Press Release assignment

Note: This is a fictitious press release created for COM-510 as part of the Master of Communications program at Southern New Hampshire University.  I wanted to do something different and not simply write an obituary type release, so I am writing it from the perspective of a potential release by the American Lung Association in the days following his death.  It would be sent in a timely fashion but a respectful distance from the death itself.  The last thing an organization would want is a perception of taking advantage of an individual's death.   However if done appropriately it could be very effective.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Football Legend Loses Battle with Lung Cancer

American Lung Association urges action to honor his memory

Interview and video opportunities available

January 24, 2012

In the coming days we will hear dramatic stories of football heroics and perhaps controversy about Joe Paterno’s departure at Penn state.  The American Lung Association respectfully asks to honor his memory by searching for a cure of the disease that took his life.

As reported by numerous news outlets, legendary Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno passed away from lung cancer.  While his high profile death creates enormous attention, lung cancer sadly kills more than 150,000 people every year.  

Consider these alarming lung cancer stats:

*Leading cancer killer

*Nearly 160,000 people will die from it in 2014

*Nearly 225,000 new cases expected in 2014

Donate money or simply encourage a friend struggling to quit smoking.   There is no gesture or donation too small to help fight this deadly disease that claimed the life of football legend Joe Paterno and thousands of others.

American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer is available for satellite, radio, phone or Skype interviews.  We can also connect you with lung cancer patients willing to share their story.  In addition, we can assist setting up interviews at a local clinic for visual and video opportunities.

Click here for downloadable images and quotes

Contact:

Tim Boyum

Cell – 123-456-7890

Email – prdirector@americanlungassoc.org

Don't be old Tim. Don't be old.

     I remember it clearly.  I was sitting at my computer and listening to a handful of the 20-somethings complaining about our boss having no understanding of social media.  I nodded my head in agreement to prevent being grouped in with the "old guys" running the place.  Truth was I had no idea what they were talking about!  It was that exact moment that I began my quest in 2008 to get on Twitter and engage.

      The days of broad messages on mass media trying to reach a mass audience are essentially gone.  While television advertisements are still an important part of the portfolio, social media focuses on one key tactic—engagement.   

      The ability to interact directly with individual consumers and target messages for smaller groups of consumers has revolutionized mass marketing.  Three social media tools, in particular, grab my attention when it comes to recruiting and engaging viewers of my political show;  Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

       

     When I joined Twitter (see my work account here) in 2008, it was still gaining steam.  I was a complete idiot when it came to the actual engagement part.  I was concerned that no one was responding  to my tweets.  That was when I discovered this tab called “mentions” and I realized I had not responded to roughly 30 people who had asked me questions a month earlier!  You could term that one-way engagement and a one-way ticket out of the social media hall of fame!  Through the years, I have learned new tactics, learned from my mistakes and managed to gain more than 4000 followers.  I’m convinced it played a major role in the Washington Post naming me as one of the top state political reporters in the country.  Twitter allows you to follow and categorize the list of people you follow.  It’s instantaneous and allows a conversation back and forth in a matter of seconds.  People can favorite or retweet your 140 character messages.  In the eyes of consumers it appears as an endorsement, essentially.  In addition, it allows you to interact with people who have concerns directly.  I use it to float ideas for the show and find new guests.  Twitter now allows pictures and videos which can be very effective in reaching more people.  Using hashtags allows people to find your tweets through a simple search.

                Facebook is a different tool  but with a number of similarities in interacting with audiences.  In my experience, it seems the political world is much more attracted to interacting with reporters on Twitter.  Nonetheless, we created a Facebook page for our show.  We are not as good posting original content on Facebook as Twitter and only have 339 “subscribers” because of that fact.  It takes much more time to monitor the longer conversations on Facebook and we essentially produce a show with only two people.  You have to utilize your resources in a very efficient manner.  Facebook is very effective in reaching audiences simply because of its popularity and they are likely to spend more time conversing with fellow viewers.  It allows customers to view, comment, and share in a larger fashion than other social media sites. 

                For this exercise, I chose to pick a new social media tool I was not already using.  Despite my love for social media, I never signed up for Instagram until this week.  I never understood why I wanted a social media site that focused on pictures when I could post them on Facebook and Twitter.  I mean how many ways do I need to post a photograph, right?  However, it was interesting after inputting my information it automatically asked me if I wanted to connect with my contact list and within about a half hour I already had 38 followers and have five comments on the picture I posted of the television studio.  You can also cross post Instagram pictures on Facebook which helps get a better bang for your buck, sort of speak.   Social media audiences are attracted to images.  There’s plenty of evidence (see here and below) that adding photographs or links to your posts helps increase clicks and views, so this should be a great benefit to my social media portfolio. 

                It’s a brave new world of reaching audiences, and it takes a much broader approach.  Despite stretching my resources (time) over multiple platforms my engagement with viewers has never been so personal.  It’s fun for me and hopefully leads to more loyalty among my audience members as well.  Let’s be honest, as much as the news is the star in the mind of a journalist you still have to be liked by your audience!

Avoiding digital car crashes

      Last week my four-year-old son asked me what I do at work.  I told him I read the news.  He proceeded to ask me what I talk about and I told him politics.  He thought for a second and then looked up at me with his curious blue eyes and said “like car crashes?”  Yes, son, exactly!  Sometimes politics seems like a mess.

       Unrestricted web publishing can lead to a digital car crash as well if the credibility of the author, sources, and information collide to create a world wide wreck.  Anyone with internet access and typing skills can publish information and it requires a consumer with critical thinking skills to ensure they are reading reputable and factual information.

       Even reputable news organizations face credibility and source issues on a regular basis.  To illustrate this point, I evaluated this article from Time.  It’s a political piece from Monday that focuses on President Obama’s announcement related to illegal immigration and shifting more resources to border patrol.  The reporter, Zeke Miller, is a Yale graduate who has worked as a political reporter for three nationally recognized publications.   This clearly gives him authority and passes the qualification test cited by George Mason University as part of its criteria when evaluating WWW resources.

    

         Time Magazine has a longstanding tradition as a reputable news organization as well with a history dating back to 1923.  The web version of this story has links to extensive background on the magazine and author.    It does not appear Mr. Miller has any peer reviewed publications but there is significant material from prior work available online.  The story is from this week so it’s clearly timely and there is no blatant bias noticeable.  His style of writing is fairly straightforward and each declarative statement is sourced. 

          The author’s sources are quotes from a widely televised news conference by President Obama that is also available online.  His other sources are quotes from statements he acquired by the U.S. House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader.  In a brief search, none of the statements he uses are disputed.  Mr. Miller also uses quotes from the Republican National Committee Chairman and the head of a Hispanic organization.  It is unclear if those were statements or part of an interview conducted by the reporter.  The least reliable source is information used in a declarative manner and sourced to a “White House official”.   While it’s unfortunate, it’s not uncommon for White House reporters to get information on background from an unnamed official.  It’s also more about the process President Obama will use to implement his plan rather than any opinion on the issue. 

                This article clearly meets the criteria in evaluating credibility and is a great guideline for a consumer to see what constitutes a credible resource.    The internet is the new wild west of the information frontier and unrestricted web publishing is inevitable.  Our job as a consumer is to have the skills to ensure we are reading credible information to avoid digital car crashes!