Changing happenings into news for public relations *

Definition of news

The word "news" has been used repeatedly on different pages. Since consideration will now be given to how news of a public-relations nature is produced and made available to the media through which it is to be disseminated, it seems proper to undertake here to define the word "news," or at least to describe what it embraces.

Every day, in his newspaper, the reader is confronted by an assortment of news, summarized for his convenience in the newspaper's headlines such as the following:

LAUNCH PROBE OF BOMBER CRASHES:
FLEET GROUNDED
U. N. PASSES EMBARGO ON ARMS
TOWN'S TAX RATE JUMPS 97 CENTS
RECRUIT AIDS FOR JUNIOR LEAGUE DRIVE
OHIO PLAYS MICHIGAN FOR BIG-TEN TITLE
GE ANNOUNCES NEW REFRIGERATOR LINE

It is obvious that each of the foregoing headlines reports a current event or development of general interest or real importance. News, above all, is timely. In fact, the element of timeliness is so essential that, in item after item, it will be found that the time-connection is indicated. Did the event unfold yesterday or last night? The item will reveal it. Did the event unfold some time back? Then the item will say that it was "announced" or "disclosed" today. Not only must news be new and fresh, but it must be so labeled.

It is customary to say that news must be of interest, which, as a generality, is true enough. A more accurate statement, however, is that news must be of interest to many, or of importance to a few. The latest figures on copper production in the United States or in Canada are hardly of general interest, but they are important to people in the metal trades and to business analysts. Consequently, these figures are published in the financial or business sections of the big city newspapers.

Material which is important to a few people but uninteresting to many appears also in the general news pages. A United Nations Commission may issue a technical report on something that closely concerns the lives of very few Americans or Canadians. Nevertheless, it makes the papers and newscasts because whatever the United Nations does or says is important. Most frequently, however, whether trivial or momentous, news will be of the kind that a large number of people will want to read or hear about.

The elements of a news story

Examination of a specific news story will show to what extent a newspaper is written and edited for people who run while they read. First of all, the headlines summarize the news story. With its main heading and its subheadings, the headlines present the story in capsule form. Then, in the three or four opening paragraphs of text, known as the story's "lead," the newspaper summarizes the story again in somewhat more detail. Thus, at a glance, or a couple of glances, the reader learns what has taken place, and, unless he has time to spare and unless he is particularly interested in further details, he needs to read no further.

In this quick-to-read form used by a newspaper, what has the reader been told? He has been informed of the happening's major elements. In conformity with professional newspaper practice, there have been answered for him certain major questions. These questions are: Who? What? When? Where? and, possibly, Why? This may be seen from the following illustration of a newspaper story:

HAVANA, Nov. 19 (AP) —The crew of the freighter Kirsten B. reported today that the ship was afire and abandoned just off the north coast of Cuba. The 1,184-ton vessel radioed that the crew abandoned ship when fire reached the engine room. The Coast Guard cutters Ariadne and Papaw and a plane were sent to help.

Examination of this typical, well-written newspaper story will show that it answers the fundamental questions: Who? The crew of the freighter Kirsten B. What? They abandoned ship. When? They reported the abandonment today. Where? Off the north coast of Cuba. Why? Because their ship was afire.

The news release

A "tool" of the public-relations worker is the news release, of which mention has already been made. A news release is merely a story, written in newspaper style, so that, if it cares to do so, a newspaper may print the item as it stands. If a news release is not written in newspaper style, it loses much of its effectiveness, and it is likely to be disregarded by the newspaper. While it is true that if a public-relations worker supplies a newspaper with a set of newsworthy facts in almost any form, a good newsman can write his own story, the fact still remains that a well-written release serves a newsman's convenience. When a news release is designed to present the facts in capsule form to the newspaper's readers, it also serves to present the facts in capsule form to the newsman himself, thus making it easier for him to use it.

Accordingly, whether the newspaper prints the release in the form that it is written, or whether, for originality's sake, the newsman re-writes it, the public-relations worker saves the newsman's time by writing the release in newspaper style. This is an important consideration since, in newspaper work, time is precious. If the public-relations worker saves time for reporters, rewrite men and the copy desk, he will render them a service which they will greatly appreciate. By thus working with them intelligently, the public-relations worker will go a long way toward winning their respect and friendship.

