Description
forms of mass media. effective use of press release.
A press release is a brief written communication directed to the media
that makes a newsworthy announcement. Press releases fulfill a public
relations function by giving editors and reporters the information needed to
develop a story about your company—or your client, if you are a PR agency.
A press release can be used to announce a variety of topics, such as a new
product or service, an event, sales or financial data, changes in management,
a notable award or accomplishment, or a campaign. They can also include
images, videos and other multimedia elements, as well as links to websites,
all which help supplement the topic of the press release and can help attract
attention to it.
Hints and tips
Press releases tend to follow a standard format as it makes it easier for
ournalists to get the details they need in an efficient way. !t also helps
ournalists distinguish press releases from pitch letters and other types of PR
tools.
The standard press release format includes"
• Headline" a brief attention#grabbing statement summari$ing the news.
• %ubhead &optional'" a secondary statement which builds on the
headline and further fleshes out the news.
• (ateline" the city where the news is originating and the date of the
release.
• )ead or introductory paragraph" the first paragraph of the release
which generally answers the *ho, *hat, *hen, *here and *hy
+uestions.
• ,ody" additional paragraphs which provide supporting material and
further details, i.e., direct +uotes, relevant background information and
statistics.
• ,oilerplate" a short paragraph giving information about the issuing
company or organisation.
• -lose" add ... after the press release content and before the media
contact information, signaling the end of the press release.
• %ource" the company or organi$ation issuing the release.
• /edia contact information" the name, phone number and email
address for the PR or media relations contact responsible for any
+uestions about the release.
Tips for writing a good press release
0. Always put the press release date at the top
1. %tart with a good, strong headline, supported by the essence of the
story in the very first paragraph 2 this answers the +uestion 3*hat43
5. Place the company6s name prominently in the opening section 2 *ho4
7. (emonstrate that the story is of local or national importance 2 *here4
8. 9ive a brief indication of company thinking behind the new
development 2 *hy4
:. Provide information on the timescale of the news story 2 *hen4
;. !nclude an editor6s note &or boilerplate', with basic facts such as
company background for recipients not familiar with the organisation
. %upport the name with a telephone and email address
0?. @eep it short, informative and interesting
SAMPLE 1
PRA%% RA)AA%A
=BR !//A(!ATA RA)AA%A
-ontact" =red %tooter
Bffice" 888.888.8888
Pager" 888.888.8888
A,- =oods Announces Cew =ast =ood Affort
A,- =oods, the nation6s largest food and restaurant conglomerate,
announced the launch of a new fast food chain, Cew (ay (eli. The restaurant
will feature fresh custom entrees, sandwiches, soups and desserts.
D/any people love fresh deli food, but most delis are local, Dsaid A,- -AB
=red %tooter. D*e felt there was a niche for a new type of convenience
restaurant for people who are looking for something special and varied.E
Although there are many sandwich chains, Cew (ay intends to offer more,
having developed a cutting edge means of fresh food storage. DAt Cew (ay
you6ll be able to get ust about anything,E %tooter continued. DBur patented
=resh =orever refrigeration technology has changed the game in fast foods. !t
allows us to keep more types of foods on site longer.E
A,- will open Cew (ay stores in maor cities in the *est and also a few in
the Aast by spring. %eattle, Portland, %an =rancisco, )os Angeles, %an (iego,
(enver, -hicago, (allas and Cew Fork are all on tap for franchises. ,eyond
that, more restaurants are planned. DBur goal is one#hundred stores in three
years,E %tooter said.
A,- =oods is head+uartered in (enver, -B, and employees ;?>#?#?#?#?#?#
journalism
Gournalism is gathering, processing, and dissemination of news and
information related to the news to the audience. The word applies to both the
method of in+uiring for news and the literary style which is used to
disseminate it.
H0I
H1I
The media through which ournalism is conducted vary diversely to include
content published via newspapers and maga$ines &print', television and radio
&broadcast', and their digital versions published through digital media — news
websites and applications.
