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The Update
6/2005
Welcome to the official newsletter of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter. Past issues can be found by going to www.prsaspokane.org and clicking on the "Newsletters" link.
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"How'd They Do That?" at June 3 meeting
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Three representatives of the Michael Anderson Statue Fund will present the program at the June 3 joint breakfast meeting of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter and the Spokane Public Relations Council. The Fund won the Dussault Award at the SPRC's 2005 SPARC Awards. The meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. in the COG at Gonzaga University. Cost is $9 for PRSA and SPRC members, $7 for students and $11 for non-members. Presenting the program will be Anne Marie Axworthy, director of community development for Avista and Anderson Campaign co-chair; the Rev. Happy Watkins, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church and Anderson Campaign co-chair; and Jessie Wuerst, communications manager for Avista and Anderson Campaign communications coordinator. (The third co-chair is Skip Davis, CEO of Sacred Heart Medical Center.) The Michael Anderson Statue Fund is a grassroots effort to memorialize Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, a former Spokane resident who died Feb. 1, 2003, in the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy. The $125,000 campaign will fund a statue created by Spokane sculptor Dorothy Fowler that will eventually stand at the proposed Mobius science center in the north bank area of Riverfront Park. The dedication for the statue is scheduled for Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m. outdoors between the Opera House and Ag Trade Center. Invited guests include NASA officials, as well as Michael's wife, daughters, parents and other family members. The Community Gospel Choir and the University High School choir will sing. The unveiling promises to be inspirational and the Frog Island dancers, a Native American group, will perform the finale.
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Professional development is a good thing. It is as important as any other ritual we give ourselves to grow our understanding and rejuvenate our passion. I am reminded of a lecture that Dr. Jeff Stafford of EWU included in one of his masters classes about the end results of lifelong education. He created chart showing the universe of workers in any one field. As he cut down the pie he showed how many stopped their education at their first degree, how many networked, read topical publcations, belonged to professional organizations, received an advanced degree, worked toward an accreditation and so on. As the chart cut each group out he created the point very clearly that fewer were willing to go the next step and more importantly. the more investment you are willing to make in yourself, higher the pay, the positions and the possibilities.
Stafford confirmed for me how organizations like PRSA are valuable. We have an opportunity to know other professionals, learn new ideas, practice leadership skills and grow. The regional PRSA conference was a great success- bringing 130 professionals together from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California together. Nike talked about turning around their PR problems through their corporate responsibility. We heard more about new trends like blogging and reviewed the basics again of getting the news out.
But more than that, I met up with old friends met over the years and met new professionals. Some were able to solve issues in their current jobs, others met other pros and found new possibilities to move up and others to relocate. I was delighted to meet again a colleague originally from Salt Lake City, who though his professional association has been able to not only grow in his profession, but has realized his dreams. He has become recognized as a national speaker and has, though his connections been connected up with opportunities to move to Seattle. It all happened through the network created, and his willingness to invest in himself by being involved in the society, continuing his education and sharing his knowledge.
Your PRSA membership will only be as valuable as the investment you give to yourself. There are numerous opportunities to learn! We are in the process of planning our fall workshop and you'll have the chance to try out your planning skills. You can practice your speaking skills and help our student groups who love to hear about your expertise. We have APR studies that are now on- line, making the studies fit your schedule. Whatever your need, take advantage of the many benefits available to you though PRSA. You'll be glad you did!
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Grab your readers with presentation copy
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Rev Up Readership Use presentation copy — headlines, decks, subheads, cutlines
and callouts — to reach flippers and skimmers by Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc. I'm often amazed at how much energy writers put into perfecting the analogy in the 32nd paragraph of their piece when those same folks toss off a headline in the 17 seconds before happy hour on a Friday night. The sad truth is, most of your readers will never see the 32nd paragraph of your brilliant copy. But many more of them will read the headline. I review hundreds of communications each year in my training and consulting work. The most consistent problem I see: Communicators have not mastered the art of writing compelling presentation copy. And that's a crime. Because most of the impact you make on your readers comes, not from the copy itself, but from how you present your material. Well-written presentation copy — headlines, decks, subheads, cutlines and callouts — can help by filling three essential roles in your communications. They can: - Draw readers into the copy, pointing out interesting facts that can transform otherwise non-readers into readers.
- Break up the copy, making it easier to read and, therefore, encouraging readership.
- Summarize the key ideas for flippers and skimmers and reinforce those ideas for readers.