Structurally, a news release reads like a newspaper story. In fact, it even looks like a newspaper story, except that it is presented to the newsmen in mimeographed form, and bears an imprint indicating its source. The source is usually given in a printed heading, or it is typed in the upper left-hand corner of the news release. As an illustration, the source may be designated as follows: "From ABC Corporation, 212 South Main Street, Kansas City, Mo." In addition, the news release may carry a statement known as a "release line." This is also placed at the top of the page, and may read, "For immediate release," or, "For release after 2 P.M., Friday, June 25." If the news release is intended for distribution both within a community and outside the community's borders, it will start with a "dateline," consisting of the name of the community in which the release originates, followed by the date of its issuance.

Illustration of a news release

The news release which is most acceptable to newspaper editors is the one which has terseness, objectivity and news value. The following is an illustration of a news release of this kind:

From: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Hotel Statler
New York, New York
For Release: P.M.'s, Wednesday, December 28, 1949

TWO AWARDED $1,000 SCIENCE WRITING AWARDS

NEW YORK, N. Y., Dec. 28—Lester Grant, science reporter for the New York Herald-Tribune and George W. Gray, a Sparkill, N. Y., free lance writer, today were presented the fourth annual George Westinghouse Science Writing awards of $1,000 each for the best science writing of 1949.

The awards were presented at a luncheon in honor of the writers at the Hotel Statler during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the organization which administers the awards. Dr. Elvin C. Stakman, of the University of Minnesota, president of the AAAS, presented the awards.

Mr. Grant received the award for what was adjudged the best newspaper science writing, a series of 15 articles entitled "The Challenge of Cancer," published by the Herald Tribune June

The magazine writing award went to Mr. Gray for his article on the human brain, "The Great Ravelled Knot," in the October 1948 issue of Scientific American.

There were 75 entries in the news writing competition and 108 in the magazine field. Honorable mention in the magazine field was voted by the judges to Herbert Yahraes, a free lance writer of Stanfordville, N. Y., for his article, "How To Keep Away From The Dentist," which appeared in the March 1949 issue of Harper's Magazine. It was the second successive year that Mr. Yahraes has won honorable mention in the magazine competition.

At the luncheon, certificates of commendation were presented to the Herald-Tribune, the Scientific American and Harper's.

Mr. Grant, 36, has been a newspaperman for 19 years and science reporter on the Herald Tribune for three years. He was born in Taft, California, but calls San Francisco his home town. He was graduated from the University of California in 1935, but began his news writing career five years earlier on the staff of the Oakland, California, Post Enquirer, where he wrote sports and features, worked on the copy desk and did make-up. In 1942, he joined the staff of the Washington, D. C., Times-Herald; in 1943, the staff of the Washington Star, and later the same year went to the Herald Tribune in New York.

Mr. Gray is 63. Born in Caldwell, Texas, he has been a free lance writer for many years. His articles have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, This Week, the Yale Review, American Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and Scientific American, among others. He was graduated from Harvard in 1912.

The awards were established in 1946 to stimulate interest among young writers in making careers of science writing, and to encourage high standards of science writing in newspapers and magazines. The awards were established by the AAAS from a fund granted by the Westinghouse Educational Foundation in honor of the founder of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The AAAS administers the fund, as well as the awards.

The background memorandum

Related to the news release is the background memorandum which is one of the most useful "tools" in the public-relations worker's kit. Usually designed primarily for reporters, editors, columnists, and commentators, the background memorandum also tells a news story, but in more extended form. Often the memorandum opens with a sort of preamble such as the following:

"Note to the editor: Although the material presented here has not been prepared for publication, you may quote from it verbatim if you care to do so, or use it as a source of ideas for stories or editorials. Primarily, the purpose of this memorandum is to make available to you information for current or future use."

The background memorandum thus serves to "brief" newsmen and, as its name implies, to supply them with background information. It can also be used for a number of other purposes. Since it concisely presents all the information about some public-relations project, it often serves as a quick and convenient means of answering questions asked by persons who are not engaged in the dissemination of information, but who are interested in this particular matter. Frequently, these inquirers are persons of importance and influence who can be of great assistance to the public-relations worker.

The background memorandum may also prove useful in asking persons of importance to enlist their influence in some cause. For example, the leaders of a nationwide, interfaith campaign in the interest of religion decided to ask the governors of the states to mention the campaign in their Thanksgiving Day proclamations. Since it was realized that most of the governors had probably never heard of the movement, use was made of a background memorandum.

