1. JOURNALISM
370
APRIL
25,2011
LAW
AND
FEATURE
WRITING

2. HOW
CAN
YOU
GET
SUED
• Wri?ng
misleading
press
releases
• Making
misleading
or
false
product/service
claims
• Crea?ng
front
groups
• Insider
trading
• Invasion
of
privacy
• Misrepresen?ng
earnings
• Conspiracy

3. REAL
WORLD
BACKGROUND
I
WISH
I
KNEW
WHEN
I
WAS
IN
SCHOOL
• The
key
is
avoiding
lawsuits.
• You
may
be
legally
correct.
It
might
not
maXer.
• Lawsuits
are
costly…even
if
you
win.
• Waivers
are
your
friend.
• WriXen
correspondence
is
your
friend
• When
in
doubt,
ask.

4. Libel
and
Defama?on
• Here’s
how
you
prove
it.
– Statement
was
broadcast
or
published.
– You
can
ID
who
wrote
it.
– Actual
injury
occurred…that
includes
losing
cash.
– Publisher
was
negligent
or
acted
with
malice.

5. Libel
and
Defama?on
• Different
proofs
required
for
“public
figures”
• Corpora?ons
are
considered
public
figures
• Truth
is
defense
against
defama?on
charge

6. FAIR
COMMENT…
GET
OUT
OF
TROUBLE
CARD
• Opinions
are
protected
as
long
as
cri?cism
is
done
with
honest
inten?on
and
a
lack
of
malice.
• Protects
cri?cal
comments
of
execu?ves
• Protect
yourself
when
wri?ng
cri?cism
– Accompany
opinion
with
facts
on
which
it’s
based.
– AXribute
quoted
opinion
to
an
individual
– Review
context
of
surrounding
language
for
defama?on

7. AVOIDING
DEFAMATION
SUITS
• #1
rule:
Watch
your
language
• Choose
innocuous
language
when
talking
about
personnel
issues
– We
wish
them
well
in
their
future
endeavors.
• Avoid
unflaXering
representa?ons
of
compe?tors

8. INVASION
OF
PRIVACY
• Employees
don’t
waive
their
right
to
privacy
• Employee
newsleXers
– Avoid
anything
that
might
embarrass
employees
– Focus
on
organiza?on-­‐related
ac?vi?es
• Photos
of
employees
– Implied
consent
for
“news”
use,
not
promo?on
– Maintain
photo
records

9. INVASION
OF
PRIVACY
• Use
of
photos/quotes
in
publicity
or
adver?sing
– Need
signed
consent
to
use
photos
or
quotes
in
promo?onal
materials
• Media
inquiries
about
employees
– Only
provide
confirma?on
of
employment,
?tle
and
job
descrip?on,
date
of
employment
beginning
and
end
– Don’t
provide
address,
marital
status,
number
of
kids,
job
performance
or
salary
– Serve
as
liaison
between
reporter
and
employee
• Employee
blogs
– Prohibit
comments
about
other
employees
and
confiden?al
product
informa?on
– Employee
guidelines
for
virtual
online
communi?es

10. COPYRIGHT
LAW
• Protec?on
of
“fixed”
works
in
any
“tangible
medium.”
Yes,
this
includes
digital.
• Work
is
automa?cally
copyrighted
the
moment
it
is
“fixed.”
• Work
can
be
formally
copyrighted
through
Library
of
Congress,
but
registra?on
isn’t
required
for
protec?on

11. COPYRIGHT
LAW
HOW
TO
BE
SAFE
• Fair
use
allows
you
to
quote
part
of
a
copyrighted
ar?cle,
but
brief
enough
not
to
harm
the
original
work
• Social
Media
makes
this
an
evolving
jungle.
• When
in
doubt,
ask.
• When
in
doubt,
have
a
waiver.

12. COPYRIGHT
LAW
HOW
TO
BE
SAFE
• You
can’t
copyright
ideas.
• You
can
copyright
the
expression
of
those
ideas.
• Copyright
your
PR
content.
That’s
why
you
hire
lawyers.

13. COPYRIGHT
LAW
• Fair
use
– AXributed
quoted
material
that
is
brief
compared
to
the
en?re
work
– Permission
required
when
used
for
promo?on.
• Photography
– Photographers
retain
ownership
of
their
work
– Nego?ate
use
carefully
• Work
for
hire
– When
working
as
an
employee,
copyright
belongs
to
organiza?on
• Digital
material
protected
by
copyright

14. TRADEMARK
• Trademark
is
a
word,
symbol,
or
slogan
iden?fying
a
product
• Trademarks
are
proper
adjec?ves
• Trademarks
should
not
be
pluralized
or
used
as
verbs
• PR
plays
an
important
role
in
protec?ng
trademarks
• Unauthorized
use
of
celebri?es
is
misappropria?on
of
personality

15. PEOPLE
WHO
CAN
MAKE
YOUR
LIFE
MISERABLE
• Federal
Trade
Commission
(FTC)
– Regulates
adver?sing
– Protects
consumer
from
decep?on
– Look
for
unsubstan?ated
and
misleading
claims

16. PEOPLE
WHO
CAN
MAKE
YOUR
LIFE
MISERABLE
• Securi?es
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
– Monitors
publicly
traded
companies
– Monitor
public
disclosure
and
insider
trading
– Disclose
in
a
?mely
fashion
anything
that
might
affect
stock
value

17. PEOPLE
WHO
CAN
MAKE
YOUR
LIFE
MISERABLE
• Federal
Communica?ons
Commission
(FCC)
– Licenses
radio
and
TV
sta?ons
– Assures
airwaves
are
used
in
public
interest
– Ruled
on
VNRs
• Food
and
Drug
Administra?on
(FDA)
– Oversees
promo?on
of
drugs
and
cosme?cs
– Provides
guidelines
for
publicity
on
health
care
• Bureau
of
Alcohol,
Tobacco,
and
Firearms
(BATF)
Regulates
alcohol
promo?on
–
watch
claims
about
health
benefits

18. LET’S
AVOID
A
LAWSUIT
• You’re
doing
PR
for
Costco.
• The
VP
has
just
been
fired
for
embezzling
money.
• The
media
calls
you
asking
for
informa?on.
• What
can
you
tell
them?