How can you make the most of the most important words in your publications, Websites and press releases? These tips will get you started. Draw readers in The first way to use presentation copy is to draw readers in. Headline hierarchy can help. It grabs readers' attention and pulls them into the text. This approach works on the premise that it takes two headlines — actually, a headline and its companion deck — to do the two jobs you need to accomplish in your title. That is: 1) Grab readers' attention in the headline. The headline's job is to attract readers, to get them to pause and consider reading the piece. Three quick tips for doing so: • Tell the story. "New survey tracks industry trends" doesn't help the reader much. Instead, entice the reader with the most intriguing trend the survey revealed. "Software industry doubling employment," maybe. Your news headline should communicate the nut of the story. It should give your readers the gist of the piece so they understand the point even if they don't read the story. • Avoid label heads, or those that classify the topic but don't say anything about it. "Chemical Update," for example, isn't a headline, it's a label. So is "Profit Sharing." And "Disposable air filters." News headlines "need at least two things," writes Mary Pretzer in Corporate Writer & Editor, "a noun and a verb." • Skip the buzzwords. If you've crammed "strategic," "value-added," "proactive," "solution" and "core competencies" into your headline, it's a bad headline. 2) Pull readers into the copy with the deck. The headline may grab readers' attention. But it takes a well-written deck (a.k.a. subhead or summary blurb) to convince folks to actually read the story. Make your decks more effective with these techniques: • Don't repeat words. A deck is an extension of the headline. It should expand on the headline, not duplicate it. Avoid using the same or similar words. • Write a full sentence. Capitalize your deck as you would a sentence. However, don't include a period. • Keep it short. Aim for 14 words or fewer for clarity. Break up the copy The second use of presentation copy is to break up the copy, making it easier to read and, therefore, encouraging readership. One technique for making sure even a long story looks easy to read is to use Edmund Arnold's dollar-bill test. Arnold, a journalist and design consultant for more than 50 years, said that no chunk of copy should stretch longer than and wider than a dollar bill. To keep copy chunks short and easy to read, break up the copy with such graphic devices as: - Subheads
- Bullets
- Pull-out quotes
- Bold-face lead-ins
- Cutlines
- Illustrations
- Photographs
- Boxes
- Sidebars
Passing the dollar-bill test has a side benefit: It gives your piece multiple points of entry — or lots of places where a scanner can dip into the text. Reach flippers and skimmers The third way to use presentation copy: to reach flippers and skimmers. Alas, they're a growing group. Indeed, 60 percent of today's media audiences are illiterate, according to Professors John Merrill and Ralph Lowenstein of the University of Missouri. Either those audience members are functionally illiterate, which means they can't read, or they're alliterate, which means they're not word oriented. These folks will flip through your publication. They'll surf your Website. They'll skim the presentation copy. But these flippers and skimmers aren't going to read your piece, no matter how well you write it. But you can still communicate to them — through presentation copy. The trick is to encapsulate your key points into the: - Headline
- Deck or summary blurb
- Subheads
- Cutlines or captions
- Callouts or pullout quotes
With this approach, presentation elements communicate in their own right. They summarize the important points of the story for flippers and skimmers and reinforce those points for real readers. We live in a world of flippers and skimmers. Our readers are suffering from information overload. This is the age of the data grazer. We can't change any of that. What we can change is how we appeal to tired, busy readers. And one way to do that is through presentation copy. Rev Up Readership Want to draw readers into the copy, make your piece more accessible — even reach flippers and skimmers who won't read your text, no matter what you do? Join Ann Wylie at PRSA's "Revving Up Readership" teleseminar on Aug. 18 , 2005. To register or to get more information, contact Genevieve DeLaurier at 212/460-1408 or visit http://www.prsa.org. About the author Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. Ann works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. To learn more about her training, consulting or writing and editing services, contact Ann at 816/502-7894 or ann@WylieComm.com. Get a FREE subscription to Ann's e-mail newsletter at http://www.wyliecomm.com. Copyright © 2003 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved. |
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Kevin Cole
Writer/Editor
Sara Nelson Design, Ltd.
P.O. Box 2010
Pasco, WA 99302
Phone: (509) 545-4584
Fax: (509) 544-0368
sara@saranelsondesign.com
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Desautel Hege announces promotions
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Desautel Hege Communications announced the promotions in May of three associates: Tamitha Anderson, Stephanie Bast and Lisa Cargill.  Tamitha Anderson has been promoted from account assistant to account coordinator. Anderson joined the firm in April 2004 and has established herself as a key player on a variety of accounts with tasks ranging from copy writing to art direction. An Eastern Washington University alumna, Anderson came to Desautel Hege Communications from the Spokane Symphony. She also serves as treasurer of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter.
 Stephanie Bast has been promoted from administrative coordinator to office manager. Bast coordinates day-to-day office operations and the firm’s technology needs, in addition to leading media tracking and collateral projects for a variety of clients. In her new role she will also oversee various human resource tasks, conduct research to improve office systems and procedures and provide administrative support to the Desautel Hege team. Bast joined Desautel Hege in April 2003.
 Lisa Cargill has been promoted from account coordinator to account executive. Cargill joined the firm in April 2003 after graduating from Eastern Washington University. Her new position will include increased account management responsibilities and will allow her to provide strategic direction for a variety of the firm’s clients.
Founded in 1996, Desautel Hege Communications provides a full spectrum of strategic public relations, public affairs and marketing services. Its client base includes local, regional, national and international clients in diverse sectors ranging from health care and natural resources to technology, non-profit and education. With 13 full-time practitioners, Desautel Hege Communications is one of the largest public relations and marketing firms in the region.
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Visit the members-only section of prsaspokane.org
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The membership directory and job listings are two benefits the Greater Spokane Chapter provides its members through the members-only section of the chapter website. If your contact information has changed recently, remember to update it in our online database so you will be sure to receive local communications from the PRSA chapter. If you need help with your user name and password, send us an email at prsa@prsaspokane.org and we'll help you out.
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Renew your membership online
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Online dues renewal is now available. This new member service makes renewal quick and easy at any time day or night. You may renew all of your memberships – National, Chapters, Professional Interest Sections and/or Affinity Groups, as well as adding or changing any of these options – with just a few clicks. To start, visit MemberNet, PRSA's secure, members-only website at http://members.prsa.org, and select “My Billing” from the left menu and proceed to renew. Online renewal is available for credit card payments only. If your contact information has changed, you can update that easily too. Select “My Profile” from the menu. Don't know your MemberNet login or password? Click the option to have it e-mailed to you. Have questions or problems with MemberNet? E-mail PRSA's help desk at membernet@prsa.org.
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