Copies of this memorandum were mailed as enclosures with the letters which were signed by the general chairman of the campaign, and sent to the governors, asking for their support. In explanation of this memorandum, the letter read as follows: "Enclosed is a memorandum originally intended for newspaper editors that will tell you about the sponsorship of the campaign, its objectives and its implementation." This background memorandum proved the value of the use of such technique since, on the basis of the information provided, the governors responded most gratifyingly.

Example of a background memorandum. For the purpose of acquiring a better understanding of the background memorandum, and of how it can be used, suppose that an important company desires to be linked in the public mind with its president, a public-spirited citizen whose personal reputation and career are of the highest calibre. As a means of doing this, the public-relations representatives of this concern prepare a background memorandum on the president. This is kept on hand for the information of the daily newspapers, trade publications, professional, and technical journals, and all other contacts with public opinion. This memorandum is a verbal portrait of the man who is to be identified in the public eye as the company. The memorandum is as follows:

From: Robert S. Taplinger & Associates 20 East 50th Street
New York 22, New York
Background Memorandum
on
Elmer Bobst, President of William R. Warner & Company

Elmer Bobst, president of William R. Warner & Company, the world-wide drug, beauty preparation, pharmaceutical, and proprietary firm, leads, as few men do, a life that is an integrated whole in its personal and business aspects.

For instance, Mr. Bobst's intense interest and activity in the field of medical research, which has resulted in contributions to the entire realm of public health through the discovery and development of new drug products and new techniques in medical treatment, is part of the same deep feeling for the chemical and scientific side of medicine that has. resulted in his work with the American Cancer Society.

Mr. Bobst became affiliated with the American Cancer Society in 1944, and was made National Chairman of the Executive Committee. Mr. Bobst's untiring efforts on behalf of cancer research are largely responsible for the success of the "cancer drives," and are credited for this activity's success in terms of money and cooperation with the medical profession, health authorities and the general public. Mr. Bobst will head the 1950 cancer committee.

This work in the field of cancer was preceded by Mr. Bobst's interest in the outstanding food and vitamin research of Dr. Tom Spies of Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Bobst was associated with many other prominent citizens in forming the Dr. Tom Spies Committee, and in spreading the application and knowledge of the work of this outstanding authority in the field of nutrition. Mr. Bobst is also extremely active in the World Committee for Medical Education, as well as other organizations related to medical and chemical research, and public health.

Mr. Bobst came to William R. Warner & Company in 1945, with freedom to reorganize this company and its many affiliated units. Under his regime, the organization has grown stronger, and has added different companies and products.

Mr. Bobst is a pioneer in the field of hair research, and this led him to engage Raymond Lee to develop the Hudnut Home Permanent Wave. The hair line of this company is now responsible for fifty per cent of its entire cosmetic business. Mr. Bobst is very active in supervising the research work in this field and in other fields. He is applying the most modern methods of scientific research to the development of hair and cosmetic preparations, as well as to proprietaries.

Before coming to William R. Warner & Company, Mr. 'Bobst was affiliated with Hoffman-La Roche Drug Company, which he joined in 1911. He built up that company from a money-losing status to a position as one of the most prosperous in its field in the world.

Preceding his connection with Hoffman-La Roche, Mr. Bobst had worked in the prescription departments of Philadelphia drug stores, which he followed with selling positions for major proprietary houses. His thorough knowledge of the drug business was learned by compounding and filling prescriptions, and has stood him in good stead since. There is little about drugs and their effect upon the human body that Mr. Bobst does not know.

Mr. Bobst was born in Clearsprings, Maryland. His father, Issac Bobst, was a Lutheran minister in that Maryland village in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mr. Bobst's family stem from old American stock, originating with three brothers, named Brobst, who came to this country in 1732, the year George Washington was born, from the German Palatinate.

These brothers settled in Pennsylvania, one in Germantown; one in what is now Lehigh County; and the third in Berks County. This third brother, Philip, was the grandfather, six times removed, of Elmer Bobst. The family fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and engaged in farming, craftsmanship, and tobacco growing. The name of Mr. Bobst's direct ancestors was changed from Brobst early in the century.

Mr. Bobst, in his field of development of drug products, is very much like Edison was in his day in the field of electricity. Self-educated by actual experience and wide reading and research, his development of important drugs comes about through a direct knowledge and feeling of just how the human body reacts to drugs. But Mr. Bobst, though he had no formal education, is a passionate believer in the ability of organized knowledge to solve scientific problems. He has great respect for men of science, and is constantly adding great authorities in their respective fields to his research staff.

