. The golden rule? A piece of information is likely to be newsworthy if it is either:
a) New: nobody has ever heard of or done it before b) A fresh, new angle on an old story
3. PITCH TO THE RIGHT PUBLICATIONS
Think about our cat show example above. If your cat won first place in a show, it might rate a mention in the newsletter of your breeders’ club. If your cat won for the 10th year in a row, one of the nation’s pet magazines might be interested in doing a little story about your talented cat. If your cat took out top honours in a dog show, then not only the newsletters and industry magazines may be interested – you might get a piece in some of the national newspapers and television news shows.
Choosing the publications to which you send your press release is very important. Think about the type of story you have to tell, then strategically select the publications that best suit your story. You may be wanting the front page of the Herald, but let’s face it, even a prize-winning cat in a dog show is not likely to be front page news. So don’t send the release to the news editor, look for the “lifestyle” sections, and pitch your release to a journalist or editor of that section. Being smart (and realistic) about where your story could be published will greatly increase the likelihood of you receiving that all-important ‘phone call or email from a journalist.
There are many media tomes available to help you target your publications wisely. In Australia, the Australian Writers’ Marketplace is a great tool for writers and public relations professionals alike, listing every publication in Australia and New Zealand. It shouldn’t have to be said, but it is also very important that you carefully read the publications to which you send your press release, so that you are aware of their styles and the types of stories they usually publish.
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation.
A fast growing segment of the card industry is membership and loyalty cards. These cards offer membership to your customers with added incentives. They also provide the card holder with special discounts, rewards and privileges that keeps them returning and also attracts new customers.Especially popular are the Key-Card combinations (combos). These are very affective in attaching your business brand and messaging to wallets, pocketbooks and key chains.Membership Cards and loyalty cards generally consist of a standard magnetic stripe and/or barcode. They also come on a post card backing so that you can get your customer’s name and address. It is also possible to keep track of purchases and to maintain a relationship through direct mail and opt-in, perm ission-based email.Membership and loyalty cards are manufactured with durable plastic Teslin and are laminated on both sides. They are digitally printed. Digital printing produces high quality graphics (photograph quality). Cards can be customized with personalization, names, account numbers, addresses and more. Graphic designers can assist in obtaining a card that will be effective with existing and new valued customers.Typically, these cards can be manufactured with up to 6 colors, front and back. In addition, many plastic cards are popularly used in wallet, key tag or combination formats and can be personalized with bar codes and other data.Membership and loyalty cards are frequently manufactured with a variety of laminates. Glass, matte or glo
Choosing the publications to which you send your press release is very important. Think about the type of story you have to tell, then strategically select the publications that best suit your story. You may be wanting the front page of the Herald, but let’s face it, even a prize-winning cat in a dog show is not likely to be front page news. So don’t send the release to the news editor, look for the “lifestyle” sections, and pitch your release to a journalist or editor of that section. Being smart (and realistic) about where your story could be published will greatly increase the likelihood of you receiving that all-important ‘phone call or email from a journalist.
There are many media tomes available to help you target your publications wisely. In Australia, the Australian Writers’ Marketplace is a great tool for writers and public relations professionals alike, listing every publication in Australia and New Zealand. It shouldn’t have to be said, but it is also very important that you carefully read the publications to which you send your press release, so that you are aware of their styles and the types of stories they usually publish.
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation.
I’ve written often on the subject of leadership development and talent management because very few things in business can catalyze change and create sustainable growth like leaders who understand how to leverage their talent and resources. It takes more than charisma and subject matter expertise to be a leader it also takes a keen understanding of how to create organizational leverage.One of the main keys to generating organizational leverage is for C-suite executives and entrepreneurs to know when, where and why to deploy (or redeploy) talent and resources. It has been my experience that it is much easier to recruit talent or acquire resources than it is to properly deploy talent and allocate resources.Jack Welch the former head of GE built a reputation as one of the great business leaders of this era. When asked how he transformed a lack-luster, institutional, global corporate giant into a dynamic culture focused on innovation and growth, Welch responded by saying; “My job is to put the best people on the biggest opportunities and the best allocation of dollars in the right places. That's about it. Transfer ideas and allocate resources and get out of the way." Welch clearly not only understood the concept of organizational leverage through proper deployment of talent and resources…He mastered it.I’ve heard it said that the role of a leader is to create and manage good followers. While there is an element of truth in that statement if this is what you aspire to as a leader it constitutes a complete underutili
4. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people think they can “fudge” their way through a press release, providing poorly-informed information or exaggerating the facts in an attempt to catch the journalist’s eye.