Public relations
Public relations &PR' is the practice of managing the spread of information
between an individual or an organi$ation and the public.H0I Public relations
may include an organi$ation or individual gaining eJposure to their audiences
using topics of public interest and news items that do not re+uire direct
payment.H1I The aim of public relations is to persuade the public, prospective
customers, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to
maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political
decisions. -ommon activities include working with the press and supplying
written content for news and feature articles together with arranging interviews
with eJpert spokespeople, speaking at conferences, winning industry awards
and internalKemployee communication.H5I
Advertisement
a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or
event or publici$ing a ob vacancy.
#?#?#??#?#?#?#
Role of mm on society
!n the last five decades or so, the media and its influence on the societies, has
grown eJponentially with the advance of technology. =irst there was the
telegraph and the post offices, then the radio, the newspaper, maga$ines,
television and now the internet and the new media including palmtops, cell
phones etc. There are positive and negative influences of mass media, which
we must understand as a responsible person of a society.
,efore discussing the influence of mass media on society it is imperative to
eJplain the three basic functions of mass mediaL they are providing
newsKinformation, entertainment and education. The first and foremost
function of the media in a society is to provide news and information to the
masses, that is why the present era is some time termed as the information
age as well. People need newsKinformation for various reasons, on one hand
it can be used to sociali$e and on the other to make decisions and formulate
opinions. Antertainment would be the other function of the mass media where
it is mostly used by the masses to amuse them in present day hectic
environment. Aducating the masses about their rights, moral, social and
religious obligations is another important function of mass media, which needs
no emphasis.
!n present era of globali$ation, maority of people in the society depends on
information and communication to remain connected with the world and do
our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education,
sociali$ation, travelling and anything else that we have to do. A common
urban person usually wakes up in the morning checks the tv news or
newspaper, goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats with their family or
peers when possible and makes his decisions based on the information that
he has either from their co workers, tv news, friends, family, financial reports,
etc. we need to be conscious of the reality that most of our decisions, beliefs
and values are based on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our
own eJperience. !n our work we usually know what we have to do, based on
our eJperience and studies, however on our routine life and house hold
chores we mostly rely on the mass media to get the current news and facts
about what is important and what we should be aware of.
*e have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news,
entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on our
kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it really works.
The media makes billions of dollars with the advertising they sell and that we
are eJposed to, every single moment. *e buy what we are told to buy by the
media. After seeing thousands of advertisings we make our buying decisions
based on what we saw on Tv, newspapers or maga$ines. These are the
effects of mass media especially in teenagers, they buy what they see on Tv,
what their favourite celebrity advertise and what is acceptable by society
based on the fashion that the media has imposed on them.
There are some positive and negative influences in young people of our
society due to these ad campaigns in the media. Here is a positive influence
eJample, if there is a +ui$ show on education that is getting a lot of attention
by the media and gains popularity among your friends and society, you will
more likely want to actively participate and watch these +ui$ shows. These
activities are good for the society and will promote literary activities in the
youth. However a negative influence in teenagers is the use of guns and
ammunition by celebrity movie stars, the constant eJposure of which would
seduce the teen to replicate the same behaviour in the real life. *hen we
watch tv or a action movie we usually see many images of violence and
people hurting others. The problem with this is that it can become traumatic
especially in our children as they see it more and more. Bur kids that are
starting to grow and are shaping their personality values and beliefs can
become aggressive or they can lose a sense of distinction between reality and
fiction. Another problem is that real war is used as a form of entertainment by
the media, we should make our kids and teen aware that war is not a form of
entertainment and that there is no win or lose like in video games, in real war
everyone lose.