The William R. Warner & Company is divided into the following divisions:

1. William R. Warner—Pharmaceutical Specialties.
2. Richard Hudnut —Cosmetics, Perfumes and Toiletries.
3. Standard Laboratories—Proprietary Medicines and Toiletries.
4. Foreign Division.

Mr. Bobst's home in Montclair, New Jersey, which he purchased in 1928, reflects his taste. The paintings in this house were chosen carefully to fit in certain places, or to reflect a definite mood. In the guest room, furnished in the early French period, is the original Castiglione, "Visiting The Cardinal Uncle," with its marvelous detail, while the "Portrait of a Boy" by Millet, one of his favorites, hangs in his own bedroom. In another room are some 20 watercolors by Adolf Dehn. The living room with a dozen paintings —among them the famous "Perdita Robinson" by Sir Joshua Reynolds—is a room of such fascinating beauty that one is haunted for days by the memory of it.

Adjoining is a breakfast room with a dozen or more beautifully plumaged song birds which are fed every morning by Mr. Bobst himself, and reward him with a riot of music and color. In the library is John Brown's will, original letters by every President of the United States and many other items of an interesting and valuable nature. These, like the works of art, have been gradually collected, some of them during Mr. Bobst's many trips to Europe. Mr. and Mrs. Bobst summer in Spring Lake where he recently purchased the original Roebling property at Ocean and St. Clair Avenue.

Issuing the news material

If the public-relations project with which news material is concerned is new, and if the subject matter is complex or highly ramified, the news release and the background memorandum are likely to be issued together. The release, as has been stated, is tied to a specific time. It embodies the word "today" or "yesterday," and, as developments unfold, it is followed by subsequent releases. The background memorandum, on the other hand, is timeless. The background information which it conveys is not only useful today, but it will be useful tomorrow, the day after, and for some time to come. If the news material is subject to pictorial treatment, glossy-print photographs may be issued along with the news release and background memorandum, since pictures have an additional news-conveying value.

The delivery of the news material to the press and to the radio may be handled either personally or by mail. In the case of purely local coverage, the news material is usually supplied personally to the program managers of the local radio stations and to the editors or to the "beat" men of the local newspapers. In the case of broader coverage, the material is mailed to, say, a list of several hundred newspapers, and delivered in person to the editors of the wire-services' local bureaus.

In any event, in preparing and issuing the news material, the public-relations worker must concern himself with the matter of time. He must decide, for instance, whether afternoon papers or the morning papers are more to his advantage. If a story is timed to run in today's afternoon papers, tomorrow morning's papers may limit the space given to the story, or reject it altogether. This may also be the case the other way round. As a general rule, however, the afternoon papers do not deal at all with the preceding day's news, whereas a morning paper is a round-up of the news of the day before. Consequently, the fact that a story has appeared in the afternoon papers is not as likely to keep it out of the "A.M.'s" as would be the case vice versa. If the news material is mailed to papers in distant cities, the release date must be set far enough in advance so that all the papers on the mailing list will have an equal opportunity to print the material while it is still news.

Question of releasing news to distant cities

The practice of mailing news releases to newspapers in distant cities usually results in wasted expense and effort. Likewise, it is seldom worth while to attempt to secure the cooperation of distant radio broadcasting stations. The fact is that newspapers, with rare exceptions, do not pay much attention to out-of-town mail, and they have good reasons for not doing so. They feel that the "wire services" which they use, AP, UP, INS, or all three, plus their own correspondents if they have any, bring them all the important news that originates outside their own circulation area.

Furthermore, every newspaper receives by wire much more material every day than it can possibly find space to print. The wire services also have mail services which provide the newspaper editors with advance copies of important speeches, announcements, and the like. The newspapers also get more photographs and "feature material" than they can use from the syndicates to which they subscribe. Consequently, with all this material becoming available to him the editor's problem, particularly so far as out-of-city news is concerned, is primarily one of eliminating part of the news which he receives rather than looking for additional news.

In view of these circumstances, it is usually a public-relations worker's best policy to concentrate on putting his story across to his local newspapers, and to the "wires" and syndicates. If his material is worthy, the expense and machinery of getting it into every city and town of the nation, and possibly of the world, is taken off his hands by the wire services. Sometimes, however, a public-relations worker in New York, for example, may have a story with local significance in San Francisco. In such a case, he will find that instead of simply mailing the story to the city editors of the San Francisco newspapers, it is much more effective to get someone in San Francisco to deliver the story in person for him.