Any half-decent journalist will always check their facts. They know that you have a personal or business agenda for wanting your story published, so they’re going to do their best to make sure what they print is the truth, rather than just your version of the truth. If you have lied, exaggerated or failed to check your own facts, this will reflect very poorly on you and your organisation. Not only is this release likely to be tossed in the bin, it is extremely unlikely that the journalist will ever trust a press release sent by you again – or bother to read it.
On the other hand, clear facts that can be supported will lend integrity to your press release – and therefore to you and your organisation so future releases are likely to be viewed more favourably.
5. PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
It’s best to keep a press release short – go over a page, and you’ll diminish the likelihood that a journalist will read on. This shouldn’t be difficult, since the media release is merely intended to provide all the key information that will pique a journalist’s interest.
However, sometimes it may be of value to provide background information to help the journalist support their story. This will save them a lot of research time, and may tip the scales in your favour when they are weighing up whether or not to write the story. In the case of the “cat & dog” scenario given earlier, this might be access to judging criteria in dog shows, for example.
Background information can be provided as appendices to the release itself, or published on your website and clearly marked on the release so that the journalist can easily find it.
6. STICK TO THE FORMULA
Once you have a good story to tell, got your facts straight, gathered your background information and identified the publications most likely to respond positively, writing a media release is a fairly straightforward exercise. That’s because you can pretty well follow a standard formula each time.
Carrying forward with our silly cat-dog story, we’ll outline a five-point formula and illustrate it with the cat-dog details, building a press release as we go. Let’s assume the release is being sent by the fictitious National Canine Institute, which has a simple agenda of gaining media exposure.
Put all the details in the first sentence or two
That is, what is happening / happened, when and where, who is involved, and why it is interesting or important. This is quite different to the start of an actual article, because it is heavy in information that general readers might not want to know. But remember: your audience in this case is just one person, the journalist, and you need to give them all the information they need to decide whether your story is worth telling.
A blue-point Burmese cat shocked crowds and enraged dog-owners by not only entering – but winning – Best of Show in the nation’s most prestigious dog show: the National Canine Institute (NCI) Awards, held in the Canberra Chamber of Commerce on Friday (March 12).
• What is happening: a cat won a dog show
• When and where: on Friday March 12, at the Canberra Chamber of Commerce
• Who is involved: the cat, the crowds, other pet owners, the Institute
• Why is it interesting: it shocked crowds and scandalised pet owners
Expand on the above introduction
Provide a little more information and, if appropriate, add details as to how the event happened or will happen.
Having entered Betty the Burmese via a legal loophole in the NCI’s charter, the cat’s owners, Margaret and Richard Dalrymple, say they are unperturbed by the scandal surrounding the award, stating simply that Betty was held up to the same scrutiny as all the dogs, and was clearly found to be superior. Their opinion is shared by the judges.
Follow up with a “quotable quote”
Ensure that any quotes in your media release are attributed to a person (ie. identify the person giving the quote), and if that person has a job title etc, include that. Only include quotes that add to either the information or value of your media release, and only quote people who are relevant to the story.
“Betty’s entry in this competition was a legal matter over which we had no say,” explained NCI President and chief judge, Peter Davies, “so we simply applied the same rigorous standards of judgement across the board. Betty was a clear winner.”
Continue with any other important facts or issues
You may also wish to back these up with another “quotable quote” if it is appropriate.
However, many of the show’s dog owners are not so philosophical, stating t
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