Teens, youngsters are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by
their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the
ideal image of beautiful men and women with all the ingredients of a
successful person, you can see it in movies and tv. !t6s a subliminal way to
persuade the masses that if you want to be successful and look like them then
you have to buy that particular brand or product. Another negative influence in
teenagers, especially in the M%A, that has grown over the last years is
obesity. There are millions of adolescents fighting obesity, but at the same
time they are eJposed to thousands of advertisements of unk food, while the
ideal image of a successful person is told to be thin and wealthy.
The media has a huge impact on society in shaping the public opinion of the
masses. They can form or modify the public opinion in different ways
depending of what is the obective. =or eJample, Pakistani media influenced
the public opinion against the Taliban in %wat by repeated telecast of a video
clip showing whipping of a woman by a Taliban. ,efore that the public opinion
over the military action against the Taliban in %wat was divided, but repeated
telecast of this short video clip changed the public opinion over night in the
favour of the government to take action. Bther ways to influence are with polls
and trends, especially in political campaigns. The candidates that can pay for
more tv and media eJposure have more influence on public opinion and thus
can receive more votes.
?####??????—?#??#?#?
Functions of the Mass Media
Almost everyone gets his or her information about world, national, and local
affairs from the mass media. This fact gives both print and broadcast
ournalism important functions that include influencing public opinion,
determining the political agenda, providing a link between the government and
the people, acting as a government watchdog, and affecting sociali$ation.
0. Public opinion
The mass media not only report the results of public opinion surveys
conducted by outside organi$ations but also increasingly incorporate their
own polls into their news coverage. /ore important, newspapers and
television help shape public opinion as well. Research has shown that the
positions Americans take on critical issues are influenced by the media,
especially when the media air divergent views and provide in#depth analysis.
1. Political agenda
The term political agenda is broader in scope than the term public opinion,
and it refers to the issues Americans think are the most important and that
government needs to address. A personNs perception of such matters as
crime, civil rights, the economy, immigration, and welfare are affected by the
manner and eJtent of media coverage. %tudies indicate that a correlation
eJists between the significance people assign a problem and the fre+uency
and amount of space or time newspapers, maga$ines, and television give to
it.
5. )ink between the government and the people
The mass media is the vehicle through which the government informs,
eJplains, and tries to win support for its programs and policies. President
=ranklin RooseveltNs 3fireside chats3 used radio in this manner. Today, the
maor networks do not always give the president desired airtime if they believe
the purpose is essentially political. !f they do grant the time, the opposition
party usually has the opportunity to rebut what the president says or present
its own views on a topic immediately after the president speaks.
7. 9overnment watchdog
=rom muckraking early in the century to todayNs investigative reporting, an
important function of the mass media is to bring to the attention of the
American people evidence of corruption, abuse of power, and ineffective
policies and programs. *atergate would have remained ust another burglary
buried in the back pages of The *ashington Post had -arl ,ernstein and ,ob
*oodward not dug into the story. Although the media are often accused of
having a 3liberal bias3 &and, indeed, surveys show most ournalists to be
liberal (emocrats', all presidential administrations face close scrutiny from
print and broadcast ournalists.
8. %ociali$ation
The mass media, most significantly through its news, reporting, and analysis,
affects what and how we learn about politics and our own political views.
Along with family, schools, and religious organi$ations, television also
becomes part of the process by which people learn societyNs values and come
to understand what society eJpects from them. !n this regard, the impact
comes primarily from entertainment programming. TelevisionNs portrayal of
minorities and women, family relations, and the place of religion in American
life is considered to be a powerful influence on our attitudes.
%ome people believe that Americans, especially children, imitate behavior
observed in media communications. They are, therefore, concerned about the
+uantity of seJ and violence on TO. This theory of behavior may be naive, and
certainly it lacks consistent or weighty scientific evidence. Cevertheless, the
perspective is a significant political force, because it links social conservatives
who disapprove of seJual promiscuity with social liberals who find AmericaNs
gun culture distasteful. ,oth the legislative and eJecutive branches have
pressured networks to clean up what former Oice President Al 9ore called the
3cultural wasteland.3
doc_243033814.docx
forms of mass media. effective use of press release.