19. LET’S
TALK
FEATURE
WRITING

20. WHY
WRITE
A
FEATURE
IN
THE
FIRST
PLACE
• Features
provide
addi?onal
background
• Generate
human
interest
• Create
understanding
in
an
imagina?ve
way
• Features
are
more
sol
in
nature
and
not
as
?me
sensi?ve
• They
provide
more
informa?on,
a
behind-­‐the-­‐
scenes
perspec?ve,
and
generate
publicity
• Features
get
more
focus
in
Sunday
papers.

21. LET’S
PLAN
A
FEATURE
• Is
the
subject
worth
a
feature?
– The
subject
doesn’t
have
to
be
human
• Will
it
be
useful
to
your
target
audience?
• Does
it
meet
organiza?onal
objec?ves?
If
the
answer
to
any
of
these
ques0ons
is
no,
consider
another
wri0ng
style

22. LET’S
PLAN
A
FEATURE
• The
bad
news
is
developing
a
feature
requires
crea?vity
• The
good
news
is
ideas
are
everywhere.
• How
do
pitch
a
feature
can
be
different.
– Distribute
a
general
feature
to
several
media
outlets
– Write
an
exclusive
feature
and
pitch
to
a
single
person
– Post
the
feature
on
your
Web
site

23. TYPES
OF
FEATURES
• Case
study
• Third-­‐party
party
endorsement
• Applica?on
story…How
to
use
a
product
or
service
in
a
new,
innova?ve
way
• Research
study
– Surveys
or
polls
that
examine
things
such
as
lifestyles

24. TYPES
OF
FEATURES
• Backgrounder
– A
problem
and
how
it
was
solved
• Personality
profile
– Humanize
an
interes?ng
person
• Historical
piece
• Milestones
allow
reflec?on
on
an
organiza?on’s
history

25. FEATURE
ELEMENTS
DIFFERENT
THAN
A
NEWS
RELEASE
• Headline
– Informa?onal
headlines
summarize
– Allitera?ve
headlines
raise
curiosity
– You
can
rely
more
in
emo?on
and
adjec?ves
• Lead
– Feature
leads
pique
readers’
interest
– You
don’t
need
a
summary
lead
– You
do
need
to
focus
on
what’s
most
important
– What’s
most
important
may
not
be
facts

26. FEATURE
ELEMENTS
DIFFERENT
THAN
A
NEWS
RELEASE
• Body
–
Features
are
longer
than
straight
news
releases
–
They’re
meant
to
be
read
from
beginning
to
end
–
They
should
include
quotes,
illustra?ons
and
other
illustra?ve
elements
–
The
last
line
is
almost
as
important
as
the
first
line…

27. FEATURE
ELEMENTS
DIFFERENT
THAN
A
NEWS
RELEASE
• Placement
– Newspapers,
especially
sec?ons
that
are
not
?me-­‐
sensi?ve
(e.g.,
lifestyle,
food,
automo?ve)
– Specialty
magazines
are
a
beXer
pitching
op?on.
– Blogs
can
be
– Because
a
feature
shelf
life
is
longer,
I
would
put
your
items
on
the
web.
– Pay
to
play
publica?on

28. Let’s
write
a
feature
lead
• The
Florida
Grapefruit
Growers
Associa?on
has
announced
that
this
year’s
crop
is
larger
than
last
year’s,
and
greater
availability
will
mean
lower
prices
for
the
consumer.

29. Let’s
write
a
feature
lead
• The
na?onal
office
of
tourism
for
Canada
says
the
country
is
a
good
travel
bargain
because
the
Canadian
dollar
is
weak
against
the
American
dollar.

30. LET’S
TALK
LETTERS
TO
EDTIOR

31. WHY
WRITE
ONE?
• Allow
PR
to
reach
opinion
leaders
• Op-­‐ed
authors
are
perceived
as
experts
on
the
issue
• Op-­‐eds
are
exclusives
OP-­‐eds
are
controlled
media.
This
is
rare
in
media
rela0ons
and
publicity

32. WHY
WRITE
ONE?
• These
can
talk
about
policy.
• These
can
promote
events
more
blatantly.
• You’re
worried
the
reporter
will
screw
the
story
up.
OP-­‐eds
are
controlled
media.
This
is
rare
in
media
rela0ons
and
publicity

33. OP
ED
IDEAS
• 750
words
max
for
an
op
ed.
• You
need
to
have
one
main
idea.
• Hit
it
early,
and
don’t
veer
off
course.
• Short
powerful
sentences
• You
need
facts
to
verify
your
claims.

34. OP
ED
IDEAS
• Don’t
say,
“I
think.”
State
it.
– I
thinks
this
is
a
bad
idea.
– This
is
a
bad
idea.
• Don’t
send
out
op
eds
in
bulk.
• Do
call
an
editor
to
see
if
a
paper
takes
them.

35. LETTER
TO
THE
EDITOR
DIFFERENCES
• They
are
shorter
(200-­‐500
words)
• You
react
to
news
and
should
state
what
sparked
the
leXer.
• State
the
theme
of
your
leXer
aler
saying
why
you
are
wri?ng
• A
leXer
to
the
editor
is
a
counter
punch.
An
Op
ed
can
be
an
aXacking
punch.