Writing Skills and the Press Release

I learnt from the readings this week that sound writing skills are a must in order to secure a job in public relations.

Kurt Wise urges in his article, "The Importance of Writing Skills":

"Writing is one of the foundations of a successful public relations practitioner and the ability to communicate messages clearly and concisely is one of their differentiating skills." (Treadwell and Treadwell, 2004)

Possessing the ability to write in a versatile, persuasive and informative manner will set the strong candidates apart from the weak applicants as basic writing skills are diminishing in university graduates.

The readings also emphasised the importance of writing for web format. It urges a different approach needs to be taken when composing text for the internet as people read information differently on the web than they do when reading a newspaper or magazine. Wise advises that a more concise, conversational and enticing style needs to be adopted for the on-line audience.

The second article was extremely helpful for a budding public relations practitioner. It gives 10 simple tips to construct an effective media release. This is important as the media release is vital for media relations in the PR world. Here is a quick summary of the tips:

1. Make sure you are presenting information of genuine worth.
2. Don't mistake a press release for an advertisement.
3. Don't think one size fits all.
4. Keep it short and succinct.
5. Make the heading relevant.
6. Be careful and clever with quotes.
7. Do the reporters job for them.
8. Keep the boilerplate to a minimum.
9. Give a tag-team of contacts.
10. Check and double check.


See Levi's blog for critique.