A press release is a brief written communication directed to the media
that makes a newsworthy announcement. Press releases fulfill a public
relations function by giving editors and reporters the information needed to
develop a story about your company—or your client, if you are a PR agency.
A press release can be used to announce a variety of topics, such as a new
product or service, an event, sales or financial data, changes in management,
a notable award or accomplishment, or a campaign. They can also include
images, videos and other multimedia elements, as well as links to websites,
all which help supplement the topic of the press release and can help attract
attention to it.
Hints and tips
Press releases tend to follow a standard format as it makes it easier for
ournalists to get the details they need in an efficient way. !t also helps
ournalists distinguish press releases from pitch letters and other types of PR
tools.
The standard press release format includes"
• Headline" a brief attention#grabbing statement summari$ing the news.
• %ubhead &optional'" a secondary statement which builds on the
headline and further fleshes out the news.
• (ateline" the city where the news is originating and the date of the
release.
• )ead or introductory paragraph" the first paragraph of the release
which generally answers the *ho, *hat, *hen, *here and *hy
+uestions.
• ,ody" additional paragraphs which provide supporting material and
further details, i.e., direct +uotes, relevant background information and
statistics.
• ,oilerplate" a short paragraph giving information about the issuing
company or organisation.
• -lose" add ... after the press release content and before the media
contact information, signaling the end of the press release.
• %ource" the company or organi$ation issuing the release.
• /edia contact information" the name, phone number and email
address for the PR or media relations contact responsible for any
+uestions about the release.
Tips for writing a good press release
0. Always put the press release date at the top
1. %tart with a good, strong headline, supported by the essence of the
story in the very first paragraph 2 this answers the +uestion 3*hat43
5. Place the company6s name prominently in the opening section 2 *ho4
7. (emonstrate that the story is of local or national importance 2 *here4
8. 9ive a brief indication of company thinking behind the new
development 2 *hy4
:. Provide information on the timescale of the news story 2 *hen4
;. !nclude an editor6s note &or boilerplate', with basic facts such as
company background for recipients not familiar with the organisation
. %upport the name with a telephone and email address
0?. @eep it short, informative and interesting
SAMPLE 1
PRA%% RA)AA%A
=BR !//A(!ATA RA)AA%A
-ontact" =red %tooter
Bffice" 888.888.8888
Pager" 888.888.8888
A,- =oods Announces Cew =ast =ood Affort
A,- =oods, the nation6s largest food and restaurant conglomerate,
announced the launch of a new fast food chain, Cew (ay (eli. The restaurant
will feature fresh custom entrees, sandwiches, soups and desserts.
D/any people love fresh deli food, but most delis are local, Dsaid A,- -AB
=red %tooter. D*e felt there was a niche for a new type of convenience
restaurant for people who are looking for something special and varied.E
Although there are many sandwich chains, Cew (ay intends to offer more,
having developed a cutting edge means of fresh food storage. DAt Cew (ay
you6ll be able to get ust about anything,E %tooter continued. DBur patented
=resh =orever refrigeration technology has changed the game in fast foods. !t
allows us to keep more types of foods on site longer.E
A,- will open Cew (ay stores in maor cities in the *est and also a few in
the Aast by spring. %eattle, Portland, %an =rancisco, )os Angeles, %an (iego,
(enver, -hicago, (allas and Cew Fork are all on tap for franchises. ,eyond
that, more restaurants are planned. DBur goal is one#hundred stores in three
years,E %tooter said.
A,- =oods is head+uartered in (enver, -B, and employees ;?>#?#?#?#?#?#
journalism
Gournalism is gathering, processing, and dissemination of news and
information related to the news to the audience. The word applies to both the
method of in+uiring for news and the literary style which is used to
disseminate it.
H0I
H1I
The media through which ournalism is conducted vary diversely to include
content published via newspapers and maga$ines &print', television and radio
&broadcast', and their digital versions published through digital media — news
websites and applications.