For instance, if the public-relations worker's company has an office in San Francisco, the securing of a personal messenger in that city will involve no difficulty. In case such a method is not possible, the second most effective means is to send a night letter to the San Francisco editors if the story is short, or an air-mail special delivery letter if the story is long, marking the envelope in bold color "LOCAL NEWS," or in some other way to attract attention.

The press conference

If the news material which a public-relations worker is releasing is important enough to justify calling the press together, then such a press conference can be made to serve as a means of making the material available both for local use and for use outside. The technique of arranging a press conference is relatively simple. First of all, the public-relations worker picks some central and inviting place as a site for the conference, possibly making arrangements for the serving of food, such as a mid-afternoon snack, mellowed with a cocktail or two for each of the guests. Then by mail, or by telephone or in person, and in such a manner as to indicate the importance of the occasion, the public-relations worker invites the newspaper editors and their "beat men," the radio representatives, the wire-service men, and, perhaps, the representatives of the newsreel companies, giving them some inkling of the subject matter of the conference in order to stimulate their interest.

Usually, all these guests who are invited to a press conference make it a point to be present. As each one arrives, the public-relations worker greets him and introduces him to his company's president, or to whatever executive is to serve as the spokesman. The public-relations worker then conducts each guest to the snack bar and sees to it that he is served. He hands the guests copies of the release and the background memorandum, and glossies of the photographs to be used. He makes sure that the guests are comfortably seated. Finally, after the spokesman has explained the meeting and answered the guests' questions, the public-relations worker asks each guest personally whether there is anything further that the company can do to help him cover the story.

Coverage by magazines and the trade press

Sometimes, it is feasible to invite the editors of magazines and the trade press to such a press conference as described above. Usually, however, because of their later closing dates, these editors can best be served by means of conferences or luncheons held for them exclusively. Take, for example, the procedure that, some time ago, was followed in introducing to magazine editors and to the trade press the Edison interests' jubilee–an event,, incidentally, that throughout its course was framed in the form of a tribute, not to a company, but to a company's veteran employees.

Long in advance of the jubilee's formal and somewhat elaborate opening, the editors of general magazines, and of magazines concerned with business administration, were invited to a highly exclusive luncheon at which an eminent chairman outlined the jubilee's purpose. "We have invited you here," he said, "because, as the jubilee progresses, you probably would like to know about it. And, if you do decide to touch upon it in your publication, you will have available adequate background information."

At the close of the luncheon, each of the editors was presented with an imposing-looking brochure which explained the jubilee's significance. In addition, they were presented with a time-table of events that, over a course of several months, would constitute the jubilee program.

Timing against "competition"

When a public-relations worker schedules the issuance of a release or the staging of a press conference, he needs to think about timing from a different angle than those already discussed. He needs to foresee, as accurately as he can, to what extent the news he is issuing will have to compete with other news which the press and the other media must convey.

Obviously, he must avoid timing his news so that it will have to fight for attention against such foreseeable, newsworthy events as elections and political conventions. He also needs to bear in mind the influence of holidays and holiday seasons. For example, in the period just before Christmas and in the time between Christmas and New Year's Day, the newspapers and other media are crowded with news concerning the season. He should also consider the days of the week. For instance, since not a great deal of spontaneous news is generated over the weekend, Sunday's and Monday's newspapers may prove to be more receptive to his news material than are the papers of any other day.

Relations with the press

The public-relations worker needs the newsmen as friends. If they are to cooperate with him, he needs to know how they can cooperate and to what extent he can help them to help him.

The public-relations worker should not overlook making friends with the writers of editorials, although they live lives somewhat apart from the lives of other newspapermen. Theirs is the task of speaking for their respective papers, and often of taking stands on current issues. Although they work at a more leisurely pace than do the leg-men and the desk-men on the news side, what they do is equally exacting. Their duties require that they keep well-informed, and consequently they welcome information.

The public-relations worker cannot expect that the editorial writers will crusade unanimously on his side and in his cause. Nevertheless, by keeping them informed about his company and its activities, he can be sure that any editorial matter which appears in the newspapers about his company will be characterized by fair and intelligent treatment. The public-relations worker should see that the editorial writers receive his background material. Furthermore, he should take the time occasionally to call upon them at their offices in order to develop, at the very least, a working acquaintance with them.

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