After reviewing all the first news releases in PRCA 3330, I am generally pleased with what I saw, considering it is the first news release you have written. Many of the news releases were spot-on; they were newsworthy and clearly written. You must have remembered what you learned in your Intro to Journalism class!
Here are some common errors I saw:
- Improper use of commas (either too many or not enough)
- Puffery (making statements in the news release that don’t seem newsworthy. Some of these would be okay as part of a quotation, however.)
- Format (forgetting to put an embargo date or For Immediate Release, end sign, page slugs, etc.)
- Calling women “girls” or “ladies” (even though it’s common in sororities to do this, AP Style calls for the use of the word “women” when you are writing about female adults)
- Abbreviating the word Georgia as GA, rather than Ga. as AP Style calls for
- Using “we” or “our” when it’s not part of a quotation (a news release needs to sound like a story one would read in an impartial newspaper, not in a company newsletter)
- Improper formatting on dates, times, etc.
And here are two major problems I saw:
- Turning in a corrupt file or one that is not “openable.” If I cannot open the file, you cannot earn credit on it. Several people turned in files with “LNK” as the format — which is a hyperlink to something on your own hard drive. Others turned in temp files. ALWAYS double-check to ensure a file will open properly before you submit it for a grade, or for another person to receive.
- FAILING TO TURN IN THE ASSIGNMENT (Yes, I was yelling briefly – nearly 25% of the class did not turn in the assignment at all. That was quite disappointing to see.)
To learn how to see my specific feedback for you in GeorgiaVIEW, see this short video below.
Your News Release #2 should be like a final version of News Release #1. Use the same information you turned in already (or should have turned in!), revise it, and submit it as News Release #2. Whereas NR#1 was critiqued, NR#2 will be graded. Be sure to use the feedback that I provided for you when making your revisions. NOTE: I may not have caught every error the first time I critiqued your news release.
Thank you for the pointers. I now know to not use “ladies” when referring to women, and watch any emotion appeal that I may have used. Thank you for the tips and hope the next submissions will go much better.
-caroline rawlins
PRCA 3330 PR Writing