Public relations
Public relations &PR' is the practice of managing the spread of information
between an individual or an organi$ation and the public.H0I Public relations
may include an organi$ation or individual gaining eJposure to their audiences
using topics of public interest and news items that do not re+uire direct
payment.H1I The aim of public relations is to persuade the public, prospective
customers, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to
maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political
decisions. -ommon activities include working with the press and supplying
written content for news and feature articles together with arranging interviews
with eJpert spokespeople, speaking at conferences, winning industry awards
and internalKemployee communication.H5I
Advertisement
a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or
event or publici$ing a ob vacancy.
#?#?#??#?#?#?#
Role of mm on society
!n the last five decades or so, the media and its influence on the societies, has
grown eJponentially with the advance of technology. =irst there was the
telegraph and the post offices, then the radio, the newspaper, maga$ines,
television and now the internet and the new media including palmtops, cell
phones etc. There are positive and negative influences of mass media, which
we must understand as a responsible person of a society.
,efore discussing the influence of mass media on society it is imperative to
eJplain the three basic functions of mass mediaL they are providing
newsKinformation, entertainment and education. The first and foremost
function of the media in a society is to provide news and information to the
masses, that is why the present era is some time termed as the information
age as well. People need newsKinformation for various reasons, on one hand
it can be used to sociali$e and on the other to make decisions and formulate
opinions. Antertainment would be the other function of the mass media where
it is mostly used by the masses to amuse them in present day hectic
environment. Aducating the masses about their rights, moral, social and
religious obligations is another important function of mass media, which needs
no emphasis.
!n present era of globali$ation, maority of people in the society depends on
information and communication to remain connected with the world and do
our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education,
sociali$ation, travelling and anything else that we have to do. A common
urban person usually wakes up in the morning checks the tv news or
newspaper, goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats with their family or
peers when possible and makes his decisions based on the information that
he has either from their co workers, tv news, friends, family, financial reports,
etc. we need to be conscious of the reality that most of our decisions, beliefs
and values are based on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our
own eJperience. !n our work we usually know what we have to do, based on
our eJperience and studies, however on our routine life and house hold
chores we mostly rely on the mass media to get the current news and facts
about what is important and what we should be aware of.
*e have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news,
entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on our
kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it really works.
The media makes billions of dollars with the advertising they sell and that we
are eJposed to, every single moment. *e buy what we are told to buy by the
media. After seeing thousands of advertisings we make our buying decisions
based on what we saw on Tv, newspapers or maga$ines. These are the
effects of mass media especially in teenagers, they buy what they see on Tv,
what their favourite celebrity advertise and what is acceptable by society
based on the fashion that the media has imposed on them.
There are some positive and negative influences in young people of our
society due to these ad campaigns in the media. Here is a positive influence
eJample, if there is a +ui$ show on education that is getting a lot of attention
by the media and gains popularity among your friends and society, you will
more likely want to actively participate and watch these +ui$ shows. These
activities are good for the society and will promote literary activities in the
youth. However a negative influence in teenagers is the use of guns and
ammunition by celebrity movie stars, the constant eJposure of which would
seduce the teen to replicate the same behaviour in the real life. *hen we
watch tv or a action movie we usually see many images of violence and
people hurting others. The problem with this is that it can become traumatic
especially in our children as they see it more and more. Bur kids that are
starting to grow and are shaping their personality values and beliefs can
become aggressive or they can lose a sense of distinction between reality and
fiction. Another problem is that real war is used as a form of entertainment by
the media, we should make our kids and teen aware that war is not a form of
entertainment and that there is no win or lose like in video games, in real war
everyone lose.
Teens, youngsters are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by
their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the
ideal image of beautiful men and women with all the ingredients of a
successful person, you can see it in movies and tv. !t6s a subliminal way to
persuade the masses that if you want to be successful and look like them then
you have to buy that particular brand or product. Another negative influence in
teenagers, especially in the M%A, that has grown over the last years is
obesity. There are millions of adolescents fighting obesity, but at the same
time they are eJposed to thousands of advertisements of unk food, while the
ideal image of a successful person is told to be thin and wealthy.
The media has a huge impact on society in shaping the public opinion of the
masses. They can form or modify the public opinion in different ways
depending of what is the obective. =or eJample, Pakistani media influenced
the public opinion against the Taliban in %wat by repeated telecast of a video
clip showing whipping of a woman by a Taliban. ,efore that the public opinion
over the military action against the Taliban in %wat was divided, but repeated
telecast of this short video clip changed the public opinion over night in the
favour of the government to take action. Bther ways to influence are with polls
and trends, especially in political campaigns. The candidates that can pay for
more tv and media eJposure have more influence on public opinion and thus
can receive more votes.
?####??????—?#??#?#?
Functions of the Mass Media
Almost everyone gets his or her information about world, national, and local
affairs from the mass media. This fact gives both print and broadcast
ournalism important functions that include influencing public opinion,
determining the political agenda, providing a link between the government and
the people, acting as a government watchdog, and affecting sociali$ation.
0. Public opinion
The mass media not only report the results of public opinion surveys
conducted by outside organi$ations but also increasingly incorporate their
own polls into their news coverage. /ore important, newspapers and
television help shape public opinion as well. Research has shown that the
positions Americans take on critical issues are influenced by the media,
especially when the media air divergent views and provide in#depth analysis.
1. Political agenda
The term political agenda is broader in scope than the term public opinion,
and it refers to the issues Americans think are the most important and that
government needs to address. A personNs perception of such matters as
crime, civil rights, the economy, immigration, and welfare are affected by the
manner and eJtent of media coverage. %tudies indicate that a correlation
eJists between the significance people assign a problem and the fre+uency
and amount of space or time newspapers, maga$ines, and television give to
it.
5. )ink between the government and the people
The mass media is the vehicle through which the government informs,
eJplains, and tries to win support for its programs and policies. President
=ranklin RooseveltNs 3fireside chats3 used radio in this manner. Today, the
maor networks do not always give the president desired airtime if they believe
the purpose is essentially political. !f they do grant the time, the opposition
party usually has the opportunity to rebut what the president says or present
its own views on a topic immediately after the president speaks.
7. 9overnment watchdog
=rom muckraking early in the century to todayNs investigative reporting, an
important function of the mass media is to bring to the attention of the
American people evidence of corruption, abuse of power, and ineffective
policies and programs. *atergate would have remained ust another burglary
buried in the back pages of The *ashington Post had -arl ,ernstein and ,ob
*oodward not dug into the story. Although the media are often accused of
having a 3liberal bias3 &and, indeed, surveys show most ournalists to be
liberal (emocrats', all presidential administrations face close scrutiny from
print and broadcast ournalists.
8. %ociali$ation
The mass media, most significantly through its news, reporting, and analysis,
affects what and how we learn about politics and our own political views.
Along with family, schools, and religious organi$ations, television also
becomes part of the process by which people learn societyNs values and come
to understand what society eJpects from them. !n this regard, the impact
comes primarily from entertainment programming. TelevisionNs portrayal of
minorities and women, family relations, and the place of religion in American
life is considered to be a powerful influence on our attitudes.
%ome people believe that Americans, especially children, imitate behavior
observed in media communications. They are, therefore, concerned about the
+uantity of seJ and violence on TO. This theory of behavior may be naive, and
certainly it lacks consistent or weighty scientific evidence. Cevertheless, the
perspective is a significant political force, because it links social conservatives
who disapprove of seJual promiscuity with social liberals who find AmericaNs
gun culture distasteful. ,oth the legislative and eJecutive branches have
pressured networks to clean up what former Oice President Al 9ore called the
3cultural wasteland.3
doc_243033814.docx